URIAH HEEP WIZARD KEN HENSLEY ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

K E N    H E N S L E Y   

LEGENDARY KEYBOARDIST/GUITARIST/

SONGWRITER 

FOR URIAH HEEP 

ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW

From childhood poet to legendary status is a long, long road and it´s hard to cut this particular story short .... so why try?

Born in London with music in his family and in his blood, Ken Hensley formed the dream of being a rock star at the age of 11 when he bribed his parents into buying him a guitar.

Armed with not much more than sheer determination he moved from step to step always looking for a way to advance his powerful ambitions.

This was achieved through bands like The Gods which went through several incarnations before recording 2 albums for EMI Records and until the formation of Uriah Heep in 1970, the group in which all of his dreams came true and which changed his life forever and in many ways.

Ken wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah Heep's songs during this period, including the hit singles "Lady in Black" (on which he sang lead vocals), "Easy Livin'" and "Stealin'", as well as "Look at Yourself", on which he also sang lead vocals, and "Free Me".

The band's classic line-up featured Hensley, Byron, Box, Kerslake and bassist Gary Thain, plus the management provided by Gerry Bron (Bronze Records). During his time with Heep (1970–1980), they recorded 13 studio albums, and the acclaimed live album "Uriah Heep Live – January 1973" along with many compilations and singles. Hensley also recorded his first two solo albums, "Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf" (1973) and "Eager To Please" (1975) during this time. 

Ken will tell you that he is a first and foremost a writer/composer/lyricist and his enormous history of world-wide hit records is testimony to this, as is his history of world-wide sales of over 40 million records.

After returning to Europe from the US, Ken Hensley began the climb back into rock & roll history and in 2007 released the acclaimed rock opera Blood On The Highway.

Steadily Ken grew back into the consciousness of his huge fan base and, either solo or with Live Fire, the live performances thrilled audiences from Norway to Russia and all points in between.

With his classic autobiography, "When Too Many Dreams Come True" printed in English, Russian and Bulgarian, the man who first made his mark in the 20th century is now clearly capturing the 21st.

Recent solo releases included another stunning solo CD, "Love & Other Mysteries" In 2013, Cherry Red Records released a brilliant new Live Fire CD called "TROUBLE" which embodied all the lyrical and musical power of Ken´s best efforts with Heep, transformed into a 21st century classic album.

Live Fire merged some of these great tracks into their live shows as they stormed every market they visited.

2013 also saw a dramatic increase in the demand
for Ken´s solo shows and this momentum rolled right into 2014, with Live Fire making its first appearance in Russia, with two sold-out shows in Moscow and Kaluga.

With tours in Ukraine, Crimea, Latvia and Russia, Ken continued to grow the audience for his solo shows and The Legends continued with two memorable concerts on a November "Rock Cruise".

Teamed with Steve Weltman, his partner, manager and friend, they are planning (some would say "plotting") a lot of interesting projects, so stay tuned. It has been said before and it´s worth saying again ..... Ken Hensley is a rock & roll legend with no plans to stop.

KEN HENSLEY 

ON THE RAY SHASHO SHOW BBS RADIO

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Visit Ken Hensley’s Official Website www.ken-hensley.com

Visit Ken Hensley on Facebook www.facebook.com/officialkenhensley

And Ken Hensley on Twitter www.twitter.com/kenhensleymusic

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‘HEART’ Performs Brilliantly for Sold-Out Ruth Eckerd audience in Clearwater

Heart concert review:                                           

By Ray Shasho

Over the years, I’ve profoundly enjoyed every Heart concert that I’ve attended. Since the band’s debut performances in 1976 at small rock clubs like the Hollywood Palace in Baltimore County, Maryland, and witnessing the bands amazing climb to stardom after performing the following year at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, the newest and largest arena in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. I also saw Heart perform after I moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the Hollywood Sportatorium in 1979. The one factor all these performances had in common was not only the amazing vocalizations of Ann and Nancy Wilson, but equally as effective were the distinct performances by guitar hero Roger Fisher along with his prodigious bandmates Steve Fossen, Howard Lees, and Mike Derosier. Their fans weren’t only attracted to Heart because of its two amazing and beautiful singers; they were also drawn to the music by these incredibly cool musicians. I was disappointed when those bandmates had either been kicked out or left the band, and to be perfectly honest, after they left, I completely lost interest in Heart for quite some time.

But today, I hold a new respect for Heart as a band. Their consistency of touring and for persistently keeping their brand in the limelight is second to none. Heart has not only kept their brand in the limelight but has vastly helped rock and roll survive. Most recently in 2012, Ann and Nancy Wilson was involved in a rock and roll historical moment when they brilliantly performed Led Zeppelin’s“Stairway to Heaven” at the Kennedy Center Honors while a teary-eyed Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones watched with absolute awe and admiration.

On Tuesday night Heart performed to a sold-out Ruth Eckerd audience in Clearwater, Florida and the crowd and I also watched with absolute awe and admiration. The band presented an impressive setlist and performed every song flawlessly.

THE OPENING ACT was the beautiful and talented Brynn Marie, a Nashville vocalist accompanied by an acoustic guitarist. The simplicity of a duo is sometimes more appreciated than an entire band; absolutely no room for error, the band performed admirably and definite crowd pleasers.

HEART TOOK THE STAGE to a thunderous roar from the Clearwater audience and immediately opened their set with the #11 Billboard Hot 100 Hit “Barracuda” from Heart’s second release ‘Little Queen’ in 1977. The song was intended as an angry message to Mushroom Records their label at the time. The band followed with “Heartless” released in 1978 for the ‘Magazine’ album. The song reached #24 on Billboard’s Hot 100. They performed “What About Love” next, the 1985 release that became a #10 hit in the U.S. from their self-titled ‘Heart’ album, and followed with one of their most recognizable tunes from the groups early era “Magic Man” a track from their debut release album ‘Dreamboat Annie.’

The sold-out Ruth Eckerd audience was on their feet throughout concert, and most dancing by their seats. The audience appeared to be mixed between Heart -aged and younger. There were a lot of attractive women dressed in Wilson Sister’s attire, much like a Stevie Nicks concert.

Heart ensued with “Dreamboat Annie” and “Even It Up” from the band’s fifth album entitled ‘Bebe le Strange’ released on Epic Records in 1980, the song landed at #33 on the Billboard’s chart. Next it was the Ann Wilson rockin’ composition “Kick It Out” from the ‘Little Queen’ album followed by “Straight On” from ‘The Dog & Butterfly’ release on the Portrait Records label in 1978. The song reached #15 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles.

Heart performed their first of many cover tunes of the evening, a Paul McCartney & Wings heavy rocker “Let Me Roll It” from the ‘Band on the Run’ album. Nancy Wilson did an awesome job performing the guitar licks on the song. The Wings hard rock classic was followed by Nancy taking a seat and playing acoustic guitar like a standup bass with a bow while performing a really cool psychedelic/middle-eastern track entitled “Heaven” with Ann Wilson on vocals and autoharp. Afterwards, Nancy Wilson took center stage to sing the Martin Page-Bernie Taupan penned “These Dreams” a #1 U.S. hit song released by Heart in 1986.

One of the loudest receptions of the evening came after Ann Wilson performed “Alone.” It was probably Ann’s most brilliantly performed song of the evening, pronouncing her amazing vocals and gifted talent. “Alone” also hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles charts in 1987. The ballad was released on the commercially successful ‘Bad Animals’ album (reaching #2 on Billboard’s Hot 200 albums chart). “Alone” was composed by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

Surprisingly, Heart followed with a Robin Trower cover entitled “Day of the Eagle” and perhaps honoring the magnificent ‘Bridge of Sighs’ album which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. Ironically, Robin Trower performed the next day in St. Petersburg at Jannus Live. I was a bit skeptical when I saw “Day of the Eagle” on the playlist, but guitarist Craig Bartock did a very nice job with the classic Trower track. Nancy Wilson took over the spotlight with her legendary acoustic intro to “Crazy On You” (1976) the final song on the setlist before an encore. The song is probably the most revered amongst the earliest Heart faithful. “Crazy On You” impelled an amazing energy throughout the audience propelling everyone to their feet, and many danced at their seats during the entire performance.

The band tried to say its goodbyes but the Clearwater audience was way too appreciative for them to end the show. Heart concluded the evening with three powerful Led Zeppelin covers, a band the Wilson Sisters had emulated throughout their entire musical careers. First “The Immigrant Song” from the Led Zeppelin III release in 1970, followed by an amazing rendition of “No Quarter” (1973) spotlighting the amazing keyboards and synthesizers of Debbie Shair. The final song of the night was Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” (1971). All three songs were impeccably performed by Heart.

The current HEART lineup is … Ann Wilson (vocals, flute, autoharp, and guitar), Nancy Wilson (vocals, guitars), Craig Bartock(guitar), Debbie Shair (keyboards, synthesizers), Dan Rothchild (bass), and Ben Smith (drums). 

It was an exciting evening and enjoyed by all. The shirt vendor made a killing as well. The show was phenomenal but one can still hope for a perpetuated Heart reunion and tour.

Heart was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 2013.

SETLIST: Barracuda, Heartless ,What About Love ,Magic Man, Dreamboat Annie ,Even It Up ,Kick It Out ,Straight On, Let Me Roll It (Wings cover),Heaven, These Dreams ,Alone ,Day of the Eagle, (Robin Trower cover), Crazy On You, Immigrant Song,(Led Zeppelin cover), No Quarter (Led Zeppelin cover), Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin cover)

HEART official website

HEART Mongers fan club

HEART on Facebook

HEART on Twitter

HEART on Myspace

Purchase Heart & Friends 'Home for The Holidays' CD/DVD at amazon.com

Very special thanks to Sacha Guzy

COMING UP NEXT … Folk/Rock singer & songwriter Jonathan Edwards (“Sunshine,” “Shanty”) and the legendary Trini Lopez (“If I had a Hammer,” “Lemon Tree”)

Contact music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com

Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.

“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com 

COMING SOON… Ray’s exciting new project ‘SAVING ROCK AND ROLL’
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