Uriah Heep-Firefly (1977)

By 1977, Uriah Heep had nine albums under their belt, having reached the pinnacle of success and fame. These nine albums spanned everything from hard rock to progressive rock, including more mainstream FM-oriented rock. After the underrated "High and Mighty", released a year earlier, Uriah Heep underwent its first lineup changes. First, their legendary vocalist David Byron was replaced by former Lucifer's Friend singer John Lawton, and second, John Wetton was replaced by bassist Trevor Bolder. While the change in bassist didn't represent a substantial shift, the change in vocalist did, as Bolder possessed a bluesier vocal range than his predecessor. The rest of the lineup remained comprised of the band's fundamental pillars: Ken Hensley (keyboards), Mick Box (guitars), and Lee Kerslake (drums). This restructuring would be reflected in a series of songs with a clear accent to less complex classic rock as demonstrated in the classic rock songs "Who Needs Me" and "Do You Know", the attractive blues "Rolling' On", the heavy hard rock of "The Hanging Tree" and "Been Away Too Long", the catchy melodies of "Wise Man" or the nods to the past with the more progressive "Sympathy" and "Firefly".