After two early albums still marked by experimentation, Look at Yourself gave Uriah Heep a firmer direction. Producer Gerry Bron would later describe it as the moment when the group truly found its musical identity.
A mirror instead of a sleeve
It is impossible to talk about this album without looking at its packaging — quite literally. The original sleeve included a cut-out that revealed a reflective surface, returning to the owner of the record a distorted version of their own face.
Why was such an object imagined? And which member of the group came up with the idea, simple yet effective? Walter De Paduwa tells the story in the video.
Manfred Mann guesting on “July Morning”
Musically, Look at Yourself also contains one of Uriah Heep’s major tracks: “July Morning”, a long composition that takes the blend of hard rock and progressive rock further than before.
A particularly well-known musician also joins the band on the Moog synthesiser on that track. How did Manfred Mann end up on the album?
There are other guests hidden in the record too: three members of Osibisa contribute percussion to “Look at Yourself”. All these details make the album a pivotal moment in Uriah Heep’s history, arriving just before Demons and Wizards and its international success.
Walter De Paduwa brings out the vinyl and tells the whole story in Micro-Sillon.
Find all the Micro-Sillon segments with Walter De Paduwa here.