Salisbury

Gatman (July 25, 2006)

Named after a town in Britain, Heep’s second release is a 6 track set of tunes that treads progressive structures and power balladry. This was a sure improvement over their first overdriven, raw but classy ‘very heavy very humble’ venture.

High priestess – Mick Box and Ken Hensley express their musical imagery on guitars with this progressive haunting track; lavished with eerie harmony vocals, it drifts you through a fantasy feel with David Byron singing about his love interest – the priestess of his heart - classic Heep this one.

The Park – Byron sings falsetto to Hensley’s words. A power ballad sung over arpeggiated guitar chords and excellent harmonies.

Time to live – Byron takes on the part of an avenger expressing his apprehensions at the verge of his freedom from his prison term.

Lady in Black – Uriah heep have the uncanny ability to construct impressive vocal melodies over utterly simple chord progressions. But none beats this ballad - composed and sung by Hensley over just 2 chords! Yup, a mere two chord song that gained the band massive a single success in and across many European nations many years after the album released, scoring the coveted number 1 single position and staying there for a massive thirteen weeks, earning the band a Golden Lion award.

Salisbury – Heep should have mined more of this ground in their future takes which makes this particular track even dearer. You don’t find many of these in there extensive catalogue. Check out the passage where Paul Newton grooves on the rhythm section providing an excellent backing for the guitars to rip. This 16 odd minute epic is laden with complete orchestration, harmony vocals, guitar solos, flutes, soulful singing, and what not!