Uriah Heep - Salisbury (1971)

[ravenstone]

Uriah Heep - Salisbury (1971) {1990, US 1st Press}

MP3 CBR 320 kbps ~ 117 Mb | Full Scans | 00:38:09
Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock | Mercury #811 389-2

Salisbury is the second album released by British rock band Uriah Heep. The album features forays into both jazz-fusion on "The Park", and progressive rock on the band's first large-scale composition, the 16-minute title track featuring a 24-piece orchestra. It also includes the largely acoustic ballad "Lady In Black." The connection of the artwork to the title is readily explained. Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, is an Army training-area. On the front of the album sleeve is a British Chieftain tank. The original LP release was a gatefold-sleeve. Inside is a b/w picture of a British tank of the First World War, over which were printed Hensley's comments on each track. Later reissues would be in a single sleeve. The American release featured a different sleeve image, as did the original Canadian pressings. Future Canadian pressings used the UK artwork.

Quote

On their second album, Uriah Heep jettisons the experiments that weighed down Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble and works toward perfecting their blend of heavy metal power and prog rock complexity. Salisbury tips the band's style in the prog direction, containing one side of songs and one side dominated by a lengthy and ornate epic-length composition. Highlights on the song-oriented side include "Bird of Prey," a soaring rocker that blends furious, power chord-fuelled verses with spacy, keyboard-drenched instrumental breaks, and "Lady in Black," a stylishly arranged tune that builds from a folk-styled acoustic tune into a throbbing rocker full of ghostly harmonies and crunching guitar riffs. The big surprise on this side is "The Park," a ballad-style song built on a light blend of acoustic guitars and ethereal keyboards. It has a gentle, appealingly psychedelic feel that is topped off by David Byron's falsetto vocal and some soaring harmonies from Byron and Ken Hensley. However, Salisbury is undone by its title track, the 16-minute track that dominates the album's entire second side: it feels more like a lengthy jam session instead of a prog epic with distinctive and carefully crafted sections. Another problem is that the overly busy brass and woodwind arrangements that have been grafted onto it intrude on the group's sound instead of fleshing it out. All in all, Salisbury is too unfocused for the casual listener but offers enough solid songs for the Uriah Heep completist. Collector's note: The American version of this album had different cover art (the tank on the British edition was replaced by a gruesome image of man tearing out of his own skin) and replaced "Bird of Prey" with a bluesy B-side entitled "Simon the Bullet Freak." ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music

Tracklist:

01. High Priestess [03:44]
02. The Park [05:46]
03. Time To Live [04:05]
04. Lady In Black [04:47]
05. Simon The Bullet Freak [03:28]
06. Salisbury [16:20]

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