Uriah Heep ~ Salisbury (1971) CD 2004 Sanctuary Records EU •• NEW ••

Description: Uriah Heep Salisbury Expanded • Deluxe Edition AUDIO CD BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED Sanctuary Records SMRCD049 UPC | 5050749204929 Made in the EU 1971, 2004 TRACK LISTING 01. Bird Of Prey 02. The Park 03. Time To Live 04. Lady In Black 05. High Priestess 06. Salisbury BONUS TRACKS 07. Simon The Bullet Freak (US Album Version) 08. Here I Am (Previously Unreleased Version) 09. Lady In Black (Previously Unreleased Version) 10. High Priestess (Single Edit) 11. Salisbury (Previously Unreleased Single Edit) 12. The Park (Previously Unreleased Version) 13. Time To Live (Previously Unreleased Version) Barely had Uriah Heep returned from the road in promotion of their debut album Very 'Eavy Very Umble than they found themselves back in London's Lansdowne Studios and beavering away at a follow-up. The fruits of their labor were released in February of 1971, a mere eight months after the first record. In spite of the music industry's celebrated watchfulness of the bottom line, such hasty business practice barely exists in 2003, and for justifiable reasons. However, despite all the pressure that was being placed upon them, Uriah Heep still managed to deliver the goods. Not only had the quintet's many live appearances accelerated the vital process of inter-band bonding, early scenes of triumph in places like Hamburg also provided them with a major confidence boost. Due to the fact that Ken Hensley had joined Heep too late to be credited as a writer for Very 'Eavy Very Umble, the keyboard player/guitarist was understandably keen to stamp his personality upon the album that was eventually titled Salisbury. Of course, the subject of who would write what was destined to become a thorny issue for the group. However, composer credits for the six tracks that appeared on the original vinyl version of Salisbury were evenly distributed between guitarist Mick Box (co-writer of three cuts), singer David Byron (likewise) and bassist Paul Newton (co-writer of one). Hensley himself chipped in solely with the album's hit single 'Lady In Black', plus 'The Park' and 'High Priestess', as well as contributing to 'Time To Live' and the highly ambitious title track. It was a sign of the quintet's buoyant self-belief that they would attempt a 16-and-a-half-minute orchestral epic featuring string and woodwind instruments, but that's exactly what Uriah Heep did. The song concerned occupied most of a side of the album's original vinyl format, and was based upon an incident that took place when Heep played a venue called Alex Disco in Salisbury, Wiltshire. When the show had overrun, a pair of over-enthusiastic bouncers prevented the band from playing a final encore by turning off the power and giving them just ten minutes to vacate the premises. "So all the people who'd been at the gig came onstage and helped to carry everything outside," explains Ken Hensley. "The whole evening could have been spoilt, but the crowd helped us out so we decided to dedicate the track to them." And my, what a track! Ebbing and flowing through a variety of moods and tempos, 'Salisbury' is a fine summation of the young Heep's lofty sense of ambition. Perhaps surprisingly, the band never performed the epic song in its entirety, though Hensley did so as a solo artist. Perhaps the thought was just a little bit too scary. Indeed, Ken has no recollection of the subject even being raised as a possibility at the time. Recording the thing was quite enough. "At that time, everybody involved in the band - including Gerry (Bron, producer) - was really open minded," noted Hensley years later. "So was the entire business. You could do a track of that length. In fact, we were one of the pioneers of that, along with Deep Purple who had their 'Concerto For Group And Orchestra'. We were just writing songs, rehearsing and experimenting, and we were allowed to do it. [But] we were probably still trying to find a key musical direction." When one considers the overall strength of the Salisbury album, the latter part of that statement probably sounds a mite dismissive. But the band’s sound was indeed growing and solidifying all the time. Given the string of drummers that had already traversed their ranks, it was certainly a bonus that a reasonably permanent line-up had been settled upon. Box, Byron, Hensley and Newton had all been mainstays of Very 'Eavy Very Umble, of course, but when Nigel 'Ollie' Olsson accepted a more lucrative offer to re-join Elton John, the latest incumbent to warm the drum stool was ex-Bakerloo / Supertramp sticksman Keith Baker, who would remain with them for just one album. Spinal Tap, eat your heart out! Vocally, Uriah Heep were also going from strength to strength. 'Bird Of Prey', with its incredible arrangement and falsetto harmonies, was a fine way to begin just about any album. "The first time that we rehearsed 'Bird Of Prey' was in a pub... how unusual for Heep!" chuckles Box now. "It was also the first time that we used step harmonies effectively, as opposed to block harmonies. That became another one of our trademarks. In fact, we still sometimes open our show with it." Elsewhere among the album's highlights was 'Lady In Black', another song that is still heard at Uriah Heep concerts. Even more than three decades later, its familiar acoustic guitar-driven strains are guaranteed to push audiences over the edge. Hensley wrote the track following a November snowstorm in Bradford. Looking out of the window, he happened to see a dark-female in a black coat walking down the street, her locks flying the breeze. To this day, Ken has no idea why he happened to mentally connect with her, but he is glad that he did so. Years later, in 1977, 'Lady In Black' was reissued as a single and topped the charts for 13 weeks in Germany! This incredible feat won the band the European equivalent of a Grammy Award, of which they are still rightly proud. "I never met the woman, I never knew who she was, but she helped to create the song," shrugs Ken. "It just became a vehicle for expressing other thoughts about different things. It was totally imaginary from that point on." Uriah Heep's only frustration with Salisbury was its packaging. In the UK, the album surfaced in a sleeve featuring a tank ploughing its way through billowing orange fog. Hensley in particular was disappointed with the artwork, but with the band away on tour their record company had only been able to describe the design over the phone! In America, where the track 'Bird Of Prey' had already been commandeered for the domestic release of Very 'Eavy Very Umble, it was replaced with 'Simon The Bullet Freak' (a B-side in the UK), but the US version of the album appeared in what Hensley later called: "a sleeve equally as bad." On a more satisfying note, Salisbury was greeted by marginally more complimentary reviews than its predecessor. They also toured America for the first time, with great success. However, in real commercial terms, Uriah Heep's breakthrough was still another two albums away. ~ Dave Ling (Dave Ling writes for Classic Rock magazine and is the author of the Uriah Heep book Wizards And Demons) SHIPPING TO USA ONLY Buyer Pays Shipping 1st CD $3.99... each additional $1.50 CDs will only be combined with other CDs or DVDs To qualify for the combined discount, all items must be purchased together, paid for with 1 payment, and shipped all together in 1 shipment. Please use the add to cart feature, once you have ordered all your desired items, proceed to checkout to complete your order with the combined total.

Price: 12.98 USD

Location: Gold River, California

End Time: 2024-02-19T01:00:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: 3.99 USD

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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 30 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

Artist: Uriah Heep

CD Grading: Mint (M)

Record Label: Sanctuary Records

Release Title: Salibury • Expanded • Deluxe Edition

Case Type: Jewel Case: Standard

Case Condition: Mint (M)

MPN: 5050749204929

Inlay Condition: Mint (M)

Catalog Number: SMRCD049

Edition: Deluxe Edition, Expanded

Type: Album

Format: CD

Language: English

Release Year: 1971, 2004

Producer: Gerry Bron

Era: 1970s

Style: Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Album Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, British Rock, British Heavy Metal, Progressive/Art Rock, Rock, AOR, NWOBHM, Art Rock, British Metal/NWOBHM

Features: Import

Run Time: 01:11:02

Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Blues Rock, Progressive, Metal, Blues

Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom