01	Bird Of Prey						04:10
	02	The Park						05:38
	03	Time To Live						03:59
	04	Lady In Black						04:41
	05	High Priestess						03:39
	06	Salisbury						16:06
	07	Return To Fantasy						05:50
	08	Shady Lady						04:47
	09	Devil's Daughter						04:50
	10	Beautiful Dream						04:52
	11	Prima Donna						03:09
	12	Your Turn To Remember						04:22
	13	Showdown						04:19
	14	Why Did You Go						03:52
	15	A Year Or A Day						04:24

1971 "Vertigo" / 1975 "Bronze"


Salisbury
January, 1971


Lineup:
Mick Box (G)
David Byron (LV)
Ken Hensley (K G LV on Lady In Black)
Paul Newton (B)
Keith Baker (D)


Overview - The sophomore album improves, yet Heep still doesn't have their full direction yet. While an outstanding collection of classic Heep songs, the flow and arrangement of songs lack consistency. Still, a great album. Grade: A

note - American Order:

High Priestess
The Park
Time To Live
Lady in Black
Simon the Bullet Freak
Salisbury

1. Bird of Prey - Was David ever more powerful than on the Salisbury version of this song? This piece has every element of classic Heep. Grade: A+

2. The Park - A lovely acoustical intro leads into David's falsetto. Each verse adds a new harmony vocal to great effect leading to one of the most unique breaks in prog-rock history where a guitar-organ counterpoint alters with silence. Grade: A+

3. Time To Live - Another Gypsy-style stomper with incredible vocals by David. Grade: A

4. Lady In Black - A very simple tune (only 2 chords!) but so effectively done. Most bands today can barely handle three chords, let alone know what to do with them. Ken sings lead, his voice perfect for the mood. Grade: A+

5. High Priestess - A stunning intro leads into a wonderfully melodic piece with more of Heep's stunning harmonies. Mick's guitar soars. Grade: A+

6. Salisbury - A major milestone in prog-rock history, this is the greatest of all the epic orchestral pieces ever done. Not Deep Purple's Concerto or April, not Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, not even the Moody Blues' Days Of Future Passed can surpass this great orchestral arrangement and a masterful performance by the band, especially Paul. Grade: A+
note - There's also a good single edit on Best Of...Part 1.
Boris Shnitzer (Nazaret Ellit, Israel) writes "Salisbury...is my personal fav. The best thing ever done by anyone!!!"

Simon The Bullet Freak - (Bonus track - 'B' side of Look At Yourself) The best blues track Heep ever did. Very loose and simple, this great arrangement ties together Lady In Black with Gypsy. Great lyrics. Grade: A+
note - There are two versions, the other being on The Lansdowne Tapes. I prefer the latter.

Here Am I - (Bonus track released on The Lansdowne Tapes and Time of Revelation) One of Ken's most beautiful tunes, it is reminiscent of Spice with some of Heep's best harmonies ever. This song always sends chills up my spine, with its long, gentle buildup to the heavy, Wishbone Ash-ish break. Great soft and hard guitar work. Grade: A+
note - The Time of Revelation version is the superior version, with a much clearer sound. There are several subtle differences between the two.



Original Liner Notes
Side one, band one is always important to an album and has to be chosen carefully. We chose Bird Of Prey partly because we open with it on live gigs and because it represents the heavier side of the band. Written in Richmond last summer.
From a contrast point of view, The Park follows well. It began as a poem I wrote in Stanwell Villiage, Middlesex, last August. The music was composed on a Harmonium we found in a beautiful house in Hamburg a little while later. The lyric takes us into the drifting, essentially reflective instrumental section and the final verse. Here the band interprets a sadly incessant life-trend.

Time To Live was put together at rehersal in Chiswick, London in August and tells of a guy getting back to the world and his woman after a long time in prison (a maternal form of captivity). David, whilst nicely into his own lyric, isn't singing from experience!

Lady In Black, written early November in Bradfor, was inspired by the vision of an unknown girl and is unusually contructed using four acoustic guitars as the basic and a heavy vocal chant arrangement. Looking back, it could be based around a nice time in Munich.

Side two and High Priestess, which speaks simply of the happiness that can be created by "together" people. Written in Germany early September and nice and heavy - perhaps.

Side two and Simon The Bullet Freak who is everywhere and nowhere! At war and not really into it, he is obviously more in conflict with himself as a result. Written in mid-November in West Hampstead, London.

That brings us to Salisbury, title track, and our first trip into large-scale composing. Complimented so excellently and unusually by John Fiddy's arrangement for brass and woodwind. There are floods of spaced-out sound and then almost baroque movement by cor-anglais and flutes around David's vocal. Organ and orchestra begin together to get into the basic context of the piece. The opening vocal leads into the organ solo driven hard by Paul's bass and the orchestra grooving incredibly! The whole thing comes together finally before an abrupt mood change lays it down for more vocal and Mick's beautifully contructed guitar solo. There are so many different sounds going on it's easy to pick up something new each time around! The opening comes back briefly before the climax and the gentle bass clarinets in "fifths" which put us all slowly back on the ground. This track was a complete gas to record, it really was!

This, our second album, is a sincere exposure of our progression and we await your judgement. Thanks again to everyone and more for the chance to make this record and we are already looking ahead to the next one.

Ken Hensley, 1970



Reissue Liner Notes
Salisbury was Uriah Heep's second official release of twelve-inch plastic. Recorded again at Lansdowne Studios in London's Holland Park, the band put together an interesting array of material that was to contain the epic title track, their most ambitious project to date which was in many ways years ahead of its time. These recording sessions were also to provide the band with one of their best selling songs ever, Lady In Black, although the impact of this song was not to be realised for quite some years. Lady In Black was re-released in 1977 as a single and climbed rapidly to the top of the German charts. The song was such a successful hit it retained the number one spot for thirteen weeks! This was enough to earn the band the coveted Golden Lion award, the European equivalent to a Grammy.

The band's membership had altered since the release of their debut album Very 'Eavy Very 'Umble, but was to remain stable for the recording period of this album. Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley and Paul Newton had remained but Nigel "Ollie" Olsson, the latest in a string of drummers who contributed to the debut album had departed to play drums with the Elton John band. Olsson later went on to become a successful producer. Not deterred with his departure, the band replaced Olsson with Keith Baker, formerly of Bakerloo. Baker only stayed on board for this one album and left due to the band's rigorous touring schedule which was to prove too much for him. Until recently no one from the band had any contact with him, then in 1993 he was located by Paul Newton, both who now play in the local Midlands music scene (on occasions together).

Musically, Salisbury proved to be an experimental time for the band as the writing relationship between Box, Byron and Hensley was developing at a rapid pace. Produced again by Gerry Bron, the album once released, was to contain only six tracks, although the title track was a sixteen and a half minute epic containing brass and woodwind instruments. Salisbury was indeed an ambitious project for the band to have tackled at this early stage in their career. Salisbury, however, was largely ignored by the British press and it was to be another year before the band made any serious headway with record sales.

The US and Canadian release on Mercury differed from the original UK release. Bird Of Prey, the UK opening track for the album, had already appeared on the US release of Heep's debut album. In place of this, Simon The Bullet Freak (later used as a B-side in the UK) was added. The cover art was also vastly different. Like the first album Salisbury had no singles set for release in the UK although Lady In Black backed with Simon The Bullet Freak was released on the Continent. Simon The Bullet Freak did grace the U.S. and Canadian versions of Salisbury in place of another album track, Bird Of Prey. Lady In Black was to receive a Grammy in Germany later on in the band's career. Simon The Bullet Freak penned by Ken Hensley was an anti-war song written for the mood of the times. It was originally recorded on 8-track and was an outtake from the Salisbury sessions in 1970.

c 1991, 1995 Robert M. Corich


Artist Comments
Mick Box 1995 | Ken Hensley 1995

MICK BOX
Sept. 1995 (on tour in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)

This being our second album we still showed that we were willing to experiment by using a 22-piece brass and woodwind section on the title track, which was nearly 17 minutes long. I remember when we were recording the brass section adn my lengthy wah-wah guitar solo came in I saw all these trained session musicians throw their headphones to the floor in horror, and even to this day you can hear the loud click of the wah-wah plugged through the Marshall stack on volume number 10 as the solos begin.

Salisbury was written mostly in the 'Fox & Hounds' pub in Chiswick, Longdon, where we had many a beer, writing and rehearsing for the album, which I think has a very special feel to it. The Park was written by Ken on a harmonium that was in the house in Hamburg, Germany, where the band was staying together for a while between tours. David's vocals on this track are stunning. Lady In Black shows a blend of acoustic and electric all in one song on which Kenny took the lead vocal for the first time. The number is a very infectious chant, later in the 70's it won the European version of the Grammy Award - the Golden Lion Award, of which we are very proud. The album's cover was a direct result of the times and the Hippie movement, showing something as mighty as a war tank crushing something as beautiful as a flower. This remastered version with 2 bonus tracks is a must for Heep fans young and old, to add to their collection and I hope you have as much fun listening to it as we had making it.


KEN HENSLEY
Oct. 1995, St. Louis, USA

Recording Salisbury was quite an experience! From the smell of curry in the control room that got me thrown out during the orchestral sessions, to the fact that Lady In Black became not only a huge hit but is used in German schools to teach English! (remember, this song has two chords and a chorus with no words!), to the fact that, in those days, FM radio would play the entire title track!

The Park has always been one of my favourite songs but, though I don't listen to this album much, the thing that strikes me is that we were able to explore so many different musical directions and themes. As the band grew in fame, that aspect went away and contributed a great deal to my frustration and disappointment.





Return To Fantasy
June, 1975

Lineup:
Mick Box (G)
David Byron (LV)
Ken Hensley (K G)
John Wetton (B K)
Lee Kerslake (D)
Special Guest - Mel Collins (sax)
BJ Cole (steel guitar)


Overview - Heep achieved their highest ranking ever with this album (#7 in UK) as John Wetton replaced Gary Thain, who was kicked out due to extensive drug use. Gary's death only a few months later from an overdose was a huge loss to the band and the music world. It is an excellent album, nearly as good as The Magician's Birthday, but several of the songs are over-produced. Grade: A+
note: There are several demos officially published, possibly with Gary Thain on bass, that are much rougher but quite good nonetheless. See below for more information.

1. Return To Fantasy - This classic Heep tune kicks off with a great synth intro from Ken. A superb melody line coupled with more fantastical magic lyrics and wonderful harmonies. Although not as melodic in his playing style as Gary Thain, John's bass really drives this song and fits in well with the Heep style. Grade: A+
note: There is a single edit of this song and, as far as single edits go, it's one of the best. Cuts off most of the intro and fades out early, but there's little splicing inbetween.

2. Shady Lady - A good rocker following the smoother, more polished style of Wonderworld, this features some great performances from every band member, especially the twin guitars of Mick and Ken and, once again, John's driving bass. David's vocals are excellent, occasionally approaching rap. However, and especially after listening to the demos mentioned above, this could've been a lot tougher. Grade: A

3. Devil's Daughter - Best of the rock tunes on this album, with a nice riff from Mick. The break with Mick's guitar and Ken's synth is one of the highest points on the album as they duet, then echo in alternating solos, duet again, and Mick fires off a hot, but too short, solo. Again, a great band performance with appropriate production work this time. Grade: A

4. Beautiful Dream - One of the best Heep tunes ever. There are two versions offered on the remaster and both are superb. The demo is much rougher, the melody line is not nearly as powerful, and Lee's drumming is boring, but the background vocals are much stronger and there is some very haunting organ work near the end. I prefer the album version.
David in particular turns in one of his finest performances ever, from his soft, ethereal vocals on the break to his banshee wails on the chorus. Lovely keyboard work by Ken. This is Lee's best drumming on the album, as he carefully selects appropriate rhythms and instrumentation to fit the many different moods presented. Grade: A (demo) A+ (album)

5. Prima Donna - A good l'il toe-tapper. Again, there are two versions with the demo on Time Of Revelation. Big difference between the two, of which I greatly prefer the demo version. Where the album version has horns filling in the sound, playing the licks and burying Ken, the demo goes for Ken honky tonking on the ivories or the organ to fill the sound. The whole band, especially Dave and Lee, sound much more inspired on the demo. Listening to the bass part, I'm convinced that this is Gary playing. The background vocals, however, are far superior on the album. Once again, it's a shame that the demo version was faded out. Grade: A (demo) B+ (album)

6. Your Turn to Remember - One of the best laid back, mid-tempo songs Heep did. Very relaxed, with a strong Eagles influence. The lyrics are a little simple at times but a nice arrangement with more great harmonies. Another fun driving song to sing along with. Grade: A

7. Showdown - This is Real Turned On revisited in a great way. Ken absolutely wails on the slide while Mick smokes on the main solo. Lee and John do a great powerhouse rhythm section while David sounds like he's absolutely ready for a "Showdown." :-)
The demo version is significantly different and not quite as good, although Gary drives this song better than John. Ken's organ is turned up and his slide turned down. Dave is not inspired enough yet. Grade: B+ (demo) A+ (album)

8. Why Did You Go - While the other album versions maintain the feel of the original demos, on this song it was changed completely. While the album version is a very nice country ballad, due to BJ Cole's steel guitar (I believe Heep's only country song ever), the demo is an intense gospel tune, one of the most intensly spiritual songs I've ever heard by a secular group, even though the lyrics are not religious. The band, and David in particular, are superb. Grade: A+ (demo) A- (album)

9. A Year or a Day - From the soft ominous beginning through the buildup of the first verse, you know this is going to be a Heep classic. It's the first heavy song in three albums to rely on the acoustic guitar. Excellent use of dynamics. David is fabulous in coloring from an entire pallet of emotions. Grade: A+

Shout It Out - (Bonus track - 'B' side of Prima Donna) The first time the requisite Gypsy-type heavy plodder failed to make an album. Too bad, as this would've fit in great on side 1 with its dark, forbidding mood. It was probably too slow, despite an inspired performance by each member. Grade: A

Time Will Come - (Bonus track - 'B' side of Return To Fantasy) Very heavy, menacing riff that also would've fit in nicely on side 1. Lots of contrast thruout, sometimes in the use of volume, sometimes in the use of instruments and/or vocals, sometimes in the use of contrasting rhythms. Then a powerful, uplifting chorus bursts through brightly, taking us out of Black Sabbath-land. Despite Mick's guitar being mixed in too low at the beginning of his end solo, he turns in a great performance. Once again, a too-early fade on Mick. Grade: A



Return To Fantasy
Reissue Liner Notes
Return To Fantasy was Uriah heep's eighth studio album. Released in November 1975, it was the first of two albums to include bassist John Wetton in the band. John had previously played in Family, King Crimson and Roxy Music. He was later to gain mega fame and fortune in one of the eighties' biggest grossing acts, Asia.

With Gary Thain's replacement, John Wetton, in place, Uriah Heep rapidly commenced work on their next album. Entitled Return To Fantasy, the record was released in November 1975 and went on to become their biggest selling album to date, reaching number seven in the charts.

Rehersals and demo recording was commenced in early 1975 even before the ejection of Thain from the band. In fact, several tracks were recorded in Jan-March 1975.

Shout It Out was recorded during the Return To Fantasy sessions in mid 1975. Released as B-side to the single Prima Donna which was taken from the RTF album. Previously released on CD in 1991 - Rarities From The Bronze Age (Sequel - NEX CD 184). This version was re-mastered in November 1995.

Time Will Come was also recorded during the RTF sessions in mid 1975. Released as a B-side to an edited version of the title track of Return To Fantasy in Germany and Holland. First released in the UK and on CD on Rarities From The Bronze Age. Time Will Come is one of the rarest and most interesting tracks from the Byron era. Listen carefully at the beginning and you can even hear David coughing. The track itself features some excellent guitar breaks from Mr. Box.

Beautiful Dream (demo) was recorded in January-March, 1975 along with other demo versions of tracks that ultimately ended up on the RTF album. It is unclear even to this day with band members as to whether Gary Thain participated in this session before he was sacked. Your guess as to whether this is Thain or Wetton is as good as anyone's! If you're wondering what has happened to the other three demo tracks, check out the box set Time Of Revelation released in the UK, April 1996.

Full recording commenced in mid 1975, resulting in an album containing nine songs. The band themselves now look upon it with mixed feelings, but the public at the time loved it. Sales for the album were so rapid they catapulted it to number seven in the UK charts. In general, Return To Fantasy was looked upon the press and public as a vast improvement on the previous vinyl offering. An extensive tour was organized for the promotion of RTF with dates scheduled all over the world.

NME called the upcoming tour 'Year Long World Tour' as a headline and Gerry Bron, the band's manager, predicted that by the end of the year Uriah Heep would have played to one million people and travelled 300,000 air miles. In the eyes of the public Heep were mega stars and still destined to climb higher. The title of the next album High And Mighty could well have summed up the real situation for the band internally.

1975 was indeed a busy and lucrative year for the band. Not only was RTF climbing the charts but both Ken Hensley and David Byron released solo albums. 1976 was to prove a watershed year for this band that appeared to be going from strength to strength. That part of the story however, will have to wait until the release of the remastered High And Mighty album.

c 1991, 1996 Robert M. Corich



Return To Fantasy
Artist Comments
Mick Box | Ken Hensley
MICK BOX
London, England, November 12, 1995

This album introduced John Wetton on bass and vocals and, although the chemistry was not the same as with Gary Thain, we still produced a typical 'Heep' album. I think Return To Fantasy, the title track, is a classic 'Heep' song. Devil's Daughter made it into our 1994 live set and proved to be a very powerful stage number. This album reached number 7 in the UK charts and we embarked on a year long tour packed with incidents like me falling off the stage on the very first show in the USA (Louisville, Kentucky) breaking the radial bone in my right hand, which needed two casts a day. We didn't miss any dates, although I was in a lot of pain and the cast was eventually taken off at the end of the tour in Jamaica where I went for a rest with lee. We played to over one million people and travelled over 30,000 air miles and this was once again a very exciting time. The remastered CD of this album is great and I hope you enjoy the bonus tracks too.



KEN HENSLEY
St Louis, USA, January 27, 1996

I must admit, I don't listen to this record anymore. It's actually not a bad record, there are a couple of good tunes and solid performances throughout, but we rushed into it and it doesn't have any cohesiveness to it. Nor does it contain a hit single! In those days, we were really struggling internally, and we needed to slow down and re-group a bit. We never did, of course, and a lot of tragedy followed. But so did a couple of really good albums, at least in my humble opinion. Definitely not Heep at its best!






Uriah Heep - "Salisbury" (1971) All of Heep's true ambitions (and they were not few) came to the surface when Ken Hensley took over most of the songwriting in the band. "Salisbury" remains probably their most progressive album, most because of the 16-minute title-track. This was a very impressive and complex composition where the band's hard rock and choir-like vocal-harmonies melts together with brass and woodwinds, creating a very unique symphonic heavy-progressive piece. Influences from both jazz and classical music can be heard here. The atmospheric "The Park" is another progressive song. It starts as a ballad sung in a high falsetto and the arrangement includes organ and vibes that makes an incredible atmosphere. At the end it turns into a jazzy start/stop-instrumental part with the sound of birds making the park-atmosphere complete. Even the album's heaviest number, the opener "Bird of Prey", has got a slight progressive edge thanks to the Mellotron, organ and the operatic vocals that never were more over-the-top than on this track. But the best-known song here is actually the acoustic ballad "Lady in Black" that was performed on no less then four acoustic guitars and a wordless-chorus that sticks to your brain. A classic! The rest of the album was made up of the two decent rockers: the slow "Time to Live" and the faster and lighter "High Priestess". A very strong album even if they still struggled a bit to find a perfect amalgamation between the heavy and the progressive side of their music, but that would come very soon...


Uriah Heep - Salisbury

Released: 1971/1996
Label: Sanctuary/Castle
Cat. No.:
Total Time: 42:19


Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, May 2002
Every group has a long lost classic album or a sleeper amongst their catalog of offerings. Uriah Heep's is Salisbury. This album was the group's second effort released in 1971. This version is the remastered release of 1996. The original British cover art of a tank bursting through a cloud of orange smoke is included; the British edition was replaced by the U.S. cover showing a shocking image of man tearing out of his own skin. Ken Hensley provides commentary once again, but the notes were much too small to read. Note: I thought it would be of interest to collectors to see both covers so I included them with this review.

I have always had the opinion that Demons And Wizards was their tour de force album; I am having second thoughts after listening to this CD a few times. My first impression was that it was very good, upon a second and more introspective listen I was positively blown away by the diversity and content of this recording. "Bird of Prey" starts things off rocking in true Heep fashion, and then things begin to change quickly keeping your ears on alert at every turn. And that aspect is what kept me so interested every moment. The magnum opus prog-rock-jazz-fusion title track is over 16 minutes long taking up a majority of the second side (the original vinyl LP track listing is provided). The tides of musical ambiance are in constant state of flux, one moment there is a rocking guitar, and then Mick Box is off on a jazz fusion journey. Along with David Bryon's standout lead vocals, Hensley, Box, and Paul Newton (bass) provide harmonies that are incredibly appropriate during each instance of change during the songs. A big surprise is the ambient and ethereal "The Park," composed by the keyboard player Ken Hensley. The sound of brass is a new element; you will hear it interwoven throughout this album, giving the overall sound a jazz backdrop with a rock core pushing it along. It's an interesting and thought provoking blend showing how the band had developed exceedingly well after their first release. They wouldn't veer off into unknown territory too much more after this album was completed.

This is without question a prog-rock masterwork that was heavily underrated and under-appreciated by the critics. I read a review on the AMG site and I was appalled at the terrible review that this got ... two lousy stars. I guess you have to be a hardcore and sophisticated prog-rock listener to appreciate a gem like this when you hear it.

More about Salisbury:

Track Listing: Side One: Bird of Prey (4:05) / The Park (5:38) / Time To Live (4:02) / Lady In Black (4:33)

Side Two: High Priestess (3:39) / Salisbury (16:02)

Musicians:
David Byron - Vocals
Ken Hensley - Organ, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Piano, Harpsichord, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Slide Guitar, Vibraphone
Keith Baker - Drums
Mick Box - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals
Paul Newton - Bass, Guitar (Bass), Vocals

Contact:

Website: www.uriah-heep.com
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Email:

Discography

Very 'Eavy ... Very 'Umble (1970)
Salisbury (1971)
Look At Yourself (1971)
Demons And Wizards (1972)
The Magician's Birthday (1972)
Live January1973 (1973)
Sweet Freedom (1973)
Wonderworld (1974)
Return To Fantasy (1975)
High And Mighty (1976)
Firefly (1977)
Innocent Victim (1977)
Fallen Angel (1978)
Conquest (1980)
Abominog (1982)
Head First (1983)
Equator (1985)
Live At Shepperton '74 (1986)
Live In Europe 1979 (1986)
Live In Moscow (1988)
Raging Silence (1989)
Different World (1991)
Sea Of Light (1995)
Spellbinder Live (1996)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Live (1997
Sonic Origami (1998)
Future Echoes Of The Past (2000)
Acoustically Driven (2001)
Electrically Driven (2001)
The Magician's Birthday Party (2002)





Uriah Heep - "Return to Fantasy" (1975) Gary Thain had been badly electrocuted on stage during the "Wonderworld" tour. He was actually injured so much that he couldn't play the bass properly anymore and his drug-abuse wasn't making things better. So the band was unfortunately forced to tell him to leave. Sadly he was found dead of an overdose just a few months after he left. But Heep carried on, and it was quite a surprise that Thain's replacement was none other than ex-King Crimson bassist John Wetton. But not even Wetton and the fact that the album was Heep's best selling ever could prevent the album from being another disappointment. Just as "Wonderworld" it started very promising with a great title-track in the classic Heep-tradition. But the album got very uneven after that. I think "Beautiful Dream", "A Year or a Day" and "Devil's Daughter" are the only other noteworthy tracks here. The rest of the album sounded like a strange attempt at reducing the band to a straightforward blues/boogie-rock band. The songs themselves are not directly bad, but I would expect something more than this from such a sophisticated band as Heep actually were in the 70's. Maybe it was their intention to make "Return to Fantasy" a kind of a party-album, but it doesn't become more interesting for that reason.