SALISBURY

First of all, I have to say this is a fantastic album! All the tracks on here show Heep were a band that were full of ideas, and this shows in the creative experimentation of their song writing. All the tracks are completely different and no two tracks are even remotely the same.

"Bird of Prey" opens the album, with David Byron´s immortal scream that comes swooping down like an eagle going in for the kill. The vocal harmonies on this album are incredible and remind me of later albums by Queen and The Sweet. Mick Box is the king of the wah wah pedal and delivers a fine solo.

On "The Park" things get softer with Byron singing in a sweet falsetto voice. Listening to this song you can actually picture yourself in a quiet park on a Sunday afternoon. There are quite a few progressive time changes in this song and at times it goes off in a slightly jazz direction, before coming back into the song again. Byron at his best!

"Time to live" is about someone leaving prison after twenty years behind bars. Basically he has to make up for lost time and experience what this life still has to offer. Again, Byron delivers an amazing emotonal performance, while Box delivers a well thought out solo that compliments the song perfectly.

"Lady in Black" probably needs no introduction, a hypnotic anti war song with just two chords! This song was a worldwide hit and just shows that a song with a strong melody and two chords can still be a clasic!

"High Priestess" is more of a feelgood song about friends (or together people) who are on the same wavelength.

"Salisbury" is the standout for me. The organ and orchestra begin together and the song has an organ solo by Hensley, an excellent guitar solo by Box, and throughout the song you can clearly hear the clarinets and flutes weaving through the music. Paul Newton´s bass guitar is also crystal clear throughout the song. The lyrics are about lost love and "longing" and work beautifully with the orchesta.

Spectacular song writing indeed!