SALISBURY

This is one of those records that could only have been made in the late 60s/early 70s when experiments with epic concept pieces and orchestras were de rigueur. Everyone from The Nice, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Yes, Colosseum and, perhaps more surprisingly, Uriah Heep was getting in on the act. Salisbury is one of the more successful examples in the genre and a real curio/standout in their discography.

The album opens with the menacing Bird of Prey which features some impressively spooky backing vocals (Heep were known as the Beach Boys of heavy metal), banshee wails from lead singer David Byron plus a mellotron all adding to the drama. The sudden shift to a light-hearted coda complete Hammond organ and "ooh-aah" backing vocals does seem a bit out of sync with the first part, however. The bucolic The Park drifts along very pleasingly with jazzy organ and guitar interludes, while the Time To Live packs a grungy and blues-oriented punch. Lady in Black is a catchy folk singalong that conjures up visions of the mist-covered aftermath of a battlefield, while High Priestess is an upbeat pop-metal song that sounds a bit like 10cc from the Sheet Music era (probably the dual guitars).

The highpoint and centrepiece of the album is the 17-minute title track. The thought of a band like Heep attempting a lengthy, orchestrated concept piece might produce sniggers from some of a more cynical nature, but this is a triumph and certainly a cut above Pink Floyd's similar experiment on Atom Heart Mother from the same year. Mick Box excels with some great extended wah-wah guitar soloing and the whole band get the chance to show their instrumental dexterity, with the brass and woodwind arrangements complementing them perfectly. Despite the length there are enough musical ideas to maintain interest throughout the piece. The album as a whole deserves five stars because there is really not a poor track, and it's just a shame that they never attempted anything this varied or ambitious again.