Ken Hensley & Uriah Heep

It's time to celebrate the music of the Very 'eavy, Very 'umble Ken Hensley & Uriah Heep. Ken was the driving powerhouse force behind Uriah Heep between 1970 and 1980, featuring on no less than thirteen studio albums. Who can forget the fiery vision of the tank rolling across Salisbury Plain on their second album cover, or the reflective silver third album cover where you could quite literally Look At Yourself in the mirror. Ken Hensley has always been one of the Demons and Wizards of heavy keyboard prog, and his song-writing skills were put to full use with the concept album, The Magician's Birthday, featuring fantasy cover artwork by Roger Dean. Ken is a Free Spirit who's always Eager to Please his devoted fans, and he  relished the Sweet Freedom to pursue his dream in the magical Wonderworld of prog. In 1973,  it was a Return to Fantasy for Ken's first solo outing, Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf, a High and Mighty album of hard and heavy prog which burned briefly but brightly like a Firefly. All was not well in the Uriah Heep camp though with singer David Byron - the Innocent Victim of alcohol abuse - being replaced by John Lawton. The three albums with John Lawton From Time to Time offered a Glimpse of Glory, but no one could quite match the epic soaring vocals of Fallen Angel David Byron. Finally, Ken Hensley left Uriah Heep behind in 1980,  embarking on a new series of Conquests in his burgeoning solo career.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 07 2024 at 08:46

Ken at Helsinki, 2019 (Wiki)



Recommended solo albums:

Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf (1973)
Eager to Please (1975)

doesnt get much better than this. bird of prey is amazing.

Edited by ProgJourney - May 25 2021 at 05:49

Spaciousmind wrote: Paul if you are featuring Ken Hensley, you should include Weed self titled from 1971.

Spaciousmind wrote: Paul if you are featuring Ken Hensley, you should include Weed self titled from 1971.

Pre-Uriah Heep bands and albums featuring Ken Hensley

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - June 13 2021 at 13:10

dr wu23 wrote: The Heep.....everything up through Firefly was decent..after that not so much. The debut is still my favorite  though the next 4 are all good.  I have The Gods on cd ..never heard of 'Head Machine' nor 'Weed'.....I have an original vinyl of the first 'Toe Fat '. Still looking for a good used copy of the second...though Hensley is not on that one. Head Machine on original label goes for big bucks these days $300-1,000...incredible what people want for these old things. You can get a reissue on cd and vinyl for $30. Same with 'Weed'... big money on first vinyls...but they are out there on cd and reissue.

dr wu23 wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: dr wu23 wrote: The Heep.....everything up through Firefly was decent..after that not so much. The debut is still my favorite  though the next 4 are all good.  I have The Gods on cd ..never heard of 'Head Machine' nor 'Weed'.....I have an original vinyl of the first 'Toe Fat '. Still looking for a good used copy of the second...though Hensley is not on that one. Head Machine on original label goes for big bucks these days $300-1,000...incredible what people want for these old things. You can get a reissue on cd and vinyl for $30. Same with 'Weed'... big money on first vinyls...but they are out there on cd and reissue. Head Machine were The Gods under a different name, and if you like Heavy Prog, then I'm pretty sure Weed will grow on you, just as it did with me after hearing the album again yesterday.  I listened to both Head and Weed....not bad ,typical proto prog for that time......I have the Gods -Genesis cd...with 4 bonus tracks and I will eventually get To Samuel a Son on cd. Some trivia info...originally The Gods were Mick Taylor, Hensley, John Glascock(Tull later) and Brian Glascock..then Taylor quit and Hensley reformed the band with Newton, Kerslake, and Konas..,then Greg Lake joined and ready to record some muisc...Lake left to form Crimson. They did 2 lp's and two singles(these are the 4 tracks on the cd reissue) Then they became Toe Fat...etc..backing Cliff Bennett.,,,before Hensley, Newton  did Heep.

  1968: Spice - The Lansdowne Tapes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwnZfuiJ64I&list=OLAK5uy_kF0KvDpGGJ98fLKdrVU9LjqcxKnQ7_frs

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - June 02 2021 at 13:28

 1969: The Gods - To Samuel a Son - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRk4CntKAMg&list=OLAK5uy_kAo13yoikFjOgYc-Syh7gn64sllLNDggY