![]() This contrast in styles seems a little ridiculous, but somehow – through talent or sheer ballsiness – Heep make it work very effectively. With a solid sound, guitarist Mick Box hammers his way through a chunky hard rock riff in the left speaker channel, while in the right, vocalist David Byron wails in falsetto rather unnecessarily. With the album’s opening cut ‘Bird of Prey’ clinging onto some obvious hard rock tropes, fans of ‘Very ’Eavy’ are given an easy entry point, since the simple riff appears to be a match for ‘Gypsy’ in its (then) uncompromising delivery. Numbering only six tracks – with the title cut taking up the lion’s share of the second side – it is the bravest moments of musical experimentation that ultimately leave the strongest impression. A couple of tracks appear to cling onto a hard rock blueprint but, on the whole, the album takes on a more pompous presence, creating music that takes in jazz, prog and classical influences along the way. Whatever the reasoning, ‘Salisbury’ is nothing like its predecessor. Maybe this was due to the band still attempting to find their niche and taking advantage of the freedom to experiment maybe Box already had a grander plan. ‘Salisbury’ (released just eight months after the debut), draws from a much broader musical palette than before. Having found an audience, it would have been easy for Mick Box and his merry band of musicians to knock out a near carbon copy for their second release, but the album that eventually emerged in February 1971 couldn’t have been any more different. While the release never troubled the UK album chart, its mix of blues, rock and occasional psychedelic leanings met with a devoted group of music fans. While it may not always be seen as favourably as some of 1970’s heavyweight hard rock discs, ‘Very ’Eavy Very ’Umble’ marked a more than credible beginning for British rockers Uriah Heep.
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