Uriah Heep, "Salisbury" (Vertigo 6360 028) VG/G+ RARE 1st U.K. Issue

$

80

1st U.K. press of Uriah Heep's second album "Salisbury", released in the U.K. in February of 1971. Record acquired by a Brooklyn-based vintage shop that specializes in vinyl from a private collection. Previous owner was an audiophile who played exclusively on high-grade equipment.
Grading Vinyl graded in-store conservatively and competitively: NM - A nearly perfect record, never played. Never assigned unless a record is sealed. (Open records that look unplayed are graded down to VG+) VG+ - Some signs that the record was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. May contain slight scuffs or light scratches that do not affect play. VG - Light surface noise upon play, but will not overpower the music. No skipping. G+ - Surface noise and groove wear will affect play and overpower the music in some sections. No skipping. G - Surface nose and groove wear will overpower the music in most sections. Record may contain skipping in some sections.
Label: Vertigo ?– 6360 028 Genre: Rock/Heavy Metal/Psychedelic Rock/Prog Rock Condition: Vinyl/VG, Sleeve/G+ (Cover features ring wear and corner bumps, extensive spine rubbing (but no tears), see photos) Runout codes: (Side 1) 6360028 1Y* 1 420 1 9 / (Side 2) 6360028 2Y* 1 1 9
Track listing:
Side A

A1       Bird Of Prey - 4:05

A2       The Park - 5:38

A3       Time To Live - 4:02

A4       Lady In Black - 4:33 

B1       High Priestess - 3:39

B2       Salisbury - 16:22

From Wikipedia:

Salisbury is the second studio album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released in February 1971 by Vertigo Records. It was produced by Gerry Bron.

Unlike their first album, songwriting credits for fully half of the record were attributed to Ken Hensley alone, as opposed to the debut's collaborative partnership of frontman David Byron and guitarist Mick Box. Soon after the release, drummer Keith Baker left the band, replaced by Ian Clarke (from another Vertigo band, Cressida). With Clarke, the band embarked on their first US tour, supporting Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf.

According to AllMusic reviewer, the album perfected Uriah Heep's "blend of heavy metal power and prog rock complexity" and " is too unfocused for the casual listener but offers enough solid songs for the Uriah Heep completist." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff described the album as "a dark downer" and "a failed experiment", imputing the cause of the slip to the "prog rock nightmare" of the title track and to "the hatchet production job". William Pinfold of Record Collector, reviewing the 2016 expanded re-issue, considered Salisbury "a collection notable for tightness, precision and a confident breadth of talent", and praised the band for the album's variety.

One of the album's tracks, "Lady in Black", described as "a stylishly arranged tune that builds from a folk-styled acoustic tune into a throbbing rocker full of ghostly harmonies and crunching guitar riffs", became a hit in Germany upon its re-release in 1977 (earning the band the Radio Luxemburg Lion award).

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