Following their bluesy heavy rock debut ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble, Uriah Heep presented themselves on their second LP with an expanded musical horizon through the integration of progressive jazz and classical elements. This was mainly due to Ken Hensley's talent as a songwriter, who this time wrote or co-wrote all the tracks. With Keith Baker as their new drummer and producer Gerry Bron, they recorded their new album Salisbury at London's Lansdowne Studios in October/November 1970. It was released in February 1971, once again on the legendary Vertigo label. Named after a town in south-west England, near Salisbury Plain with the largest military training area in Europe, the cover image of a British battle tank explains its name.

In all of the songs, which are very different from each other, the quintet perfected their mix of heavy metal power, complex progressive rock and acoustic ballads. The album concludes with the central masterpiece Salisbury, a 16-minute complex composition that artfully varies between classical, prog and hard rock, enhanced by the use of a 24-piece brass section conducted by John Fiddy. The album was revolutionary for the 1970s and was completely underestimated and misunderstood by critics. The songs are innovative, thoughtful, full of imagination and passion, and without question, the LP is a masterpiece of progressive rock.