Ken Hensley sadly passed in November 2020 at the all too young age of 73. Here we have the posthumous release of the album he’d completed shortly before his untimely passing – My Book of Answers.
It’s quite an intriguing project being a collaboration with a Russian poet – Vladimir Emelin – with the paid meeting at Alicante airport leading to Ken putting some of Vladimir’s poems in to song. My Book of Answers being the result and the title chosen by Vladimir.
I suppose you could say that this is the last of a trilogy of posthumous albums from ex-Uriah Heep members who have passed recently. Trevor Bolder’s Sail the Rivers and Lee Kerslake’s Eleventeen being the other two.
Ken of course was around in Heep’s early classic period writing much of, for example, Demons and Wizards and much more besides. That huge, swirling Hammond organ sound becoming something of a Hensley trademark.
Post-Heep, Ken worked with the likes of Blackfoot and WASP as well as a productive solo career.
So what about My Book of Answers? To paraphrase a soccer cliché – it’s an album of two halves.
The first half featuring some brooding, moody, blues-tinted rockers. Unmistakenly Ken each well written and well performed. Lost (My Guardian) being the first. Have a look/listen:
Next up is Right Here, Right Now. This is (for those who remember it) The Hanging Tree from Heep’s marvellous Firefly album but with different words of course. The Hanging Tree being one of my favourite Heep songs so Right Here, Right Now being instantly accessible. The guitar work over the lead out is tasty.
The Cold Sacrifice and The Silent Scream both pretty good rockers too with plenty of nods back to the old Heep style.
Then the half-time break arrives in the form of Cover Girl. This doesn’t work for me I’m afraid. A bit of a nothing song plodding along too slowly and too stilted.
After Cover Girl Ken goes in to ballad mode. Light the Fire, Stand and the Darkest hour being a trio of samey-sounding songs which although well-constructed and featuring those familiar Hammond swirls don’t really (for me) get out of second gear. Rather pedestrian in my opinion.
However – Suddenly is a nice one to close out the album with it’s proggy feel. Liked that one. On the CD there’s a bonus track in the form of an alternative version of the Darkest Hour.
All in all – it’s not a bad album by any means though one does get the feeling that the ballads could have been beefed up.
Farwell and rest in peace Ken Hensley. Thanks for all the great music over the decades. Must be a heck of a band you could get together behind those Pearly Gates with all the ex-Heepsers up there – Trevor Bolder, Lee Keslake, Gary Thain etc.