Overview - A concept album of sorts. Look at the song titles and you can figure it out. Ken recorded this after leaving Toe Fat and immediately before joining Heep. I believe it's really his first solo album, and not too bad at that! Grade: B

1. Climax - You Tried To Take It All - Good opening rocker. Not a Gypsy but a good start with some nice harmonies and guitar work. Grade: B+

2. Make The Feeling Last - The harmonies that open this song would've fit very nicely on Very 'Eavy while the mellow feel to this piece is in much the same vein as Ken's first official solo album, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf. Also reminiscent of Here Am I. Grade: A-

3. You Must Come With Me - Heavy stomper that might have been a leftover track from the Toe Fat album. The riff sounds almost like a tribal chant. Once the verse begins, however, the track falls back into The Gods mode and loses some of the initial intensity. Grade: B-

4. The Girl Who Loved, The Girl Who Loved - Another ballad in the Here Am I mode, only with more of a mid-60's pop feel to it. Very nice vocals by Ken. Grade: B+

5. Orgasm - Clocking in at 9:00, this is a bit of a mini-epic and the album's centerpiece. Great Gypsy-style intro with some rough, chunky guitar and a progressive (for the time) chord progression. The song, however, is too plodding, especially with the length and gets too carried away with its theme although the climax gets the pace up to a better speed. Grade: B-

6. The First Time - Very Heepish opener, with an organ that's very reminiscent of Circle Of Hands. Unfortunately, that's about as exciting as the song gets until an a cappela break near the end that leads to a nice end. Grade: C+

7. Scattering Seeds - The tribal chant guitar from You Must Come With Me is reprised here and, like that song, the song quickly loses intensity once the verse begins. A sudden change in dynamics at the bridge, however, increases the tension, picking the song up and the second verse maintains that tension well. Grade: B

Weed - Weed...!

1971

Weed Lineup:

• Ken Hensley (G K LV)
• Reinhold Spiegelfeld (B)
• Bernd Hohmann (Flute)
• Werner Monka (G)
• Rainer Schnelle (K)
• Peet Becker (D)
  

1. Sweet Morning Light - Excellent heavy track with two great solos from the maestro, outstanding bass counterpoint, and some Byronesque screams from Ken. Sounds like an early version of I Won't Mind. Grade: A

2. Lonely Ship - Lovely Here Am I-type ballad with just acoustic guitars and Ken harmonizing double-tracked. Grade: A

3. My Dream - A long, quiet piano intro leads into a funky organ riff very reminiscent of Dreams. Grade: A

4. Slowin' Down - Funky-blues guitar number that's mainly a solo feature for Ken's guitar. Grade: A-

5. Before I Die - My fave, a Circle Of Hands-type of Heep ballad featuring some great piano work by Ken. I would've loved to have heard David handle to vox on this one! Grade: A+

6. Weed - A long instrumental jam ala Plynth from The Jeff Beck Group's Beck-Ola album. Good chance for Ken to show off. Grade: B+

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