Album review: JERUSALEM – Jerusalem

Talking Elephant Records [28.10.22]

The one and only album by Jerusalem was originally released back in 1971 on Deram Records. It has since been released on a number of unofficial and bootleg editions before this official CD release on Talking Elephant Records.

The album gains kudos amongst rock and metal fans as it was produced by Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan who said at the time, “Jerusalem, a band which excites me very much; they are rough, raw and doomy with their own strong identity. As they are young and a bit green, they don’t follow many rules, so their material is almost crude – but still immensely powerful in content.”

Jerusalem’s line-up was Paul Dean (bass), Ray Sparrow (drums), Bill Hinde (guitar), Bob Cooke (guitar) and Lynden Williams (vocals). This re-issue adds five bonus songs, including the band’s single ‘Kamikaze Moth’, all of which have been re-arranged by Bob Cooke and Lynden Williams.

Songs like ‘Hooded Eagle’ and ‘I See The Light’ have a real doomy, Sabbath feel to them, whilst ‘Murderer’s Lament’ would appeal to fans of David Byron era Uriah Heep. Raw production for sure and of its time, however, you can see why it has retained interest amongst record collectors after all these years.

You can see why a young Mr Gillan was rather excited by what he heard as Jerusalem have that earthy heavy rock sound that was made popular by Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Shame they never made it to a second album as this debut album showed plenty of promise. One for original fans of the band and those who appreciate the early days and sounds of 1970′s heavy rock. ***

Review by Jason Ritchie

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