Story by Charlie Steffens
Long known as the keyboardist for Uriah Heep (since 1986), Phil Lanzon possesses a range of artistic endeavors that includes music, painting and writing, and he enjoys a solo career as well as his work with the band. Lanzon will release a new album, titled 48 Seconds, on July 15 (2019).
The title track is based on the famously destructive earthquake that shook San Francisco in 1906. While natural disasters are not the typical subject matter found in rock songs, “48 Seconds” is an orchestral opus that displays Lanzon’s deftness as a composer. Lanzon explains how the song came about:
“I started to get into books at the age of about 10. While sifting through my local library I came across a book called The San Francisco Earthquake. The title caught my attention as I had no idea about natural disasters at the time. The book left a huge impression on me and later I realized it was empathy for the people who suffered and the wonder of the power of nature that somehow gripped my sub-conscious.”
It wasn’t until many years later that the memory of the story rose in his mind, creating the motivation to write a song. After several attempts at demoing the song, Lanzon said he wasn’t happy with the results and shelved it. For years, the song, which had originally began to take form in the late 70s, remained incomplete.
In 2017, he decided to take his creation out of draft mode and finish it.
“It was a bit of a mountain to climb. I knew it was going to work at some point because it had the right feel and the right intention. I found it fascinating. I never intended to go down this road originally but it sort of grew into this thing. I think also it enlightens people to realize that nature is going to have the last word in the end. Regardless of what we think and what we try to do, it’ll have us in the end. I think we ought to just be aware of it in our daily life, and if we are it would help us see things clearer and not be so blind to what’s going on underneath our feet.”
After doing extensive research on the earthquake, Lanzon had the lyrical makeup of “48 Seconds” to put to music. The story, he says, has a lot of ups and downs. “It starts optimistically. Then it becomes very sad. But it ends optimistically, with a message.” The elaborate composition, which is just under 10 minutes in length, was recorded with a 23-piece orchestra along with guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, as well as a choir of more than 60 people.
Currently, Uriah Heep is on tour with Judas Priest until the end of June before heading off to festivals in Europe. In addition to playing keyboards with the band at night, he’s also handling the duties that come along with the release of his solo album.
“I’m pretty busy, he says. “I can’t really stop. I don’t know how to stop. (Laughs) That’s the truth.”
