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Uriah Heep: The Magician's Birthday

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Castle Nusic
Released: 1973.02.01
Time:
 37:58
Category: Hard Rock
Producer(s): Gerry Bron
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.uriah-heep.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2010.03.10
Price in €: 2,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Sunrise (Hensley) - 4:04
[2] Spider Woman (Box/Byron/Kerslake/Thain) - 2:25
[3] Blind Eye (Hensley) - 3:33
[4] Echoes in the Dark (Hensley) - 4:48
[5] Rain (Hensley) - 3:59
[6] Sweet Lorraine (Box/Byron/Thain) - 4:13
[7] Tales (Hensley) - 4:09
[8] The Magician's Birthday (Box/Hensley/Kerslake) - 10:19

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


David Byron - Vocals
Mick Box - Guitar
Ken Hensley - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Moog Synthesizer, Liner Notes
Lee Kerslake - Percussion, Drums
Gary Thain - Bass Guitar

Brian Cole - Pedal Steel

Gerry Bron - Producer
Fin Costello - Photography
Roger Dean - Cover Design
Peter Gallen - Engineer
Ashley Howe - Assistant Engineer
Brian Cole - Pedal Steel

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1973 LP Sanctuary 426
1995 CD Castle Music Ltd. ESM339
2001 CD Castle Music Ltd. CMTCD-173
2005 CD Castle Music Ltd. 52
2007 CD Sanctuary 426

Uriah Heep's 1972 release, THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY, followed in the same direction as its predecessor one year earlier,DEMONS AND WIZARDS--mystical lyrical themes are merged withheavy guitar riffs and prog-rock organ/synth explorations. Sonically, THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY is a tad more rough around the edges than DEMONS (keyboardist Ken Hensley is given more of a free reign on this album as well), but it's still unmistakably Uriah Heep. The album closing, ten and a half-minute title track is a bona fide Heep epic (with many mood shifts), while "Sweet Lorraine" catches the band at their most rough and rocking.



After reaching an international level of success with Demons and Wizards, Uriah Heep continued to build their fan base by knocking out another album of prog-like metal before the year's end. The end result, The Magician's Birthday, is not as consistent or cohesive as Demons and Wizards but still offers plenty of highlights. It starts dramatically with "Sunrise," a spooky power ballad that alternates quiet organ-led verses with an emotional chorus and guitar-fuelled instrumental breaks topped off by David Byron's operatic wail. The remainder of the album divides its time between punchy rockers and spacy balladry before climaxing with another prog-inflected epic. Highlights in the rock arena include "Blind Eye," an acoustic-flavored rocker whose galloping pace is firmly anchored by Gary Thain's melodic bassline, and "Sweet Lorraine," a stomping good-time rocker that adds extra texture to its guitar-driven sound with some spacy synthesizer lines. As for the quieter moments, "Rain" is a lovely piano ballad that makes surprising and impressive use of a xylophone in its sound and "Echoes in the Dark" is an eerie mid-tempo song that alternates stark piano-led verses with an emotional chorus cemented by Mick Box's searing guitar leads. There is also another multi-part epic in the title track, a prog-ish piece with fantasy themes. It lacks a strong structure (it feels more like three songs grafted together than a true multi-part composition) and succumbs to a bit of aimless jamming in the middle, but it is redeemed by strong hooks in the opening and a spirited performance from the band on its space rock finale. All in all, The Magician's Birthday never quite hits the consistent heights of Look at Yourself or Demons and Wizards but remains a solid listen for Uriah Heep fans.

Donald A. Guarisco - All Music Guide



Many people are under the strange misconception that Uriah Heep is a Jonnycomelately heavy band that learned all its licks from Ritchie Blackmore's brilliant Deep Purple in Rock and never went anywhere. Not so, as in reality Uriah Heep not only have roots as thick as your arm but have played with the heavies as in Rolling Stones Guys!

The Heep Saga started long ago with a group called the Gods which featured the songwriting work of Ken Hensley and the guitar of Mick Taylor (later to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers). The Gods were a psychedelic fop foursome, only a stone's throw from Skip Bifferty, and wore the typical English Fag garb that was par for the course. But alack, these Gods did not hitsongs make and they disbanded, succeeded by the agonizingly ill-conceived Toe Fat, again featuring the mighty organ and penpower of Ken Hensley. It was soon back to the old drawing board for Kenny, not one to be defeated by such trifles, and so was born Uriah. Uriah Heep.

At the time the Heep seemed another band in the King Crimson vein, doing the pretentious art/hard&heavy trip very well. Their first album won them no large amount of fans, and their second (Salisbury) was a fairly good heavy album released in an unstrategic time (within the midst of a wave of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young mania). It died a death, but Look At Yourself was another story, the turning point for the band. It was about this time that Uriah Heep was touring America and ripping up halls across this fine land of ours, blowing such major attractions as T.Rex and Cactus clear into the back alleyways, despite drastic changes in personnel which had taken place only weeks before. Mick Box's untypical stage routine was hitting home with American youth, and David Byron's crotch-oriented mike stand antics were a smash. Our boys, once the laughing stock of everyone in New York save for Jonathan Eisen, were a bona fide success!

Nowadays we don't find that Uriah Heep have changed all that drastically, and their stage show reflects the same qualities of the group that the albums do (in that you like them for a little while, but you wouldn't actually want to listen all the way through). Oh, nowadays you can see Mick Box and Gary Thain cocking heads and charging at each other like bulls, and Mick Taylor sits in the third row inconspicuously (perhaps a bit envious of Mr. Box), but it's the same band with houses in the country and some additional cash. Who else does "Blue Suede Shoes" with five-part harmony and synchronized dance steps?

The Magician's Birthday is nothing new or surprising, and is in essence a case of Let's Have Another One Just Like The Other One. Perhaps they're getting more "artistic," and "Sweet Lorraine" sounds like a hit single to me (it also sounds like "Hold Your Head Up" and the title track bears a strong resemblance to Grand Funk's "Closer To Home" and Taste's "What's Going On" in the grand tradition of rock & roll plagiarism). But despite the fact that nothing revolutionary is going on here, this is Uriah Heep's best album hands down. (RS 129)

JON TIVEN - Mar 15, 1973
RollingStone.com
 

 L y r i c s


SUNRISE

Sunrise
And the new day's breakin' through
The morning
Of another day without you
And as the hours roll by
No-one’s there to see me cry
Except the sunrise
The sunrise and you

Tired eyes drift across the shore
Looking for love and nothing more
But as the sea rolls by
No-one's there to see me cry
Excep the sunrise
The sunrise and you

Sunrise
Bless my eyes
Catch my soul
Make me whole again

Sunrise, new day
Hear my song
I'm tired of fightin'
And foolin' around
But from now on
Till who knows when
My sword will be my friend
And I'll love you, love you
For all of my time


SPIDER WOMAN

I had a spider woman
And she was so good
She chained me
In her web so tight
I lost the freedom
Of release that night
So I stayed right by her

I dreamt I saw a blind man
Who was singing a song
About a guy who
Couldn't take no more
And the meaning of
The words he swore
Told me go find her

She was a spider woman
But she was good to me
Spider Woman
But she was good to me

I told her 'bout my vision
But she laughed in my face
So I told her go
And walk in the street
But by the time
She got past my feet
I lost control


BLIND EYE

Stranger than the sunrise
Darker than the night
Fiercer than a rainstorm
This is man's delight
This is man's delight

Weaker than a moment
And hot as any fire
Blinder than the blind eye
This is man's desire
This is man's desire

I ran to a place in the open sea
Where I pledged
My life to the sun
It was good for a while
I could laugh, I could smile
But when I woke up one day
The sun had gone

So what of my meaning
What am I trying to say
What of my caution
I’m a man anyway
I’m a man anyway


ECHOES IN THE DARK

I have heard the echoes in the dark
Dim and distant voices of the past
And I've seen so far into the night
And lingered in the land of no light

Far beyond the
Shrouded hours of dawn
Through the mist
Of daybreak I was borne
But the day was
Clouded still by night
Leaving me in the land of no light

Though I'd love to
Say hello to you
You might have to wait awhile
To say goodbye
For it must end as it began
And then start again

The day of darkness
Comes to every man
And lingers while he
Reaches out his hand
And he cannot know how it will end
Till he finds out if he has a friend
A friend ...


RAIN

It's raining outside
But that's not unusual
But the way that I'm feeling
Is becoming usual
I guess you could say
The clouds are moving away
Away from your days
And into mine

Now it's raining inside
It’s kind of a shame
And it's getting to me
A happy man
Why should you want to
Waste all my time
The world is yours
But I am mine

Rain, rain, rain in my tears
Measuring carefully my years
Shame, shame, shame in my mind
See what you've done to my life

See what you’ve done to my life


SWEET LORRAINE

Would you like to take
This magic potion with me
On a trip to a cosmic
Playground far beyond
She understands
She's been before
It's in her hands
To find the door

Sweet Lorraine
Let the party carry on
You and I will swim the sea
Sweet Lorraine
Let the party carry on
You and I can feel the breeze

There is no time, no wealth
Only I surround you
The fortune of this guide
Is simply sincerity
She understands
‘Cos she's been before
It's in her hands
To find the door, so


TALES

We told our tales as we sat under
Morning's sleepy sky
With all the colours of
The sunrise shining in our eyes

One, then another
With a story of yesterday's life
Or of a lover who had
Gone in a moment of strife

No thought of sleep ever dwells
Upon the wise man's mind
Some task or audience
Stealing every moment of his time

Thus we have learned to live
While mortal men
Stand waiting to die
How can we do what must be done
In just one short life

And if you ask
Then you must know
If you still doubt
You should be told
It was not we
That made it so
It was by those
Who went before

And there you sit
Tomorrow's child
So full of love
So full of life
But you must rise
To meet the day
Lest you become another tale

Another tale ...


THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY

In the magic garden
Some were singing
Some were dancing
While the midnight moon
Shone brightly overhead

The stars so gaily glistened
And the sphinx in silence listened to
The magician tell of
Lives that he had led

Let the bells of freedom ring
Songs of love to Friday's king

Let's all go to
The magician's birthday
It's in a forest
But not so far away
Much to do
And so much to say
While we listened to
The orchid orchestra play

Happy Birthay to you ...
Happy Birthday to magician
Happy Birthday to you ...

Then at the dead of midnight
As we watched the dancing firelight
The air grew cold
And seemed to dull the flame
The fire died
The music faded
Filled with fear of death we waited
For now we knew
Some evil was to blame

I challenge you
I challenge you all
For all you own
And all you know
And I own the powers of darkness
I will steal what is mine

Surrender now or face my spite
I grant you it may be Friday night
But did you know this day
Also numbers thirteen

First I'll give you fire
I turn your fire into a sleepy stream
Yes, now I give you nightmares
From your horror I'll create a dream

You cannot fight me
For I have the sword of hate
But one thing you can't see
My answer is simply
An impenetrable fortress
Of love ... love ... love ...

The fear went as quickly as it came
The air was clear
The fire burned again
The flames leapt
The organ played
The swans sang
To greet the day
And then we knew that
Love will find love will find love ...

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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