The Magician's Birthday

The Magician's Birthday is the fifth album released by British rock band Uriah Heep. The story line is "based loosely on a short story" written by Ken Hensley in June and July 1972.^[3]

Even though it was recorded mere months after the preceding Demons and Wizards, the album features a notably different sound than the band's previous albums, with the aggressive hard rock toned down in favor of a cleaner appearance with more progressive elements, something which had only been hinted previously. This change in sound would define Uriah Heep's following outputs for roughly a decade.

The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, the front of which was designed by Roger Dean. The inner of the gatefold had pictures of the band, with the LP itself housed in a liner on which were printed the lyrics.

Two songs charted in the United States, "Blind Eye" (#97) and "Sweet Lorraine" (#91). "Spider Woman" reached #13 in Germany. The title track is notable for an extended kazoo improvisation on the melody to "Happy Birthday to You".

The Magician's Birthday was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 22, 1973.

Track listing

All songs written by Ken Hensley except where noted

Side 1

1. "Sunrise" – 4:04
2. "Spider Woman" (Mick Box, David Byron, Lee Kerslake, Gary Thain) – 2:25
3. "Blind Eye" – 3:33
4. "Echoes in the Dark" – 4:48
5. "Rain" – 3:59

Side 2

1. "Sweet Lorraine" (Box, Byron, Thain) – 4:13
2. "Tales" – 4:09
3. "The Magician's Birthday" (Box, Hensley, Kerslake) – 10:19

The 2004 Remastered version by Castle (UK) as CMRCD771, adds 9 previously unreleased bonus tracks:

1. "Crystal Ball (Out-take)" (Thain) – 4:08
2. "Silver White Man (Vocal Out-take Version)" (Byron) – 3:40
3. "Proud Words On a Dusty Shelf (Alternate Version)" – 3:24
4. "Echoes in the Dark (Single Edit)" – 4:23
5. "Rain (Single Edit)" – 3:16
6. "Happy Birthday ("The Magician's Birthday" Single Edit)" – 4:44
7. "Sunrise (Single Edit)" – 2:49
8. "Gary's Song" (Crystal Ball alternate version) (Thain) – 4:25
9. "Silver White Man (Instrumental Out-take)" (Byron) – 3:43

Personnel

Uriah Heep

• David Byron – vocals
• Ken Hensley – keyboards, guitars, Moog synthesizer
• Mick Box – guitar
• Gary Thain – bass guitar
• Lee Kerslake – drums, percussion, kazoo

Additional Musicians

• Brian Cole – Pedal Steel Guitar on "Tales"

Production

• Produced By Gerry Bron
• Engineered By Peter Gallen
• Assistant Engineer: Ashley Howe

The 2004 Remastered version by Castle (UK) as CMRCD771, team:

• Remastering by Robert Corich
• Remastering by Mike Brown
• Assistant Remastering: Pavel Salgado

Charts

• Norway #05
• Aus #10
• UK #28
• US #31
• FIN #1 (two weeks)

References