The Magician's Birthday

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The Magician's Birthday
Studio album by Uriah Heep

Publication
(s)

1972

admission

1972

Label (s) Bronze Records

Format (s)

Vinyl, audio CD

Genre (s)

Hard rock

Title (number)

8th

running time

37:35

occupation

production

Gerry Bron

Studio (s)

Lansdowne Studios, London

chronology
Demons and Wizards (1972) The Magician's Birthday Sweet Freedom (1973)

The Magician's Birthday is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Uriah Heep .

History of origin

The album The Magician's Birthday was released just six months after the hit album Demons and Wizards in November 1972. The album has many parallels to its predecessor. The artwork came from Roger Dean , the band line-up was not changed and it has the same year of publication. Manager Gerry Bron demanded a quick successor, and so the band was back in the studio, although the Demons and Wizards tour was not yet over.

Reviews

Ken Hensley himself judged the album "Thrown together, like a cheap imitation of Demons and Wizards ". At the time of recording, only two pieces had been completed. Frazer Lewri wrote on the albums Look at Yourself , Demons And Wizards and The Magician's Birthday "Three of the best from hard rock's proggiest prospect" (three of the best from the most progressive direction of hard rock).

Track list

  1. Sunrise (4:05) ( Ken Hensley )
  2. Spider Woman (2:27) ( Mick Box , David Byron , Lee Kerslake , Gary Thain )
  3. Blind Eye (3:33) (Hensley)
  4. Echoes in the Dark (4:49) (Hensley)
  5. Rain (3:59) (Hensley)
  6. Sweet Lorraine (4:15) (Box, Byron, Thain)
  7. Tales (4:09) (Hensley)
  8. The Magician's Birthday (10:22) (Hensley, Box, Kerslake)

Bonus tracks from the 1996 re-release

  2. Silver White Man (Instrumental version) (3:43) (Byron)
  3. Crystal Ball (4:07) (Thain)

Bonus tracks from the 2003 re-release

  2. Crystal Ball (4:07) (Thain) (already included on the 1996 re-release)
  3. Silver White Man (3:40) (Byron)
  4. Proud Words (3:24) (Hensley)
  5. Echoes in the Dark (Edit) (4:23) (Hensley)
  6. Rain (Edit) (3:18) (Hensley)
  7. Happy Birthday (4:44) (Hensley, Box, Kerslake) (Edit from "The Magician's Birthday")
  8. Sunrise (Edit) (2:49) (Hensley)
  9. Gary's Song (4:25) (Thain) (alternative version of the song "Crystal Ball")
  10. Silver White Man (Instrumental version) (3:43) (Byron) (already included on the 1996 re-release)

Bonus CD of the 2017 re-release

  1. Echoes in the Dark (3:13) (Hensley)
  2. Sweet Lorraine (4:56) (Box, Byron, Thain)
  3. Blind Eye (5:08) (Hensley)
  4. Tales (4:02) (Hensley)
  5. Silver White Man (4:08) (Byron)
  6. Sunrise (4:25) (Hensley)
  7. Crystal Ball (4:07) (Thain) (already included on the 1996 and 2003 re-releases)
  8. Spider Woman (2:38) (Box, Byron, Kerslake, Thain)
  9. The Magician's Birthday (10:50) (Hensley, Box, Kerslake)
  10. Rain (4:40) (Hensley)
  11. Silver White Man (Instrumental version) (3:43) (Byron) (already included on the 1996 and 2003 re-releases)
  12. Happy Birthday (4:44) (Hensley, Box, Kerslake) (Edit of "The Magician's Birthday"; already included on the 2003 re-release)
  13. Sunrise (3:36) (Hensley) (alternative single version)
  14. Sweet Lorraine (3:38) (Box, Byron, Thain) (alternative single version)
  15. Gary's Song (4:25) (Thain) (alternative version of the song "Crystal Ball"; already included on the 2003 re-release)

Information about the bonus tracks

All bonus tracks from the re-releases from 1996 and 2003 as well as all songs from the bonus CD from 2017 are unreleased versions at the time of release, unless otherwise stated in brackets.

useful information

  • The song "Silver White Man" was originally released on David Byron's first solo album Take No Prisoners in 1975 , before a version by Uriah Heep first appeared on the re-release of The Magician's Birthday in 1996 .
  • The song "Proud Words" was originally released in 1973 on Ken Hensley's first solo album Proud Words on a Dusty Shelf , before a version by Uriah Heep, which is also included on the re-releases of Demons and Wizards , on the box set A Time of Revelation in 1996 - 25 Years on was released. This version was recorded while recording Demons and Wizards . Another recording was made after the release of Demons and Wizards . This is therefore included on the re-release of The Magician's Birthday from 2003.

Single releases

The following singles were released from The Magician's Birthday :

  • Spider Woman / Sunrise (edit) (Germany, Austria, Holland, Spain)
  • Sunrise (edit) / Spider Woman (Japan)
  • Sweet Lorraine (edit) / Blind Eye (USA, Canada)
  • Sweet Lorraine (edit) / Rain (Italy)
  • Sunrise - Sweet Lorraine / Rock'N'Roll Medley (Live) (Brazil, released 1974)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Uriah Heep, The Magician's Birthday Review on musikansich.de. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  2. ↑ Look at Yourself, Demons And Wizards and The Magician's Birthday Review on loudersound.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.