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General Information
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Artist...............: URIAH HEEP
Album................: The Magician's Birthday
Released.............: 1973
Genre................: Heavy Prog
Duration.............: 45:34
Number of Songs......: 10
Cover(s) Included....: Yes
Audio Format.........: MP3
Bitrate..............: VBR -V2 192
Hz...................: 44,100
Channels.............: Joint Stereo
Source...............: CD
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Release Notes
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Track Listing:
01-Sunrise - 04:05
02-Spider Woman - 02:28
03-Blind Eye- 03:33
04-Echoes In The Dark - 04:51
05-Rain - 04:00
06-Sweet Lorraine - 04:15
07-Tales - 04:08
08-The Magician's Birthday - 10:23
Bonus Tracks:
09-Silver White Man (Previously Unreleased Version) - 03:43
10-Crystal Ball (Previously Unreleased) - 04:08
Album Review:
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 stills 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
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