THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY

After 4 good to excellent record, Uriah's heap became something of a mess.

Sunrise is a great track, repeating old tricks but nevertheless inspiring the band to a very enthusiast performance. The chorus is a bit cheesy but still ok. Tracks like Spider Woman however give ample proof of the dwindling inspiration of this band. Blind Eye has a few better parts but the chorus indicates the looming stagnation that would demote Uriah Heep to a second rate hard rock band from the second half of the 70's onwards.

And it keeps raining half ideas and ill-advised songs, Echoes in the Dark could have been a good example of their gothic side but the tacky chord change around minute 2.40 can only inspire me to deeply disappointed sighs. Sweet Loraine has a great opening theme but quickly sinks down to insipid and substandard hard rock.

Only Tales offers another glimpse of what Heep used to be. Unfortunately the album mainly excels in proving their deteriorating talent.