THE MAGICIAN'S BIRTHDAY

Its the fifth album in the third year of Uriah Heep's existance. And between 1971 ad 72, Heep actually produced four albums. Now that's a lot of creativity no doubt. the heads of the band members-- especially Hensley-- were teeming with ideas. None of them too bad. Because out of the first five albums, four are regarded as the most classic Uriah Heep. Magician's birthday carries the similar undertone of Demon's and Wizard; musically and well, lyrically as well. Plus, after Salisbury, the band tried yet another lengthy song "Magician's Birthday". The recording of this album is very clear and the playing is very tight. A lot of acoustic guitar sounds along with moog synth gave it a refreshing ambience. Like the previous album, the songs were composed on a simple structure, while they sound really good. Blind Eye, Echoes in the dark and Tales share acoustic plus moog rythm while Sunrise is just one of its kind, Rain being the mellowest with piano. You will like both Sweet Lorrain and Spider Woman instantly-- but will get tired of them easily. My feelings about the title piece is that it could have been much better. It has some magical moments and while it proceeded well, it failed to evolove properly. THe band could have worked a bit harder on this song and easily win my heart. But overall, its a good album and one should collect it.