1972 was a landmark year for Uriah Heep. Not only had they achieved a stability in musical personnel but they had also gained international status with the best selling album Demons & Wizards. The band was also touring the world extensively. Wasting no time, and to capitalize on their new found success, Gerry Bron had the band promptly back at Lansdowne studios in London's Holland Park in late 1972. Working flat out between the many tour commitments, the band started recording what was to become The Magician's Birthday. About an hour's worth of material was recorded but due to limitations of vinyl releases only 40 minutes worth was used. This 40 minutes worth of music was made up of 8 songs, including the title track, an epic battle between good and evil. As with Demons & Wizards, The Magician's Birthday was also recorded on 16 track using some innovative if not unusual recording methods (including matchsticks attached to tape rollers!) the album was completed in October 1972.

Released in November 1972 The Magician's Birthday appeared to create a link between the fantasy world and music as had Demons & Wizards.

Demons & Wizards was a hard act to follow, but nonetheless 1972 The Magician's Birthday more than achieved the task, reaching the top of the carts in both the UK and US. Again the cover was designed by Roger Dean, the second of three covers he has designed throughout the band's career (the third one being complete for Uriah Heep's latest album Sea Of Light - 1995).

Much of the material from 1972 The Magician's Birthday and from the previous album, Demons & Wizards was to grace the band's next release, the million seller (of the day) Uriah Heep Live 1973, giving testimony that this band could play live very well indeed.

With two high flying albums charting in many countries around the world, the band were surely destined for heights they could only have dreamed of a few years earlier.

The Magician's Birthday went on to become one of the best selling albums for 1973, often accompanied in the charts by several other Uriah Heep albums. In Australia and New Zealand the charts of 1973 were for a while inundated with Demons & Wizards, The Magician's Birthday, Uriah Heep Live and several singles - all at the same time!

For aficionados of rock and by many musicians famous still today The Magician's Birthday is still touted as one of the best albums of the period.

The package you are holding contains the newly remastered album accompanied by two tracks left over from The Magician's Birthday sessions. The first of these, Silver White Man, was later released as a re-recorded version on David Byron's first solo LP Take No Prisoners (CD - REP 4283 WY). This version was recorded entirely by Uriah Heep. Two versions were left on multi-track from The Magician's Birthday recording sessions. One was far from complete, the other clearly not complete with regards to the vocal tracks. The second version was originally mixed as a reference track with vocals (or what there was of them!) in 1993. However, after I played this to Mick he decided it could be used if we re-mixed it as an instrumental. Here it is in all its glory.

The second bonus track, Crystal Ball was originally only identifiable on the original 16-track tape box as Gary's Song. Named Crystal Ball after it was first mixed in 1995 for the forthcoming 25th Anniversary Box Set, it is one of the few remaining examples of Gary Thain's song writing legacy. With The Magician's Birthday being remastered and re-packaged, it was thought more appropriate to include it here as it was recorded during The Magician's Birthday sessions.

© 1995 Robert M. Corich

Content Copyright © 1997 Jay Pearson

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