01	Sunrise						04:06
	02	Spider Woman						02:28
	03	Blind Eye						03:36
	04	Echoes In Dark						04:51
	05	Rain						04:01
	06	Sweet Lorrain						04:18
	07	Tales						04:10
	08	The Magicians Birthday						10:23
	09	Keep On Ridin'						03:44
	10	Flyin' High						03:22
	11	Roller						04:43
	12	Free n' Easy						03:09
	13	Illusion						05:10
	14	Free Me						03:36
	15	Cheat n' Lie						04:56
	16	The Dance						04:52
	17	Choices						05:47

The Magician's Birthday
November, 1972

Lineup:
Mick Box (G)
David Byron (LV)
Ken Hensley (K G)
Gary Thain (B)
Lee Kerslake (D, Kazoo)
Special Guest - BJ Cole (steel guitar) on Tales

Overall - Second only to Demons And Wizards, this is the most popular and best Heep album. The two albums are very similar in tone, feel, and presentation, much the same way Yes' Fragile and Close To The Edge are similar. In otherwords, if you love one, you'll love the other. The inventive title cut has to be heard to be believed! Grade: A+

1. Sunrise - The follow-up to The Wizard and just as beautiful. Grade: A+

2. Spider Woman - A decent l'il rocker with some great slide work by Ken, but very silly lyrics. Chorus is quite lame and if it wasn't for Ken's slide, I wouldn't listen to this song at all. Grade: B-

3. Blind Eye - A wonderful acoustic piece, this is a fine example of the way Ken's technique of modulating from minor to major keys with great effect. Grade: A+

4. Echoes in the Dark - A great Circle Of Hands-type of song. I could listen to songs like this all day. Great special effects from Ken's moog. Grade: A+

5. Rain - My favorite song on the album and my favorite Heep ballad ever. Absolutely lovely piece that could've been a huge hit if it'd been released on a single. Grade: A+

6. Sweet Lorraine - Heep's follow-up to Easy Livin' in the US, this song uses the Theremin to great effect. Excellent rocker. Grade: A

7. Tales - A great mystical song, this is one of the best-arranged songs Heep ever did. Wonderfully dark, this is a chance to hear what a steel guitar can really sound like outside of a country music setting. Grade: A+

8. The Magician's Birthday - Unique to the Heep catalog, this story is told in 5 parts. The first section, in typical Heep fashion, is the journey to the Magician's castle. The second is the most unusual version of 'Happy Birthday To You' ever done, complete with Lee humming a counterpoint on the kazoo. The third and longest section is the magic battle between the forces of good and evil, featuring the longest and most famous of Mick's solos as well as some ferocious drumming by Lee. Then we reach the fourth section and it appears, as Dave sings the part of the Magician, that evil has won. But, with Ken singing the hero's part, the Finale begins and we learn that love overcomes evil and triumphs in the end! Grade: A+

Silver White Man - (Bonus demo track) Backing track only, so this is just for hard-core fans. Stick with the final version on David's first solo album, Take No Prisoners. Grade: C

Crystal Ball (Gary's Song) - (Bonus track) This should've been on the album instead of Spider Woman. Nice tune but this version doesn't sound fully developed. Grade: B+




Original Liner Notes

Based loosely on a short story which I wrote during June/July this year The Magician's Birthday brings us to our fifth album. Again we find ourselves saying this is our most important album, but they have all been the most important and we will probably say that about the next one and so on:

Since album Demons & Wizards we have been touring really hard, and recording this new album has helped us to see how the band has progressed; this being reflected by the new songs and the tightness, togetherness if you like, of the finished product.

The Uriah Heep which appeared first on our last album is we feel now in full flight and we are looking forward to the many new adventures that are planned for us. With everyone in the band writing, we have been able to spread out so much more, and if you and 1973 are even half as good to us as you were in 1972, it looks like it could be a very good year.

Ken Hensley
September 1972



Reissue Liner Notes
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.

c 1995 Robert M. Corich




Artist Comments
Mick Box 1995 | Ken Hensley 1995
MICK BOX
on tour in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 9, 1995

This album was the follow up to Demons & Wizards and a continuation of the mystical lyric writing, once again featuring a very strong cover by Roger Dean.

I remember the guitar and drum fight sequence on the title track was done in one take by Lee and myself after a quick visit to the pub down the road from Lansdowne Studios in London, where we recorded the album. I think it shows the development of Lee and myself's understanding and working together as musicians and friends. We had some good experimental fun on this album with Lee playing the hilarious kazoo solo on Magician's Birthday (we should have recorded his first take, which was a masterpiece) and recording the Happy Birthday vocals, miking the upright piano strings and singing into them to capture the resonating sound. Gary continued with his great melodic bass lines and became an inspiration for a million other bass players together with Lee's powerful drumming and vocal contribution. David's voice did it once again to me on Rain and made the hairs on my arms stand up. Ken, as ever, with his all round musical, writing and lyrical contribution showed that this really was a band with great chemistry in full flight. Now it has been remastered it can be re-lived, and I hope you enjoy the bonus tracks too.



KEN HENSLEY
St Louis, USA, Nov. 1995

The Magician's Birthday was a natural follow-up to Demons & Wizards, but I do remember being a bit disappointed, because it was quite a rushed project. I had originally planned for this record to be a complete 'concept' album. The best illustration of the original concept is the title track, which encapsulates the story into one song and is full of variety in music, instrumentation and production. There is humour in this record too, whereas later in our career that was clearly missing (I wonder if Lee would enjoy his kazoo part as much today!). Anyway, the original story may yet be finished, but the album is history and I do still find it enjoyable in places.

Best Regards







Innocent Victim
November, 1977

Lineup:
Mick Box (G)
John Lawton (LV)
Ken Hensley (K G)
Trevor Bolder (B)
Lee Kerslake (D)

Overall - A decent album but not as good as its predecessor, Firefly. The song writing was becoming more and more commercial and less and less progressive. John's voice is not nearly as strong and often flat. Still there are many highlights, including the greatest riff in rock history! Also, Lady In Black was re-released and became a monster smash in Germany, staying #1 for 13 weeks! Grade: B+
1. Keep On Ridin' - A good rocker but a little lightweight, especially when put up against the heavy rock of the time like Ted Nugent or Van Halen. The groove that Trevor and Lee lay down makes this one cook. Grade: B+

2. Flyin' High - Little more than Keep On Ridin' revisited. Trevor shines on this piece and the band's boogie energy can't be denied but once more too lightweight. Grade: A-

3. Roller - Another high-energy boogie/funk piece but now the lyrics are starting to slip in quality as well. Again, the band's energy sustains the piece. Great, fun arrangement. A precursor to the Conquest album. Grade: A-

4. Free 'N' Easy - This is it! THE GREATEST ROCK 'N' ROLL RIFF OF ALL TIME!! Sorry for shouting, but if anyone can tell me of a better riff, let me know! Great dueling guitars in the middle and absolutely incredible energy. This song should've been sent out as a promo to all those US FM rock stations. If the band had done this in their heyday, it might've been bigger than Easy Livin'. Grade: A+

5. Illusion/Masquerade - Originally, the two songs were separate, Illusion being on the album and Masquerade released as a 'B' side. Thank goodness for remasters as we can now hear the track as it was originally intended. Illusion is a wonderfully dark slow piece that rolls on for several minutes until Ken's acoustic guitar kicks in, picks up the tempo and hurls us into Masquerade. Both pieces are very unlike most anything Heep had tried before and both succeed quite well. Grade: A+
note: The original edit of Illusion is included on the remaster. The original edit of Masquerade can be found on Rarities From The Bronze Age.

6. Free Me - A monster hit world wide, and still quite popular among most Heep fans, this is nonetheless lightweight Heep. It's John's soulful vocals that make the song work while the band plays this with far less energy than on any of the other pieces. Sounds more like Eagles or Firefall than Heep to my ears. Grade: B+

7. Cheat 'n' Lie - Great arrangement on the intro and verses but a very commercial chorus. Again, the chorus falls into Eagles territory. Grade: B+

8. The Dance - Heep does reggae! And does it quite well indeed! Excellent song with great performances by all, especially Trevor and John. The chord changes, as handled by the band, are quite nice. Grade: A

9. Choices - Very powerful, moving song. Slow and grinding, the band plays with great fervor. Lee and Trevor are outstanding. Ken is heavy on the synths and John does a fine job, his voice sounding at the end of the song like he's got almost nothing left to give. Mick should've been given a long solo on this. Grade: A+

The River - (Bonus track) I have no idea why this track was dropped in favor of some of the other pieces on this album. This is much more traditional Heep and Trevor's playing rivals that of Gary Thain's. The band is tight, the arrangement is excellent, the lyrics are far better than most on the album, the song rocks. I guess it just wasn't commercial enough! Grade: A+



Innocent Victim
Reissue Liner Notes
1991 Liner Notes | 1997 Liner Notes
When original Uriah Heep singer David Byron was sacked in July 1976, many thought the band would never recover - but they reckoned without his replacement, John Lawton.

He was recruited from a German-based band called Lucifer's Friend and his grounding in that country could only have helped this record become the success it ultimately was - it sold over a million copies, making it their best seller ever there. Although his image contrasted with Byron's cartwheeling, scarf-waving antics - Lawton's hairline was fast receding and he appeared onstage wearing mascara and peacock feather earrings! - Lawton sang superbly and communicated well with audiences who might otherwise have been put off by his appearance.

He had made his debut with the band on 1977's Firefly, but it was on Innocent Victim - his second and Heep's 11th studio outing, released later this same year - that he really came into his own.

Thanks to fine performances from the rhythm section of Lee Kerslake (drums) and ex-Bowie/Mick Ronson/Spiders From Mars man Trevor Bolder (bass), plus a noticeable more aggressive production (by Hensley and Heep's label boss Gerry Bron), the record exhibited heavier tendencies than many of its predecessors - especially on the storming Free 'n' Easy. Lawton's sole writing credit (shared with guitarist Mick Box) which featured some blistering guitar interplay between Box and keyboardist Ken Hensley, who stepped away from his ivories to play slide guitar and help turn the track into a Heep classic that is still in the live set to this day.

The record also featured softer moments, though, like the single Free Me, the funkier numbers like Keep On Ridin' and Flyin' High, or the haunting Illusion with its perfectly paced guitar solo. The record was also notable for the rock/reggae crossover of The Dance and the closing cut Choices - an epic, slow-burning mood piece. Both numbers were written for Heep by American Jack Williams, brought into the fold by his friend Hensley.

This line-up released a third album, Fallen Angel, in 1978, but Innocent Victim remains the best of the three - not to mention one of the finest of Uriah Heep's 20-year-plus career.

Neil Jeffries, Kerrang!



Innocent Victim was Uriah Heep's eleventh studio album excluding compilations. Released late in 1977 it was the second of three studio albums to feature vocalist John Lawton. As a follow up to Firefly which even with the personnel changes had encased many of the traditional Heep musical values, Innocent Victim was a drastic departure to say the least. This new album encompassed a more sophisticated sound but was relatively lightweight in comparison to its predecessor, and along with High And Mighty and Conquest has been viewed retrospectively by many fans as the most untypical of Heep albums. Again the album failed to chart in the UK, probably indicative of the time and the emergence of punk as the popular music of the day rather than the musical content itself.

The album was very successful in Europe and Australasia, spawning the hit single Free Me which topped the charts in Germany, Australia and New Zealand of all places.

The success in Germany coincided with the re-release of Lady In Black, which won the band the coveted Golden Lion award. This no doubt had a lot to do with the amazing success Innocent Victim achieved in Germany. A classic case of how important the correct timing is in the Rock and Roll business.

Free Me is a very likeable tune, and it is easy to see how it became so popular with the masses. The band discovered a whole new world of fans with the success of the single. It was this fact that also alienated many of the longstanding die-hard fans. The album and successful single had become what is termed in the business "A Monster!"

Although the album was a relatively laid-back affair for Heep, it does feature a rocker or two - Free 'N' Easy probably making up for the lack of rockers all in one!

With two albums being recorded and released in a little over a year, there was not an abundance of spare material from the Innocent Victim sessions. However, we have included a few gems as bonus tracks. Most fans would know the track Masquerade as the B-side to the Free Me single; however it was in fact part two of the album track Illusion. Illusion on the album fades out at what would have been the start of Masquerade. Here we have included the original album in its original order (re-mastered of course). We have left this untouched for the purists! We have, however, included a complete unedited version of the Illusion-Masquerade epic. In my humble opinion this should have been on the original album with one of the other tracks omitted; of course with the CD medium, we thankfully are not under the time constraints imposed by vinyl.

We have also included one of the few out-takes from the Innocent Victim sessions, called The River, which also could have been an excellent contender for the original album. This track was unreleased until the 4 CD box set A Time Of Revelation.

The album also featured a totally different cover from the original US release. We have included it (the US cover) here on the back page of the booklet, so all you have to do is place the booklet back to front in the jewel case, and voila ... you have an American version!

c 1997 Robert M. Corich





Innocent Victim
Artist Comments
Mick Box 1977 | Ken Hensley 1977 | Mick Box 1990 | Mick Box 1997 | Ken Hensley 1997
MICK BOX
Nov. 26, 1977

It's a question of attitude, the band's a lot more open to anything, we played a lot on safe ground for a few years and now we're not prepared to do that. Anything we play is Uriah Heep regardless.

...It's changing slightly because we're changing too, all our old heavy riff numbers like Gypsy are still very big everywhere and are still a part of us, a part of Uriah Heep, they are like anthems, but things like Free Me our latest single is very much part of Uriah Heep too and we're going to place as much emphasis on that as we do the old stuff, if not more.

...We are very confident with what we're doing now, we're very happy with the way we're going, the direction we're going, and when your projecting that sort of feeling it has to get across to everybody else. I feel sure that once we've done an American tour the record company and everybody else will fall in line, they'll see how serious we are and how much we've improved from where we had our lull.

...We've got sufficient confidence to overcome anything that comes along because the attitude within the band is one of sheer hard work and we're going to put in everything we can give.

...There's such a degree of honesty there (on stage) that you can't ignore it, we go out and we really work. We don't just stand there looking at our boots and expect it all to be carried by 34 flashes and bangs going off behind you. We go out there and we put our heart and soul into what we're doing and I'm sure the audience these days see us enjoying ourselves and pick up on that.



KEN HENSLEY
Nov. 26, 1977

For a long time we've tried to sound like a different band because for too long we went round in circles and the time was definitely right for us to make some changes in our approach to our music. Although I should stress that that's not deliberate, we didn't sit down and say - 'right, now we're going to be really different' - this is just the culmination of the changes in personnel and the desire in the band to really make some progress instead of standing still.

...I wrote it (Free Me) quite a while ago and it was one of those songs that was just left in the book. Two years ago it was one of those songs that I could never have suggested to the band because we had the kind of attitude within the band that would never have even entertained a song like that, it was so uncharacteristic. But now the atmosphere in the band is so completely different that I can take virtually anything to them.

There was definitely a need for our approach to be more commercial, especially with what's happening in the music business, our kind of rock and roll was leading the field for such a long time that it's easy to fall into the trap and think that it would go on like that. But there's so many other things, we've got to be competitive and we've got to be contemporary so I think it's a good thing although it wasn't deliberate.

We're still a rock and roll band and we always will be for as long as we carry on. What we're doing is we're adopting a more mature approach to it, we're not just crash, bang, wallop for the sake of it. I think the reason that heavy metal has taken a back seat of late is because everybody had stopped thinking about what they were doing. I know we did it for two years, we went on thinking that everything we were doing was right, and it wasn't, while we were doing that there were all these other developments taking place and we suddenly found ourselves a bit old fashioned, I think that's really what the key to the whole thing was, a change in attitude rather than style, our style is still basically the same, it's just our attitude has changed.

...I think that's an important point because from where we stand we can see the change in audiences, we can see the generation change and one of the most important things for us to do now is make sure that our music stays contemporary and up to date simply because there's so much competition about, we've got to make sure our music fits in with the general atmosphere of the business at the moment. As it was, there was no chance, if we'd have kept going the way we were going we would have died a relatively dishonorable death. What we've done now is adjusted, and listened, and looked at what's going on, and thought about what we are doing, that's really all that we've done.

I think the most important point about that is really that we are confident in what we're doing now where as not so very long ago we were doubtful, we weren't too sure about what we were doing. We have this kind of self confidence now which is helped a lot by the confidence amongst the record company and the people in the business, the fact that the single's being played. For the first time we've managed to get some degree of confidence being expressed by DJ's. This does a lot for our moral and this must come across in our overall performance. In America it's a completely different thing, we've got a lot of ground to catch up there, we lost a lot of ground in the States after being immensely popular there and it's more or less like starting from the beginning but I think we're all pretty confident that we can get it together over there.

..Our live shows have always been very different from our albums, there's always the contrast between the studio and stage. One that has all the atmosphere and the other that only has the atmosphere that you can create. Even in England where we've never really enjoyed the sort of record success that we'd like, we've always had a large number of fans and a great following at our concerts simply because we put everything into our live shows. Whether people like our records or not, they can always treat our live shows as something completely different. I can only say that it must be because of the amount of energy and enthusiasm that goes into our show.



MICK BOX
1990

Innocent Victim had a slight edge on Firefly. It was like another building situation, particularly in Europe again. We did a lot festivals over there at the time. We were doing moderately well in England but there was a remarkable resurgence in Europe.



MICK BOX
Rostov/Don Russia, February 1997

This album was a natural successor to Firefly. I started writing songs with John Lawton, and the first song we produced was the rock track, Free 'N' Easy, which over the years has been saluted by lots of fans as a favorite. This was even used by Dave Lee Travis for the opening of his Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. Another little bit of trivia is that the snake cover has in fact got Lee Kerslake's eyes super-imposed on it!

This was an enjoyable album to make, and with the song Free Me, which was a worldwide hit, we enjoyed great success. John Lawton joined us in South Africa in March '95 when we toured with Deep Purple, due to Bernie losing his voice. This song was a big hit there, and every night we performed it. John did a brilliant version, and he has really made this song one of his own. Check out his new band Gunhill, as John still has a magic set of pipes.

Thanks for buying this re-mastered version, and I hope you like the bonus tracks too.
'Appy Days.....



KEN HENSLEY
St. Louis, Missouri, May 1997

John Lawton really does have a great voice, and Free Me should have been a hit!! In this record, I sense some conflict, probably caused by my need to experiment and progress, and our "advisors" insistence that we re-cycle Easy Livin'! I also enjoyed working with Jack Williams, though the changes in influence didn't sit so well with some people! I find it is still fairly easy to listen to, though it's definitely not the best record we made!





Uriah Heep - "The Magician's Birthday" (1972) It was no doubt that Heep now was in the best, most creative and successful part of their career as the classic "Demons and Wizards" was followed up already later the same year by another strong work of fantasy-styled progressive heavy rock . When it comes to atmosphere, no other Heep album beats "The Magician's Birthday". Just listen to superb tracks like "Tales" and "Echoes in the Dark" and you'll hear. Hensley had now introduced moog to the sound, creating some awesome and delightful atmosphere. The opener "Sunrise" ranks high up there with "July Morning" and "Circle of Hands" as one of Heep's strongest songs ever. "Spider Woman" was the first number in a light and catchy boogie-style that the group would explore more on later albums, and this was one of the best and catchiest songs they ever did in that style. "Rain" is a wonderful ballad consisting of nothing else than piano, vibes and Byron's great voice. "Sweet Lorraine" was the hit-single from the album and features a catchy chorus and a simple but beautiful synth-theme. "Blind Eye" is another great showcase for the acoustic part of their sound, with a wonderful fairy-tale mood. The 10-minute title-track is Heep from their most progressive and amusing side, and tells the story of a magician's birthday-party that suddenly becomes the scene of a fight between good and evil. Each part of the song is a perfect musical description of the story as it evolves. From the cheerful opening part (it even features a brief version of "Happy Birthday to You"!) that describes the party and then to the sinister part that builds up to the fight. A long and raw solo from Mick Box that is driven forward by some furious drumming gives the impression of a hell of a battle! Things calm down a bit to the end where the victorious magician sings scornful to his enemies. This is great entertainment and another classic album from Heep.

Uriah Heep - The Magician's Birthday

Released: 1982/96/2002
Label: Bronze / Essential /
Sanctuary/Castle
Cat. No.: Bronze ILPS 9213 / ESMCD339
/ CMTCD173
Total Time: 36:13

Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, June 2002
The Magician's Birthday followed the enormously successful Demons And Wizards album. No doubt it was an overwhelming task to come up with a record that maintained that immense flow and energy. Uriah Heep was up for the challenge and responded with another metal-prog classic, and to boot they pulled it off in the same year.

The very first song, "Sunrise," is another Ken Hensley driving rocker with Mick Box providing the stinging guitar leads, David Byron the operatic shrieks, and Hensley the whirling dervish keyboard playing. "Spider Woman" was always one of my favorites; it's a straight ahead rocker that has a catchy riff by Box running through the entire song. "Rain" is a standout track that was typical of the Heep gothic metal sound complete with a great vocal treatment by Byron. The curtain falls on the title track "The Magician's Birthday." For over 10 minutes they show why they were one of the very best prog-rock bands in the world by changing gears several times without a hitch and offering the listener every facet of their complex makeup in one song. It's the kind of dark and mystical song that you never forget, it stays with you for a long time and when you listen to it again you hear what you missed the first time around.

What UH did in 1972 is quite incredible. To release one great album is a major feat, but two in one year? It's something very few bands have ever done. This was the final stamp of approval on their career; they had carved out a place in prog-rock history that would cement their legacy. In 2002, now more than ever, the relevance of what they did is more evident and valid when you listen to what they were creating over 30 years ago. It comes as no surprise that people want to hear all of that material as much today as they did back then. Its great music, so if you haven't found it yet its time to seek it out.

More about The Magician's Birthday:

Track Listing: Sunrise (4:04) / Spider Woman (2:25) / Blind Eye (3:33) / Echoes in the Dark (4:48) / Rain (3:59) / Sweet Lorraine (4:13) / Tales (4:09) / The Magician's Birthday (10:23)

Musicians:
David Byron - vocals
Ken Hensley - guitar, keyboards, vocals, Moog synthesizer
Mick Box - guitar
Brian Cole - pedal steel
Lee Kerslake - percussion, drums
Gary Thain - bass, bass guitar



Uriah Heep - "Innocent Victim" (1977)It seemed like Heep was back in the productive tempo of old days, as "Innocent Victim" followed "Firefly" later the same year. The Lawton-era had started very promising with the previous album, but the band went straight down to the bottom with this album. Compared to this, even "Wonderworld" and "Return to Fantasy" sounds like classic Heep-masterpieces! The band was obviously trying to keep up with the changing times and ended up with sounding like a bland and commercial pop/rock band with no progressive tendencies at all. There are three decent songs here: the hard rocking "Free'n'Easy" featured one of the heaviest riffs from Box in a long time, and the closing number "Choices" is an excellent, melodic and emotional tune. But my fave-track is the utterly beautiful "Illusion". This atmospheric and slow song has got some fantastic, metaphoric lyrics. But the rest of the album stands as the worst and most boring crap that Heep released during the 70's. "The Dance" is a half-assed track that messed with some quasi-reggae/ska influences, while "Roller" combines funk with tedious boogie-rock. The album also featured the most commercial songs the band ever had done and they both sucks: "Cheat'n'Lie" and the (s)hit-single "Free Me". It's a real mystery to me how the latter ever could be such a big hit, as it has no hook or memorable melody at all. Three and a half minutes of pure and worthless shit that Hensley should be really ashamed of. Ok, "Keep on Ridin'" is at least not directly painful to listen to but it's still not much to write home about. "Innocent Victim" is of no interest to others than the most fanatical Heep-fans.




Masquerade (Hensley)

A masquerade of dancing shadows
Appear before me through my mystic window
And soon to be seen I saw presented
Became a vision that I saw resented
I stood and watched its image changing
The unseen hand was rearranging
And all the time I wondered
How did it wind

Slowly, surely it unfolded
Its simple lines just as
A pole wind told it ??
A temporary revolution
My problems rose and fell
With a lapse of illusion
A man was telling me, don't fight it
It's just a ??? in the night
Don't do those who've lost their way
It's a masquerade

Masquerade, it's a masquerade


The River (Hensley/Box/Bolder/Kerslake)

River, rising to hide ??
Across the midnight
Wanderin' westward by daylight
Take us and lead us to tomorrow
As fast as you come and can flow


River, you're windin'
An unending rhythm
The sooner keep movin' to warn him ??
The spirit that keeps us from sinking
Guide us from going astray


Point us a way to a shoreline ahead
Through the mist and the fog
Of this valley of death
Too many years we have
Walked in a sleep
Now we're awaken
And ready fo flee

River, we hitchhikers beggin' for mercy
Survive us from yesterday's curses
Don't damn us before you receive us
We're needin' your face and your trust