URIAH HEEP TALES FULL

So one way or another, I really didnвЂ™t get to finish the short story, and thatвЂ™s why to me The MagicianвЂ™s Birthday lives in the shadow of Demons & Wizards. Everything was planned ahead and there was a big tour coming up. But I wasnвЂ™t given time to finish the short story, because I received this call that they wanted to bring the recording dates forward, they wanted to bring the release dates forward. I had written two or three of the songs based on the elements of the short story. And this was going to be the nucleus of the record. But I was writing a short story about The MagicianвЂ™s Birthday. You know, we need another Gypsy, we need another Lady In Black, we need another July MorningвЂ¦ there cannot be any such thing, of course. вЂњThere was a tendency вЂ“ and there still is, to this day вЂ“ with record companies to ask you to repeat things. вЂњThe MagicianвЂ™s Birthday album was rushed,вЂќ said Hensley in a 2011 interview with Jodie Newell. Unfortunately, these factors has made the chief songwriter judge the album not in terms of what actually was created, but through the lenses of what might have been. That is a shame, as it would truly have resulted in something extraordinary. They had less time to experiment and grow, and there simply wasnвЂ™t time to create ambitious levels of storytelling. What lack of time did, though, was limit their scope. They could lean on each other, and the overall quality of their musicianship helped make the magic happen. They still seemed to thrive on deadlines, using the pressure as motivation. Coming up with great songs on limited time schedules wasnвЂ™t a problem yet. Uriah Heep were riding high at the time and bursting with creativity. ItвЂ™s one of those albums where each and every song is great. Now, letвЂ™s be very clear: The MagicianвЂ™s Birthday is an amazing album вЂ“ in fact, one of my personal favourite albums ever. The rest of the album had to be made up by the usual assortment of standalone songs. A few other songs would also house parts of the concept. It certainly became close to impossible for Hensley to deliver on the ambitions he had.ДЄs time fell short he ended up using what he had, squeezing the main fragments of his concept into one song вЂ“ the epic title track.

This made it impossible for them to spend too long on creating and recording. The record company kept demanding new product quicker as the band was put on a busy touring schedule.

The plan was to create something filled with good, imaginative imagery that would have stood perfectly alongside the evocative sleeve designs of Roger Dean whom the band worked with at the time.ДЄlas, Ken Hensley was never allowed to finish his story. It was a fantasy-themed and somewhat philosophical tale about two magicians, based on the classic concept of battle between good and evil.

URIAH HEEP TALES FULL

The MagicianвЂ™s Birthday was originally meant to be a full concept album, based on a story that multi-instrumentalist (mainly keyboardist while in Uriah Heep) Ken Hensley was writing at the time. The track is the second longest on the record at 4:50, only surpassed by the epic title track of over twice that length. Echoes in the Dark is a song by the classic British hard rock band Uriah Heep, originally released on their fifth studio album The MagicianвЂ™s Birthday in 1972.

Uriah heep tales