URIAH HEEP "The Magician's Birthday" 1973 UK 1ST PRESS

	£		53
	$		70

URIAH HEEP "The Magician's Birthday" 1973 UK 1ST PRESS
BRONZE A-1U/B-1U w/LYRIC INNER, SUPERB EX+ AUDIO
URIAH HEEP
The Magician's Birthday

HERE WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT, UK BRONZE (ILPS 9213) FIRST PRESSING (February 1973) OF URIAH HEEP's OUTSTANDING "The Magician's Birthday" LP

PRESSED ON QUALITY HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL (much thicker and more robust than later presses) WITH DEEP CUT GROOVES WHICH DELIVER OUTSTANDING SHARP, RICH AUDIO
THE RECORD HAS THE FIRST ISSUE BRONZE LABELS (w/"Marketed and distributed by Island Records Limited" credit)
FIRST PRESS MATRICES: ILPS 9213 A-1U (with the U printed sideways) / ILPS 9213 B-1U (etched "G. KONG" on both run off grooves)
AND IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL, MATTE, ROGER DEAN DESIGNED, GATEFOLD SLEEVE "Printed in England by Robor Ltd" WITH FACTORY SEALED (and folded under) LEFT SIDE EDGE, COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL DELICATE, LYRIC INNER SLEEVE PRINTED ON THIN PAPER WITH THE ILPS 9213 CATALOGUE NUMBER AND Ⓟ BRONZE RECORDS 1972 TEXT

GREAT UK FIRST PRESSING OF A TREMENDOUS LP

After reaching an international level of success with Demons and Wizards, Uriah Heep continued to build their fan base by knocking out another album of prog-like metal before the year's end. The end result, The Magician's Birthday, is not as consistent or cohesive as Demons and Wizards but still offers plenty of highlights. It starts dramatically with "Sunrise," a spooky power ballad that alternates quiet organ-led verses with an emotional chorus and guitar-fuelled instrumental breaks topped off by David Byron's operatic wail. The remainder of the album divides its time between punchy rockers and spacy balladry before climaxing with another prog-inflected epic. Highlights in the rock arena include "Blind Eye," an acoustic-flavored rocker whose galloping pace is firmly anchored by Gary Thain's melodic bassline, and "Sweet Lorraine," a stomping good-time rocker that adds extra texture to its guitar-driven sound with some spacy synthesizer lines. As for the quieter moments, "Rain" is a lovely piano ballad that makes surprising and impressive use of a xylophone in its sound and "Echoes in the Dark" is an eerie mid-tempo song that alternates stark piano-led verses with an emotional chorus cemented by Mick Box's searing guitar leads. There is also another multi-part epic in the title track, a prog-ish piece with fantasy themes. It lacks a strong structure (it feels more like three songs grafted together than a true multi-part composition) and succumbs to a bit of aimless jamming in the middle, but it is redeemed by strong hooks in the opening and a spirited performance from the band on its space rock finale. All in all, The Magician's Birthday never quite hits the consistent heights of Look at Yourself or Demons and Wizards but remains a solid listen for Uriah Heep fans.

Track Listing:
Side 1: Sunrise / Spiderwoman / Blind Eye / Echoes In The Dark / Rain
Side 2: Sweet Lorraine / Tales / The Magician's Birthday

LABELS: The labels are in BEAUTIFUL condition - CLEAN and BRIGHT with NO wear, NO writing and only a few light spindle traces on Side One label and virtually NONE on Side Two
VINYL Visual: The vinyl still retains its DEEP, GLOSSY SHEEN. There are a couple of (very) light superficial marks but these have NO audio consequence - the audio is OUTSTANDING
VINYL Audio: SUPERB audio - CRYSTAL CLEAR, TREMENDOUSLY RICH, STRONG VIBRANT SOUND. Unbeatable depth and clarity on these first presses simply not found on later issues. There are NO scratches, NO sticks, NO jumps, NO clicks or pops and just some very minor surface noise on some of the quieter parts (being very critical here and certainly nothing I found at all intrusive on play-grading this MASTERPIECE). The album plays to an very high standard with SUPERB AUDIO CLARITY, NO discernible groove-wear or distortion (I don't think it has been played that much) and must be very critically graded as EXCELLENT to (+) for audio. SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL and NOT over-graded in ANY way as I use STRICT RECORD COLLECTOR grading standards (please refer to my feedback and 'about me' page). SUPERB COPY
SLEEVE: The original gatefold cover is in EXCELLENT condition. It is CLEAN and UNMARKED but there is a little ring to the back of the sleeve and record pressure wear to the top edge side which holds the LP but it is not split. The spine is straight and true with all text CLEAR and BOLD. Overall, a very fine example of this easily worn and rubbed sleeve
LYRIC INNER: The delicate, thin paper, original lyric inner is also in EXCELLENT condition. It is CLEAN and displays just some light handling but most importantly there are NO splits to any of the edges (which is very rare for this delicate inner). The LP is now housed - and will be posted in - a new inner to prevent any 'knifing' damage to the original during transit

PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT MY PICTURES - I USUALLY TAKE QUITE A FEW SO YOU CAN GET A CLEAR INDICATION OF EVERY DETAIL OF THE ITEM
I HAVE UPLOADED AS MANY PICTURES AS I CAN BUT I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SUPPLY ANY ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ON REQUEST
THIS REALLY IS A TREMENDOUS UK FIRST PRESSING OF A FANTASTIC LP WITH OUTSTANDING AUDIO DELIVERY - ONE OF THE FINEST COPIES I HAVE HEARD IN A WHILE AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
AS WITH ALL MY RECORDS THIS HAS A LOW START PRICE AND NO RESERVE
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE RARE AND COLLECTABLE VINYL
AND PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUERIES YOU MAY HAVE
THANKS FOR LOOKING, CHEERS

PLEASE REFER TO MY 'ABOUT ME' PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO ON MY PLAY-GRADING, EQUIPMENT USED, P&P etc

POST & PACKING
UK: 1st Class: £4.00 (Recorded Delivery)
EU: Airmail: £5.00 (Insured & Signed For: £8.50)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £8.00 (Insured & Signed For: £11.50)

UK bidders: PayPal or Cheque
INTERNATIONAL bidders: PayPal ONLY

REDUCED POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE ITEMS (EACH ADDITIONAL LP: UK: £1.00, EU & INTERNATIONAL £2.00)
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 277 (GS 5.2 (277))