URIAH HEEP The Magician's Birthday UK 1st PRESS EX+

£ 52

$ 69

£ 52 Sold For

May 21, 2013 Sold Date

May 14, 2013 Start Date

£ 24 Start price

5 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

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Description

URIAH HEEP The Magician's Birthday UK 1st PRESS EX+

COMPLETE w/UNSPLIT LYRIC INNER - STRONG POWERFUL SOUND

URIAH HEEP
The Magician's Birthday

UK BRONZE RECORDS (ILPS 9213) FIRST PRESSING (December 1972) OF URIAH HEEP'S CLASSIC "The Magician's Birthday"

PRESSED WITH THE FIRST ISSUE BRONZE/ISLAND LABELS WHICH CARRY THE "Marketed and distributed by Island Records Limited" CREDIT ON THE BOTTOM RIM ALONG WITH THE ISLAND i LOGO
MATRICES: ILPS 9213 A-1U (with the U printed sideways) / ILPS 9213 B-1U (etched "G. KONG" on both run off grooves)
THE RECORD HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL MATT, 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 WHITE PAPER WITH THE 'ILPS 9213' CATALOGUE NUMBER AND "Ⓟ BRONZE RECORDS 1972" TEXT

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 Magician's Birthday
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 spacey balladry before climaxing with another prog-inflected epic.
Highlights in the rock arena include "Blind Eye," an acoustic -flavoured rocker whose galloping pace is firmly anchored by Gary Thain's melodic bass-line, and "Sweet Lorraine," a stomping good-time rocker that adds extra texture to its guitar-driven sound with some spacey 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.

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

LABELS: EXCELLENT+
Clean, unmarked labels - a few light spindle traces (about a dozen, which don't show readily in the pictures)
VINYL Visual: EXCELLENT
Both surfaces retain their original deep glossy sheen with some superficial light marks and some misting on the run-offs - these marks have little/no audible significance
VINYL Audio: EXCELLENT+/EXCELLENT++
Apart from the occasional touch of surface (on Side One - nothing major) my play-check at loud volume found little else to fault the strong, powerful sound - no scratches and no loud clicks or pops - very nice copy - sounds great
SLEEVE: NEAR MINT
The gatefold is unmarked - sharp and fresh with no real edge or spine wear to speak of - all spine text is clear and bold. There is a tiny bump to the top corner but in the overall appearance of this clean and sharp sleeve this is very minor indeed - fine example
INNER SLEEVE: EXCELLENT++
The delicate inner is clean and white - no splits to any of the seams (which is pretty rare)

POST & PACKING:
A PROTECTIVE POLY SLEEVE, NEW INNER SLEEVE WITH ANTI-STATIC LINER, QUALITY BOX (NOT ENVELOPE) MAILER AND AMPLE STIFFENERS ARE ALWAYS USED TO ENSURE THAT YOUR RECORD ARRIVES SAFELY
UK: 1st Class: £4.50 (recorded delivery)
EUROPE: Airmail: £13.00 (International Signed For delivery)
INTERNATIONAL: Airmail: £17.00 (International Signed For delivery)
PAYMENT IS BY PAYPAL ONLY SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PAY BY SOME OTHER METHOD PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST

I will combine postage (normally £2 or £3 per extra record) for items purchased within any 10 day period.
However, at the end of each 10 day period, all outstanding items will need to be paid for in full and will be posted to you.
Any items purchased after payment will be included in the next 10 period.
I am continually adding new items which may be of interest to you and it is impractical for me to allow payment to be postponed indefinitely in the expectation that you might wish to bid on future items.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation
Guarantee: The record is unconditionally guaranteed and I will offer a complete, no quibble refund (through Paypal) upon return of the item should you not be pleased with it in any way I will email you when payment has been received to let you know when the item will be posted. Please leave feedback upon receipt of the item so that I know you have received it safely. Any problems please email me. Thanks 486 (GS 6.5.1 (486))

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