1972
- Demons & Wizards is released.
It
was to be Uriah Heep’s 4th studio album. One
after a series of drummer changes and now on their 3rd
bass player! It would be the magical era and the classic line
up with founders Mick Box, David Byron, Ken Hensley, drummer
Lee Kerslake who had joined 5 months previously, and bass
player Gary Thain – who had just joined a few months before.
It would be the beginning of the band’s most successful era
from ’72 to ‘74. Ironically, the album was preceded by a
single, where half of the LP’s title was taken from –
“The Wizard”, which still featured Mark Clarke on bass.
Demons
And Wizards would become the band’s biggest contribution in
the history of rock n roll, and definately the most
influential. It influenced aspiring musicians, bands, and more
so – fans who took notice of the band on this album that
spawned 2 rock radio classics – the aformentioned The Wizard
and the band’s biggest global hit and best known song
“Easy Livin”. Both songs have remained a part of the
band’s live repertoire
over the past 30 years, and both still receive play on
any classic rock station. But for those ‘Heepsters’ that
became addicted to the band Demons and Wizards is a
masterpiece. The fantasy themed and musically heavy tracks
like “Traveller In Time”, “Poets Justice” and
“Rainbow Demon” remain faves among elder Heepsters,
as does the classic epic “Paradise / The Spell”,
and one of the most beautiful songs the band ever created –
“Circle Of Hands”. Who can not listen to that hammond
intro and be sucked in?
Ask anyone involved in the making of this album and they will
tell you it was a major [if not THE] highlight of their
career, a magical period, an amazing record to make.... And
that’s exactly how it appears to fans. With it’s colorful
Roger Dean artwork and fantasy lyrics inside, it is a package
that is stunning to check out, ...and then you listen to it!
Even though the album has been remastered with ‘bonus’
tracks and new liner notes, the old vinyl gatefold still holds
a lot of magic to look at and put on the turntable, as it did
for this Heep fan who was hooked after buying and listening to
a scratchy old LP.
Kevin Julie
   
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