Magician

The Church - Magician Among the Spirits and Some (1996) {Cooking Vinyl - COOK CD 168 rel 1998}
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© 1996, 1998 Cooking Vinyl / The Church | COOK CD 168
Rock / Neo-Psychedelia / Alternative / Indie

Arista dropped them but the Church soldiered on – Tim Powles fully joined in the songwriting process a number of times, while Peter Koppes guested on various cuts after his absence from Sometime Anywhere. Violinist Linda Neil also appeared along with other guests from that record, with Magician Among the Spirits being the attractive end result. If the band was still a touch fragmented, Magician shows them well on the road to becoming a fully tight unit once again, with a number of interesting diversions along the way. Sonically, things followed in the vein of Sometime to a large extent, trying out different approaches and backing, often exploring more spacious, sometimes very late-night, relaxed arrangements.

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…

The Magician's Birthday is the fifth album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released in 1972 by Bronze Records in the UK and Mercury Records in the US. The concept was "based loosely on a short story" written by Ken Hensley in June and July 1972. In a retrospective review, Sputnikmusic praised The Magician's Birthday, saying, "Though probably not as cohesive as it could be, it still offers plenty of highlights, earning its place among Heep's finest albums". Reviewer Daniel Dias singled out "Sunrise", noting that it was "a highlight in Heep's catalog and one of the band's finest progressive rock ballads".