URIAH HEEP 'DEMONS AND WZARDS' UK 1st PRESS '72 EX+

	£		43
	$		57

Uriah Heep

'Demons And Wizards'

Bronze, UK, 1972

ILPS 9193

HEEP'S MOST commercially successful album. Their fourth in a long line of winners and no loosers. Retaining every molecule of pomposity, the Heep move in on their kill with precision and power drawing from a rich history of heaviousity spearheaded by Hensley's swirling Hammond Organ, Mick Box's blistering wah-wah guitar and David Byron's ludicrously operatic vocal gymnastics - and I say that with love.

At the time they were members of the big four - Sabbath Purple, Zeppelin and...the Heep. Rampaging heavy rock dinosaurs trampling from continent to continent raizing concert halls to the ground and clogging the airwaves with colourful and frightening album length tracks. It was a great time and, thankfully, I saw most the above bands in their heyday including Heep and believe me when I tell you that they gave all the others a run for their money.

This time around they came up with an explosive package helping to destroy the myth that they were a a one dimensional can of noise and of limited life expectancy. Archeytype Heep in so much as the lyrical themes dabble with fantasy amd mystique; another classic make no mistake. Every nuance is extremely well thought out, every riff calculated to create maximum impact and the quality of songs is just outrageous. As a working unit and forever on tour, it amazes me that they ever found time to write stuff this good.

'The Wizard' lead off track is a challenging and super intelligent slice of intent angst blessed with a simple yet effective chorus. It is world's apart from the usual Heep bluster but tracks such as 'Easy Livin', with trademark blasts of Hammond organ and flanged guitar, erupt from the speakers like rampaging elephants. It's as pompus and as diverse as you might expect yet all adding up to an incredibly entertaining package full of unexpected twists, turns and pleasant surprises.

A great Heep opus and one that should be in every early seventies hard rock collection.

Pressing: Bronze, UK, 1972

Vinyl: Nice clean condition. Spindle marks and faint signs of use. A few tiny scuffs only visible under a bright light - primarilly due to sliding in and out of the inner sleeve. Spot palyback reveals a few crackles and pops mainly due to static - even my keeper copy suffers from this. Grades as Ex+

Cover: Minor signs of use. Issued in a beautifully illustrated (by Roger Dean) and richly crafted gatefold cover. Sharp corners (two edge slightly rubbed), no dings, no bends, faint ring wear on rear, no split seams and no creases. Spine is pefectly square, straight and  uncrushed. Beautiful and impossible to find like this 37 years after release. Grades as a very strong Ex+

Inserts: Inner printed lyric sleeve

Matrix:

1st Pressing

Side One: ILPS 9193 A - 1

Side Two: ILPS 9193 B - 1

NOTE: PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED WITHIN 10 DAYS. PAYPAL IS PREFERRED. USA, Canada, Japan and Australia Postage is 8 UK Pounds ($16). Central Europe 5 UK Pounds ($10). Eastern Europe and former Russian territories 6 UK Pounds ($12). UK 3 UK Pounds ($6).  This is a vinyl album NOT a CD. No time wasters, nit pickers or deadbeats- retribution will be swift and mercyless. Bidders with very low feedback new to ebay are often deadbeats so please don't be surprised if I run a check on you in advance. All gradings are visual but may have been spot tested to double check. I very rarely list records that are in any way scratched- they go in the trash- and I will only list a scratched record if scarcity dictates otherwise but with full disclosure. Often vinyl display 'scuffs' which are surface marks (mostly caused by sliding in and out of the inner sleeve or careless handling) but NOT scratches and they do not have any effect on playback. If the vinyl has a scuff I will try and mention it. Even my Vg+ records are way better than most gradings on ebay- check my feedback for vindication.Gradings are cover/vinyl. All records are sold as-is that means no refunds or returns except in very rare circumstances. I am not a lending libary so don't ask for a refund (I've been burn't in the past with people buying records, taping or CD-Ring and then returning them and I've also had scratched records returned in place of clean albums). If you do not accept this rule then please don't bid. I accept Paypal, UK cheques/PO's. NO US checks or MO's. Insurance against loss or damage is not included and must be requested seperately if required. I will only refund you when I have received the refund, if any, from the Post Office which could take months. Payment must be received within 10 days- no excuses. Hey why not check out my other auctions and save with multiple postage. I list a fine selection of seventies leaning Prog, Psych, Hard Rock, Folk, AOR and Country Rock on a near weekly basis so make sure you check in regularly or you may miss some good and unusual stuff. Lastly feel free to get in touch if you have any specific wants. Thanks.