Production
The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, the front of which was designed by Roger Dean and contains a hidden erotic image of male and female genitalia. The inner of the gatefold had pictures of the band and notes by Ken Hensley, whilst the LP itself was housed in a liner on which were printed the lyrics.
The songs "The Wizard" and "Easy Livin'" were released as singles in the United Kingdom and North America, as well as many other markets. "Easy Livin'" entered the US Top 40 at #39, making it Heep's first and only American hit. "Easy Livin'" was also a mega hit in the Netherlands and Germany, countries which were becoming a strong market for the band. It reached a disappointing #75 in Australia.
New Zealander Gary Thain, a then member of Keef Hartley band, joined Uriah Heep as a permanent member halfway through another American tour. "Gary just had a style about him, it was incredible because every bass player in the world that I've ever known has always loved his style, with those melodic bass lines", Box commented later. Thus the 'classic' Uriah Heep was formed and, according to biographer K. Blows, "everything just clicked into place".
Also, the addition of Lee Kerslake, (a former bandmate of Hensley's in "The Gods" and "Toe Fat"), on drums solidified the rhythm section into a world class powerhouse.
The result of this newly found chemistry was the Demons and Wizards album which in June 1972 reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 23 in the USA. While the title of it and Roger Dean's sleeve both suggested that the band was romantically working medieval myth into their songs - and surely songs like "Rainbow Demon" and "The Wizard" (co-written by Mark Clarke, during his short stay) did have thematical links with fantasy world - more straightforward, hard-rocking approach was also obvious. To discard any possible insinuations concerning any kind of concept behind it, Hensley's note on the sleeve declared the album to be "just a collection of our songs that we had a good time recording". Both critics and the band's aficionados consider the album as 'definitive' and 'crowning achievement' which (according to AllMusic) "solidified Uriah Heep's reputation as a master of gothic-inflected heavy metal", Ken Hensley has remembered.
"The band was really focused at that time. We all wanted the same thing, were all willing to make the same sacrifices to achieve it and we were all very committed. It was the first album to feature that line-up and there was a magic in that combination of people that created so much energy and enthusiasm".
Two singles were released form the album: "The Wizard" and "Easy Livin'", the second (a defiant rocker, according to Blows, "tailor-made for Byron's extrovert showmanship") peaked at No. 39 in Billboard Hot 100.
Read more about this topic: Demons And Wizards (album)
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