134: Uriah Heep - Demons and Wizards (1972)

“It’s difficult to care about criticism about what your band is lacking when you’re being called back on stage for five encores every night."

—Mick Box

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Uriah Heep were never critical darlings, but for a brief period in the early seventies, they were making some absolutely killer fantasy-tinged rock. Phil has always had a soft spot for 1972’s Demons And Wizards, which is probably the best example of what could happen when this band was truly firing on all cylinders. He, along with Dan and Mike, makes the case for why this album should be a staple of any respectable early seventies hard rock collection.

Miscellany

• At 1 hour 24 minutes, this is our shortest full-length episode since episode 47 on The Handsome Family, way back in 2020, so enjoy the brevity … while it lasts. Uriah Heep doesn’t offer much in the way of complex themes and relevant social commentary – just good ol' rockin'. 

• The clip during the introductory teaser comes from the 1999 BBC television drama adaptation of David Copperfield, featuring Nicholas Lyndhurst as Uriah Heep. To the best of our knowledge, this adaptation features neither demons nor wizards. 

Other links 

• The official Uriah Heep website (uriah-heep.com)

• George Starostin reviews Uriah Heep (starlingdb.org)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Demons and Wizards playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• Phil Maddox (host)

• Mike DeFabio (moderator)

• Dan Watkins 

Demons and Wizards tracklist 

1. The Wizard

2. Traveller in Time

3. Easy Livin’

4. Poet’s Justice

5. Circle of Hands

6. Rainbow Demon

7. All My Life

8. Paradise

9. The Spell 

Other clips used 

Uriah Heep:

• Gypsy

• Poet's Justice (Alternate Version)

• July Morning

• Sweet Lorraine

• The Magician's Birthday

Others:

• Tenacious D – Tribute

• Blue Öyster Cult – Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

• Deep Purple – Pictures of Home

• Blondie – Call Me

• Shirley Zwerus – Easy Livin'/It's the Only Way

• King Crimson – The Court of the Crimson King

• Mouse and the Traps – A Public Execution

• Lothar and the Hand People – Today Is Only Yesterday's Tomorrow

• Led Zeppelin – Thank You

• Black Sabbath – Children of the Sea

• K-Ci & JoJo – All My Life

• Ten Years After – I'm Coming On

• Ween – Fluffy

• The Shadows of Knight – Oh Yeah

• Blue Öyster Cult – Transmaniacon MC

• Rainbow – Stargazer

• Nazareth – Please Don't Judas Me

Band/album personnel 

• David Byron – lead vocals

• Mick Box – guitars

• Ken Hensley – keyboards, guitars, percussion, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (8, 9)

• Lee Kerslake – drums, percussion, backing vocals

• Gary Thain – bass guitar

• Mark Clarke – bass guitar (1), co-lead vocals (1)

• Gerry Bron – producer

• Peter Gallen – engineer

• Ashley Howe – assistant engineer

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• Uriah Heep - Poet’s Justice (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Demons and Wizards and other albums by Uriah Heep at uriah-heep.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for editing, production, and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.