Return to Fantasy

1975 studio album by Uriah Heep

Return to Fantasy

Studio album by

Uriah Heep

Released

13 June 1975

Recorded

Spring 1975

Studio

Lansdowne and Morgan, London

Genre

Hard rock
progressive rock
heavy metal

Length

40:35

Label

Bronze

Producer

Gerry Bron

Uriah Heep chronology

Wonderworld
(1974)

Return to Fantasy
(1975)

High and Mighty
(1976)

Singles from Return to Fantasy

"Prima Donna"
Released: June 1975
"Return to Fantasy"
Released: July 1975 (Europe and Japan) ^[1]

Return to Fantasy is the eighth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released on 13 June 1975 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was the first of the two albums to feature John Wetton as the new bass player, who replaced Gary Thain in early 1975.

The sleeve-art is by British artist Dave Field.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	5/10^[3]

Return to Fantasy "retains the musical experimentation that marked Sweet Freedom and Wonderworld, but has an overall harder-rocking feel that makes it more consistent than either one of those albums", said Donald A. Guarisco in his retrospective AllMusic review. He criticized some of the album's "genre-hopping", and concluded, "In the end, Return to Fantasy lacks the coherence of a top-shelf Uriah Heep classic like Demons and Wizards but remains a strong and likable album that is guaranteed to please the group's fans".^[2] The review by Canadian journalist Martin Popoff was very critical of the album's recording "dominated by blaring but thin organ and sloppy drumming" and of Byron's "distant and unsure" performance, judging the album "completely adrift without a trace of spark".^[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Byron, Mick Box, Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake except where noted

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Return to Fantasy"	Hensley, Byron	5:52
2.	"Shady Lady"		4:46
3.	"Devil's Daughter"		4:48
4.	"Beautiful Dream"		4:52

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Prima Donna"		3:11
6.	"Your Turn to Remember"	Hensley	4:22
7.	"Showdown"		4:17
8.	"Why Did You Go"		3:53
9.	"A Year or a Day"	Hensley	4:22
Total length:			40:35

1996 Essential remastered and expanded edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Shout It Out" (B-side to single "Prima Donna")	Hensley	3:34
11.	"The Time Will Come" (B-side to single "Return to Fantasy")		4:10
12.	"Beautiful Dream" (previously unreleased version)		5:49
13.	"Return to Fantasy" (edited version)		3:39
Total length:			57:49

2004 Sanctuary Midline remastered and expanded edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
10.	"Shout It Out" (B-side)	3:34
11.	"The Time Will Come" (B-side)	4:08
12.	"Prima Donna" (alternate demo version)	4:05
13.	"Why Did You Go" (alternate demo version)	5:18
14.	"Showdown" (alternate demo version)	4:18
15.	"Beautiful Dream" (alternate demo version)	5:48
16.	"Return to Fantasy" (extended version)	7:18
Total length:		75:08

Personnel

Uriah Heep

David Byron – lead vocals
Mick Box – guitars
Ken Hensley – keyboards, guitars, synthesizer, backing vocals
Lee Kerslake – drums, percussion, backing vocals
John Wetton – bass guitar, Mellotron, backing vocals

Production

Gerry Bron – producer
Peter Gallen – engineer
Dave Burns, Dave Harris – assistant engineers
Harry Moss – mastering engineer at EMI Abbey Road Studios, London
Dave Field – illustration
Joe Gaffney – photography

Charts

Album

Weekly charts

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	19
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[5]	3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[6]	83
Danish Albums Chart^[7]	12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[8]	10
Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)^[9]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[10]	21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[11]	74
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[12]	29
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[13]	2
UK Albums (OCC)^[14]	7
US Billboard 200^[15]	85

Year-end charts

Chart (1975)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[16]	49

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1975	"Prima Donna"	Norwegian Singles Chart^[17]	3
	"Prima Donna"	Danish Singles Chart^[18]	10
	"Return to Fantasy"	Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)^[19]	30

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[20]	Silver	60,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Uriah Heep singles".
^ ^a ^b Guarisco, Donald A. Uriah Heep - Return to Fantasy review at AllMusic. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 978-1894959025.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4021b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Return to Fantasy - Uriah Heep". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
^ "Charts.nz – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Uriah Heep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1975. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
^ "Uriah Heep – Prima Donna (Song)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ "Prima Donna - Uriah Heep". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ "Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy". Ultratop.be (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ "British album certifications – Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.