Return to Fantasy [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Uriah Heep | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1975
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Castle - Old Numbers
• ASIN: B00001ZSZP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,924 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Return to Fantasy

2. Shady Lady

3. Devil's Daughter

4. Beautiful Dream

5. Prima Donna

6. Your Turn to Remember

7. Showdown

8. Why Did You Go?

9. A Year or a Day

10. Shout It Out

11. The Time Will Come

12. Beautiful Dream [Previouslu Unreleased Version][#]

13. Return to Fantasy [Edited Version][Edit]

Editorial Reviews

Mid-priced 1996 reissue on Castle for their eighth studioalbum, originally released in 1975 & now fully remasteredand repackaged with new sleeve notes, additional photos andfour bonus tracks: 'Shout It Out', 'The Time Will Come','Beautiful Dream' (Previou --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to Form, January 15, 2004

By 

psychedelephant "psychedelephant" (Staten Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return to Fantasy (Audio CD)

1974 was not a banner year for Uriah Heep. Exhausted by years of recording while touring, it saw the "classic" lineup produce their least-inspired (although still quite listenable) album, "Wonderworld", followed by absolute disaster, when bassist Gary Thain was nearly killed by a severe electric shock while on stage during a show in Texas during the subsequent tour. Thain would never rejoin the band; always haunted by drug problems, he turned to heroin during his convalescence, which addiction would cost him his job in that year, and his life in December, 1975. He was replaced in the band by John Wetton, who had played with Family and King Crimson, and 1975 saw the first effort by the new lineup.

"Return To Fantasy", the first album of the Wetton era, is a crisp return to form. While not quite living up to the lofty standards of the 1970-73 recordings, as the band still seemed to be in the process of deciding what musical direction they wanted to take the new lineup, resulting in a less cohesive overall sound, the material and performances still shine nonetheless. Particular standouts are the title track, a long-time fan favorite (which the current lineup has played to open their shows recently), "Devil's Daughter", with intricate time changes (no doubt inspired by Wetton's stint in King Crimson) and a tasty Mick Box guitar solo, "Your Turn To Remember" and "Why Did You Go?", both aching ballads, (primary songwriter Ken Hensley specializes in songs about lost love, although the writing credits on this album are more evenly distributed than on any other) and the jaw-dropping "Beautiful Dream", with a wailing lead synth courtesy of Mr. Wetton, outstanding drumming from Lee Kerslake, and an absolutely astonishing vocal from David Byron, that with all respect to Deep Purple's Ian Gillan, could have taught him a trick or two (Byron's vocals are particularly impressive throughout the album overall; he remains perhaps the most sadly overlooked vocalist in rock history).

The bottom line: while not quite at the level of their finest work as a whole, this is still an excellent album, and is certainly worth picking up for even a casual fan on the strength of the title track and "Beautiful Dream" alone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better than before, January 18, 2000

By 

Steve Marshall "Steve" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Return to Fantasy (Audio CD)

Of all the band's albums, Return to Fantasy probably had the worst sound quality of them all. The original vinyl was tinny at best, and as you got closer to the end of a side, it just got worse. The reissue sounds considerably better. While this record sounds a bit dated now, it included such memorable tracks as "Beautiful Dream," "Your Turn to Remember" (an FM hit here in the US), and "A Year or a Day"--quite possibly one of the band's best tunes. Although Thain was kicked out of the band during the sessions for Return to Fantasy and replaced by John Wetton, the liner notes state that Thain may be playing bass on the demo of "Beautiful Dream" (included here as a bonus track). The band members can't seem to remember must've been the 70's). Also included as bonus tracks are two B-sides and the single version of the title track.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well...as far as Uriah Heep goes...., November 25, 2003

By 

Brent (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return to Fantasy (Audio CD)

Everybody kind of...hesitantly...anticipated ths album back in 1975, because right after "Sweet Freedom," Hensley, Box, & company fired bassist Gary Thain and replaced him with John Wetton. Personally, (this's just MY opinion), they traded UP, but, as Hensley himself notes in "Fantasy's" liner notes, "the chemistry wasn't there." Well...maybe not, but Heep sounded FINE ('as frog hair,' as we used to observe down south) and tight as a TICK. The tracks are typical hobbity Heep trax, but that second cut, "Shady Lady" kind of solely justifies the CD's purchase. Beginning with a strong Mick Box/open A/ascending chord progression, there's a bit of drum/bass histrionics, and then Ken Hensley jumps in, playing some excellent bottleneck-slide guitar. The lyrics, of course, recount how singer Dave Byron meets a lady (a SHADY lady), who tells him, "hang around, 'cause I'm takin' you home" - and THEN says, "OK, Sonny - give me your money!" Yeah, yeah, "been-there-done-that," but in the end, ol' Dave tells Shady Lady, "STAY? Baby, NO WAY!" True, both the subject matter of the song and my description of it make it sound like ANY generic "OD'd on testosterone/metal" song, but that instrumental in the middle of the song nullifies any snide eletism. Buy the ticket, take the ride, folks...