bonnek
Return To Fantasy can't lay any claims on the band's past greatness but at least it contains some more heavyness then the often mellow direction of the previous albums. Some of the songs here are even as good as what appeared on Demons and Wizards.
Return to Fantasy is a great epic track with plenty of vocal harmonies, good melodies and great organ and synth leads, nothing new but well-written and focused. Shady Lady is forgettable rock ‘n’ Roll but Devil’s Daughter is another catchy tune that wouldn’t have been out of place on the debut.
Beautiful Dream counts even as one of my Heep favorites. Especially the synth intro is downright classic, but the entire songs is wonderful really. The high pitched vocals at the end reach heights that only Judas Priest and King Diamond have claimed since. After a number of average songs, the album ends strongly with A Year Or A Day.
As an album it remains slightly below expectation but I can really recommend some of the songs here to everyone that loved Uriah Heep’s classic albums.