Wonderworld (album)

For other uses, see Wonderworld (disambiguation).

Wonderworld is the seventh studio album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released in June 1974 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US. Wonderworld was the last Uriah Heep album to feature bass player Gary Thain.

Wonderworld
Studio album by Uriah Heep
Released	June 1974^[1]
Recorded	January–March 1974
Studio	Musicland (Munich)
Genre	Hard rock progressive rock heavy metal
Length	37:40
Label	Bronze and Island Warner Bros. (North America)
Producer	Gerry Bron
Uriah Heep chronology
Sweet Freedom (1973) Wonderworld (1974) Return to Fantasy (1975)
Singles from Wonderworld
"Something or Nothing" Released: May 1974 (UK) ^[2]

The original vinyl release was a single sleeve, with the lyrics reproduced on the inner liner.

The album was remastered and reissued by Castle Communications in 1996 with four bonus tracks, and again in 2004 in an expanded deluxe edition.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	6/10^[4]
Džuboks	mixed^[5]

AllMusic's retrospective review noted that "Wonderworld continues in the vein of Sweet Freedom, trying to bring Uriah Heep's appeal to a wider level while still retaining the grandiose trademark elements (the organ-guitar attack, David Byron's operatic shriek) that got them noticed". Comparing it to the band's prior work, reviewer Donald A. Guarisco added that "The result is an album that is solid but not as inspired as Look at Yourself or Demons and Wizards. The hard rock quotient is a little stronger on this album".^[3] Martin Popoff found Wonderworld "conceptually vacant" and "lacking the fluid instrumental chemistry that loosely held together its predecessor", while still containing two gems in the songs "Suicidal Man" and "So Tired".^[4]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wonderworld"	Ken Hensley	4:29
2.	"Suicidal Man"	Mick Box, David Byron, Hensley, Lee Kerslake, Gary Thain	3:38
3.	"The Shadows and the Wind"	Hensley	4:27
4.	"So Tired"	Box, Byron, Hensley, Kerslake, Thain	3:39
5.	"The Easy Road"	Hensley	2:43

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Something or Nothing"	Box, Hensley, Thain	2:56
7.	"I Won't Mind"	Box, Byron, Hensley, Kerslake, Thain	5:59
8.	"We Got We"	Box, Byron, Hensley, Kerslake, Thain	3:39
9.	"Dreams"	Box, Byron, Hensley	6:10

1996 Remastered Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"What Can I Do" (single B-side)	Box, Kerslake, Byron	3:10
11.	"Dreams" (previously unreleased version)		7:08
12.	"Something or Nothing" (previously unreleased live version)		3:09
13.	"The Easy Road" (previously unreleased live version)		2:53
Total length:			51:00

2004 Expanded Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"What Can I Do" (single B-side)		3:09
11.	"Love, Hate and Fear" (previously unreleased)	Hensley, Box, Byron, Thain, Kerslake	4:29
12.	"Stone's Throw" (previously unreleased)	Hensley, Box, Byron, Thain, Kerslake	5:36
13.	"Dreams" (extended version)		7:13
14.	"I Won't Mind" (live)		5:35
15.	"So Tired" (live)		3:29
Total length:			64:11

Personnel

Uriah Heep

• David Byron – lead vocals
• Mick Box – guitars
• Ken Hensley – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
• Lee Kerslake – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Gary Thain – bass guitar

Additional musicians

• Jose Gabriel – synthesizers
• Michael Gibbs – orchestral arrangements on "The Easy Road"

Production

• Gerry Bron – producer
• Peter Gallen – recording engineer
• Hans Menzel, Macki – Musicland engineers
• Graham Hughes – photography and concept
• Harry Moss – cutting engineer

Charts

Album Weekly charts Chart (1974) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[6] 19 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[7] 2 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[8] 31 Danish Albums Chart^[9] 3 Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)^[10] 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[11] 7 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[12] 76 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[13] 3 UK Albums (OCC)^[14] 23 US Billboard 200^[15] 38 Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[16] 40

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1974 "Something or Nothing" Norwegian Singles Chart^[17] 6 Finnish Singles Chart^[18] 25 German Singles Chart^[19] 45

Certifications

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

References

1. Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 859. ISBN 9780862415419.
2. "Uriah Heep singles".
3. Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep - Wonderworld review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
4. 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.
5. "Uriah Heep - Wonderworld". Džuboks (in Serbian). Vol. 2, no. 3. Gornji Milanovac: Dečje novine. December 1974. p. 23.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Uriah Heep – Wonderworld" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
8. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3849a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
9. "Wonderworld - Uriah Heep". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
10. 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.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Wonderworld" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
12. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Uriah Heep – Wonderworld". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
15. "Uriah Heep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
16. (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1974. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
17. "Uriah Heep – Something or Nothing (Song)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
18. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: U > Uriah Heep". Sisältää hitin / Timo Pennanen. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
19. "Single - Uriah Heep, Something or Nothing". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
20. "British album certifications – Uriah Heep – Wonderworld". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.