Sweet Freedom (Uriah Heep album)

Sweet Freedom
Studio album by
Uriah Heep
ReleasedSeptember 1973
RecordedJune–July 1973
StudioChâteau d'Hérouville, France
Genre
Length37:23
LabelBronze
ProducerGerry Bron
Uriah Heep chronology
The Magician's Birthday
(1972) 		Sweet Freedom
(1973) 		Wonderworld
(1974)
Singles from Sweet Freedom
  1. "Stealin'"
    Released: 17 August 1973 (UK)[1]
  2. "Dreamer"
    Released: October 1973 (Japan)[2]
  3. "Seven Stars"
    Released: November 1973 (NL and Japan)[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[5]

Sweet Freedom is the sixth studio album by English rock band Uriah Heep, released in September 1973 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US.

The original vinyl release was a gatefold, reproducing the lyrics within. There was also a central page with a photograph of each band member.

It was the first Uriah Heep album to be released by Warner Bros. in the U.S. Sweet Freedom reached No. 33 in the US Billboard 200 chart.[6] It was certified gold by the RIAA on 5 March 1974.[7]

AllMusic's retrospective review noted that Heep "began to explore new styles to flesh out their combination of prog complexity and heavy metal muscle."[4]

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

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ken Hensley, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dreamer"Gary Thain, Mick Box3:41
2."Stealin'" 4:49
3."One Day"Hensley, Thain2:47
4."Sweet Freedom" 6:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."If I Had the Time" 5:43
6."Seven Stars" 3:52
7."Circus"Thain, Box, Lee Kerslake2:44
8."Pilgrim"Hensley, David Byron7:10
Total length:37:23
1996 Remastered Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Silver White Man"Byron3:40
10."Crystal Ball"Thain4:08
2004 Expanded Deluxe Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Sunshine"Thain, Box4:48
10."Seven Stars" (extended version) 7:03
11."Pilgrim" (extended version – previously unreleased)Hensley, Byron8:29
12."If I Had the Time" (demo) 6:02
13."Sweet Freedom" (alternative live version) 6:48
14."Stealin'" (alternative live version) 5:41

Personnel

Uriah Heep

Production

  • Gerry Bron – producer
  • Peter Gallen – engineer, mixing at Lansdowne Studios, London

Charts

Chart (1973–1974) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 19
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] 9
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 5
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[11] 14
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[12] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 12
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 45
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[15] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 18
US Billboard 200[17] 33

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Uriah Heep singles".
  2. ^ "Uriah Heep singles".
  3. ^ "Uriah Heep singles".
  4. ^ a b Guarisco, Donald A. "Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 302. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  6. ^ "Uriah Heep Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  7. ^ "RIAA Database: Search for Uriah Heep". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4940". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Sweet Freedom – Uriah Heep". Danske Hitlister.dk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Uriah Heep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Uriah Heep – Sweet Freedom". Recording Industry Association of America.