High and Mighty [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Uriah Heep | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Castle/Sanctuary
• ASIN: B00005NQHU
• 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: #631,236 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars overlooked, February 20, 2000

By 

eastern front reader (reston, virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High and Mighty (Audio CD)

this is the second heep album to feature john wetton. in fact, he takes the lead vocal on the first track 'one way or another.' this fast song is reminiscent of wetton-era king crimson. it's great and correctly placed because the music to follow is so unlike it. from the searing Box guitar on 'weep in silence' on through the hensley counterattack of 'can't keep a good band down,' this 1976 release is byron's last with the band. the production is crisp and clear, the arrangements, for the most part, are understated and the overall mood is one of reflection and world-weariness. byron is all over this record, yet his histrionics are nowhere evident. neither is the fantasy imagery nor proto-metal feel of the early 70's albums to be found; instead, 'high and mighty' is a tour-de-force and (sadly) a last gasp for byron-era heep . it's as if the presence of wetton (and his pedrigree) in the studio influenced hensley to compose, byron to sing, and box to play, in a mature style bereft of the lumpen AOR arrangements and party-rock cliches that peppered their records after 'magician's birthday.' these same traits would (gradually) return for the lawton-era albums that follow. 'high and mighty,' 'demons and wizards,' 'firefly,' and 'conquest' are my favorite heep efforts. 'demons and wizards' captures the band at their prog-metal best. 'high and mighty' has a psychedelic-ballad feel. 'firefly' is the best of the post-byron releases, combining as it does the plaintive quality of 'high' with the imagery and heaviness of 'demons.' 'conquest' is a great late 70's hard rock record in the trsdition of kiss, old whitesnake, journey. from this, it's obvious that heep is capable of stylistic variety. for awesome guitar, vocals, production, and hard rock ballads, check out the overlooked 'high and mighty.'

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag, January 16, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: High and Mighty (Audio CD)

The final album with original vocalist David Byron (whose worsening alcoholism and increasingly erratic behavior would shortly lead to his firing), self-produced by the band during a row with long-time manager/producer Gerry Bron, "High and Mighty" is a mixed bag, which showed that while the band were still capable of producing first-rate material even during such turmoil, they needed a producer's objective opinion to tell them when things weren't working.

Positive points: side one of the original LP (tracks 1-4) is incredible; it stacks up well against anything they ever recorded; had the album continued in the same vein, it would have rivaled "Demons and Wizards" as their best, and it is well worth owning for these tracks alone. "One Way Or Another" is a propulsive rocker, surprisingly featuring lead vocals from John Wetton and Ken Hensley (filling in for Byron, suffering from a case of the mumps), while "Weep In Silence", "Misty Eyes", and "Midnight", are archetypal "Classic Heep" songs, all of which would have been among the standout tracks on any of the previous albums.

Negative points: I hate to knock my favorite group, but the remaining tracks, side two of the original LP, are mostly an unfocused, experimental mess, illustrating exactly why bands normally rely on an outside producer to seperate the gold from the dross. "Can't Keep A Good Band Down" is a musical retread of the previous album's far superior "Prima Donna", minus the horns, and the lyrics, complaining about bad reviews in the mainstream music press, come off as whining. "Woman Of The World" and "Can't Stop Singing" are close to unlistenable; the latter being easily the worst thing they ever recorded in any lineup, the "Equator" album included. "Footprints In The Snow" and "Make A Little Love" aren't particularly objectionable; unfortunately, neither are they particularly memorable. "Confession", which closes the original LP, is a gentle and pretty piano ballad, but nothing we haven't heard before (and better) on "Rain" or "The Easy Road".

Overall, certainly not the finale to the Byron era that one could have wished for, but again, worth owning for the original side one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor by Heep standards but some good trax., December 27, 2003

By 

John Midgley (Lincoln,UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High and Mighty (Audio CD)

Only buy this if you are seriously hooked on Heep . I was and still am. The overall impression is of a lot of filler on this, and some odd arrangement ideas which one can only assume were an attempt to drag in new non-rock fans. Still, there are a few classics : 'One way or another' is a heavy rocking gem with amazing vocals by John Wetton (+ Hensley section). It is the only true heavy track on the album. Byron gets his turn on the excellent 'Weep in silence' with great Box guitar. There is the almost epic 'Midnight'(let down seriously by a funky small chorus section!}. 'Can't keep a good band down' is a fair rock/pop blast and 'Footprints in the snow' another good Wetton effort being an acoustic/blues mix. Other trax are just not up to scratch. Don't buy this if you want heavy or classic Heep but it does have some good moments.