High and Mighty

Uriah Heep

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 2, 2006)
• Original Release Date: September 11, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Castle Us
• ASIN: B00077F8MQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #420,882 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best Musicians in Rock History, January 7, 2008

By	nazirite777 (Texas) - See all my reviews

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

There are great surprises on every Uriah Heep album especially during the 1970s. My favorite and probably one of the best Heep songs ever is "Footprints in the Snow" - this should be a wintertime favorite and played on every rock station in the world - it's that good! "Weep in Silence" is a really cool song as well. There's a great rif in "Midnight" followed by a really 'bright' organ, too bright in my opinion - that's the only thing I don't like in that particular song. This is the last album with legendary David Byron as the singer.