High and Mighty (album)

High and Mighty
Studio album by Uriah Heep
Released June 1976
Recorded December 1975 – March 1976
Genre Hard rock
Length 39:20
Label Bronze (UK)
Warner Bros. (USA)
Producer Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep chronology
Return to Fantasy
(1975)Return to Fantasy1975		 High and Mighty
(1976)		 Firefly
(1977)Firefly1977
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

High and Mighty is the ninth studio album by British rock band Uriah Heep, released in 1976 by Bronze Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the US.

High and Mighty was the last Uriah Heep album to feature vocalist and founding member David Byron, who was subsequently fired due to his troubles with alcohol (he later died in 1985).

John Wetton and Ken Hensley shared vocal duties on "One Way or Another".

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 1997 with two bonus tracks, and again in 2004 in an expanded deluxe edition.


Reception

The album was not well received, as stylistically it veered from their earlier progressive rock vein into more mainstream territory, and lacked the group's signature lengthy compositions and fantastical subject matter. "Several of the songs find the band flirting with pop elements in a way that doesn't complement their hard rocking style", said Donald A. Guarisco in his retrospective AllMusic review.[1] He added that High and Mighty "shows flashes of the group's old firepower, but is ultimately sunk by a combination of unfocused experimentation and uneven songwriting".

Track listing

All songs written by Ken Hensley, except where noted

  1. "One Way or Another" – 4:37
  2. "Weep in Silence" (Hensley, John Wetton) – 5:09
  3. "Misty Eyes" – 4:15
  4. "Midnight" – 5:40
  5. "Can't Keep a Good Band Down" – 3:40
  6. "Woman of the World" – 3:10
  7. "Footprints in the Snow" (Hensley, Wetton) – 3:56
  8. "Can't Stop Singing" – 3:15
  9. "Make a Little Love" – 3:24
  10. "Confession" – 2:14

1997 remastered version bonus tracks

  1. "Name of the Game (Previously Unreleased Version)"
  2. "Sundown (Alternate Version)"

2004 deluxe edition bonus tracks

  1. "Name of the Game (Previously Unreleased Version)"
  2. "Sundown (Alternate Version)"
  3. "Weep in Silence (Previously Unreleased Extended Version)" (Hensley, Wetton)
  4. "Name of the Game (Demo Version)"
  5. "Does Anything Matter (Demo Version)"
  6. "I Close My Eyes (Demo Version)"
  7. "Take Care (Demo Version)"
  8. "Can't Keep a Good Band Down (Edited Version)"

Personnel

Additional personnel
  • Mike Brown and Robert Corich – remastering (1997 and 2004 reissues)

References

  1. 1 2 "AllMusic review".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.