HIGH AND MIGHTY

By 1976, things were not going very well in the nuclear bosom of Uriah Heep: the expulsion of Gary Thain and his regrettable death due to drug abuse at the end of the previous year, the discussions about the direction of the band between Ken Hensley and David Byron added to the growing alcoholism of the singer, and the discomfort of John Wetton in these situations, configured the unstable context in which the Brits released "High and Mighty", the ninth of their discography.

The album travels along a paved and flat road, without dangerous curves or major glimpses of venturing into routes that deeply challenge the band, and just like its predecessors "Wonderworld" and "Return to Fantasy", it has outstanding moments such as the promising beginning of "One Way or Another" with a great guitar riff and its fresh and energetic vibe, the psychedelic half-time of the excellent "Weep in Silence" and Mick Box's great solo, the elaborate structure of the intense "Midnight" and Hensley's hammond, and the crystalline beauty of Box's acoustic strumming on "Footprints in the Snow".

But the rest of the work fails to sustain a solid compositional regularity and cohesion, neither with "Can't Keep a Good Band Down", a kind of agile rock and accessible pop that welcomes a repetitive chorus, nor with the vaudevillian and simplistic "Woman of the World", nor with the disconcerting "Can't Stop Singing", which is halfway between gospel and soul, nor with the bland country boogie "Make a Little Love", songs that lack the vitality and hardock substance that at that stage of the band already seemed more part of a distant past even though it was not so much.

The brief and melancholic "Confession", starring Hensley's piano and containing an apparent confessional apology in Byron's singing, closes the irregular "High and Mighty", and sadly marks the end of the iconic singer's relationship with the band and also the departure of John Wetton.

2.5/3 stars

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