HIGH AND MIGHTY

Another slightly unbalanced album from an unstable but fabulous band. The record begins with exceptionally great songs and performances, but somehow the power of the record starts to decrease as further as the album spins. The opener "One Way or Another" has John Wetton also singing the leads on it, and it's a truly dynamic and great song with his powerfully hammering bass guitar. Though this is very different music than the legacy of earlier King Crimson records he was part of creating, his familiar style of playing bass can be heard still, and fits wonderfully to the more earthbound style of the heepsters. The following ballad "Weep In Silence" is also marvelous, a very emotional minor ballad, and has several layers of guitars "weeping" on it wonderfully. "Misty Eyes" and "Midnight" are also great tracks, shimmering Uriah Heep's positive magic, and also the following "Can't Keep a Good Band Down" is fine positive mood lifter, but then the rest of the songs are only average, not very memorable compositions. I also had a change to listen through the bonus tracks presented on the remastered CD, but they didn't sound very promising either to my ears. There was a fun anecdote found from the liner notes of a newer CD though; Some band member stated that the album title "High and Mighty" kind of described the mental state of the group from that time. According this description on tour as automatically operating glass-doors of a hotel failed to open for Mr. Byron, he solved the problem with a flying kick and got eventually to the lobby through the shards.