HIGH AND MIGHTY

It's 1976, and Uriah Heep seems to have fallen to some kind of trap. For every step forward they took, the next step was a step backwards trying to find that sweet spot between heavy prog and pop. They never really found it, by the way. But they spent a lot of years trying. Their previous album "Return to Fantasy" was an attempt to try to get back to their former sound with a bit more prog in it and more fantasy-themed lyrics. They even brought in John Wetton to be their bassist, and it seemed to be a great step as their fans were thinking this was going to be a return to form. But, then, they released this album "High & Mighty", with the same line-up, but totally messed up by slipping to out-right pop on some of their songs, and also by stepping away from the fantasy themed lyrics again. It was a big disappointment.

It doesn't exactly start out that way though. Right at the onset, the best two tracks on the album begin it all. It still surprises me that when this album starts, John Wetton's voice is coming through the speakers. The first few times I heard this, I had to do a double take to make sure I put the right album on. "One Way or Another" features his lead vocals, but it is the only time you'll hear him at the forefront on this album. However, this is followed up by another great track "Weep in Silence" that actually sounds like UH in it's glory days again with the original lead singer David Byron still in the line-up, and he definitely brought his soul along with him for this track. Personally, I always thought he was their most talented singer with an amazing range and depth of emotion. So, it all starts showing some promise. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there.

Another thing that is apparent on this album is that the tracks are all under 6 minutes. Gone are the days of the epic tracks. Sure, there are plenty of great progressive albums with tracks less that 6 minutes, but the quality of the songwriting is suddenly apparent in "Misty Eyes" and the music is simple and the soul seems to be missing now. "Midnight" is decent with a more lyrically heavy track, but it's mostly not memorable. At this point, the only other somewhat good track is "Footprints in the Snow" mostly for the guitar break. Everything else is barely tolerable unless you are looking for straightforward pop. The biggest failures here are "Can't Keep a Good Band Down" and the equally tacky "Can't Stop Singing", only memorable because they are so bad. Everything else in underwhelming and even Byron can't seem to find enough emotion to pump these mediocre tracks out.

After the release of this album, Byron was fired by the band because of his alcohol problems and the fact that his performances were getting unpredictable. It wasn't long after this that John Wetton also opted out of the band as he was feeling like he was quite out of place, which he was. Thus begins the revolving door syndrome that the band would suffer for many years to come, and at this point, they would find it difficult to come close to the sounds and style of their earlier days. For many fans, this was the last straw, and many stopped being loyal to the band never to come back to the fold. Yes there are a couple of tracks here that are worth putting on a "best of" playlist, but for the most part, the album is only worth getting because it's the last album with Wetton and Byron. But even then, there isn't much here to bother with.