High Inergy Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
So Right? Not a chance as several producers (even Berry Gordy) turned executioner as they tried to find a hit. As a result, it is their most unfocused and unsatisfying album during their tenure at Motown. High Inergy was the Kim Weston of their day -- a talented act who didn't quite click often enough, and this album explains why. ~ John Lowe, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When you think of great female R&B vocal groups that were active in the 1970s, High Inergy isn't a name that comes to mind. One thinks of Honeycone, the Three Degrees, First Choice, the Emotions, the Pointer Sisters, or Labelle. Under the right circumstances, however, High Inergy could have become a major force in R&B. If the ladies had been signed to Philadelphia International and worked with Gamble & Huff, Bunny Sigler, and Bobby Martin on a regular basis -- or if Norman Whitfield, Quincy Jones, or the Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards team had been in their corner -- perhaps their chops and talent would have paid off. But they didn't have the right guidance, and consequently, most of their albums were unfocused. Released in 1981, this self-titled release is generally disappointing but does have a few worthwhile tracks. The sentimental "Heaven's Just a Step Away (Every Time I Hold You)" isn't bad, and their performance of Ashford & Simpson's "Now That There's You" is enjoyable. But the LP didn't contain a strong single and has its share of inferior material, so it was added to the list of High Inergy albums that went nowhere commercially. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After four albums on Gordy, Berry Gordy switched High Inergy to the Motown label. This wasn't just a cosmetic change -- the Motown labels were under one umbrella but Gordy placed them with different distributors. For instance, at least two different distributors handled the various Motown labels in the Chicago area, and this was true for all locales. After hitting out-the-box with "You Can't Turn Me On," the girls from Pasadena, now trimmed from a quartet to a trio, were jonesing for a hit. So maybe a different line of distributors would curtail the steep slide into oblivion and the enormous debt they were accruing with the company. It didn't. This good album went as unnoticed as the first four and the four that followed. Like all their albums, this one had a handful of should-have-been hits, with the standouts here being a better-than-the-original remake of Betty Swann's "Make Me Yours," the disco-ish "I Just Can't Help Myself," and the grooving "It Was You Babe," written by Angelo Bond, William Weatherspoon, and High Inergy's lead singer Barbara Mitchell. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Regrouping after the effervescent Vanessa Mitchell decamped for a solo career in gospel, High Inergy, now with sister Barbara handling lead vocals, re-emerged in 1979 to take another crack at success with Shoulda Gone Dancin'. Unfortunately, that was not to be, as the band was unable to even come close to matching the chart successes of their earlier efforts. The LP limped to a mere number 76 R&B in May. The title track, which proved the album's sole hit, does utilize some sizzling arrangements and interesting vocal turns across an energetic beat, and would emerge the album's only real standout. The sultry beginning of "Let Yourself Go," meanwhile, which flips into disco without any warning, is interesting, but would have been better had it remained a ballad. That leaves the band to cover some of their more familiar bases across the traditional Motown trappings of "Midnight Music Man" and the closing "Too Late," a stilted blend of the Supremes and the Shangri-Las. While not a bad effort, Shoulda Gone Dancin' just doesn't have enough merit to render it one of the era's sparklers and, although the band would continue to record and chart into 1983, by 1979 it was already clear that their star power was well in decline. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Steeped in Berry Gordy's Motown tradition and touted as the next Supremes, High Inergy had already tasted the top of the charts with their 1977 debut, which spawned the number two hit single "You Can't Turn Me Off (In the Middle of Turning Me On)." Clearly, Steppin' Out was designed to reach even higher. Packed with smooth vocal arrangements that occasionally do resemble the artistry of the Supremes crossed with a disco-pop sound, the album flipped between dancefloor steppers and soul ballads. The formula was there for success, but luck was not on High Inergy's side. The album just cracked the Top 20. The songs themselves are good, if a bit bland. "Lovin' Fever" is sweet and, despite its disco groove, easily recalls the innocence of love in true Motown style. "You Captured My Heart," on the other hand, is a sophisticated, sultry number with excellent vocals and even better instrumentation completing the mood, as horns and guitar provide a smattering of funk. "We Are the Future," meanwhile, despite gracing the film Almost Summer, feels like celluloid filler, and "Fly Little Blackbird" falls by the wayside. Steppin' Out is a respectable album, but remains uneven across its tracks despite some really special moments. It is the sound of a band learning to find a niche. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The first (and best) of their albums, before inferior songwriting and unsympathetic production sabotaged their promising career. The hit single, "You Can't Turn Me Off (In the Middle of Turning Me On)," is the focal point, along with some good, if not necessarily distinctive numbers to fill it out. ~ John Lowe, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although High Inergy never really achieved the mainstream success that had been forecast for them, they continued to record and release albums regularly for the better part of a decade. Groove Patrol would not only be their last, but would also give the band their highest chart position since 1978. Released in the first half of 1983, Groove Patrol inevitably capitalized on the burgeoning new wave movement, as the band swapped their disco grooves for synthesizers and that ineffable early-'80s drum sound. The problem so many bands -- High Inergy included -- had with utilizing that formula is that unless you were a true visionary, the resulting songs often sounded like insta-pop: canned, flat, and lifeless. That said, this set isn't terrible; it's just not stellar. The trio, always of good voice, had more than mastered their vocal chops by this time and the result on that front is strong. But even the presence of Smokey Robinson on two songs doesn't make it sound like they are having much fun at the party. But that certainly doesn't mean there aren't standouts. The band is best heard on the fairly gutsy and fully new waved "He's a Pretender." "Groove Patrol" and a cover of the Supremes' "Back in My Arms Again" are also strong and have an edgy soul sensibility. But both suffer because they also sound like so many other great songs that the end result is distracting. Groove Patrol was quickly lost in the quagmire of releases of the early part of the decade, and like so many others of the era, in trying to bridge two very different decades, it fell quietly away. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide
