Music Review: Lee Michaels, Heighty Hi

By Melissa Bratcher

Is there a more intriguing story than an enormously talented, rock and roll recluse? The kind of artist that is so gifted, with a vision and unique sound, and he (or she) just walks away? Don’t you want to know why? What did they do after they stopped being famous? Does it make that person more exciting?

In the case of Lee Michaels, it kind of does. An prodigiously accomplished keyboardist and vocalist, Michaels recorded 7 albums for A&M between 1968 and 1973 (which are being re-released in a box set at the same time his best of compilation, Heighty Hi drops). He had some hits, and some FM radio staples, but in the 1980s, Michaels turned his back on the music business entirely, instead focusing on his L.A.-based restaurant Killer Shrimp.

It seems Lee Michaels is due a revival. His songs are catchy and relevant and his voice hits that sweet spot of bluesy and husky, and soulful as anything. His big hit, “Do You Know What I Mean” is a tale of communication issues in a relationship, which results in the girl leaving our narrator for his best friend. Michaels’s voice is easy and soul-heavy, and the music is charming: a bit symphonic with harpsichord and Hammond organ. The unusual instrumentation of Michaels’s music is intriguing; it’s often spare, just a keyboard of some sort (harpsichord is a favorite) and drums (predating the drum and bass or guitar combos that the kids are so fond of these days). His drummer, Frosty, is amazingly forceful and funky. When something else kicks in, like a guitar or horn section, it’s jarring.

“Heighty Hi” has an appealingly loose-limbed groove where “everybody’s stoned and so am I” with handclaps and a rambling piano line. A catchy as hell let’s-go-do-some-drugs song (“In the dark closet / is the place to trip / if you’re so stoned / you think you’re gonna flip” good advice at any time, really). On the ripping “Goodbye Goodbye,” Michaels gives an fantastic performance, all proselytizing funkiness with some silky-smooth backup vocalists.

“The War” is  both timely and heavy handed. Michaels asks, “What will you do? / It’s up to you” repeatedly. Over churchy organ he throws up scenarios (dodge the draft or watch a baby burn—it’s shocking stuff) and asks “Could you kill one more?” It’s raw and emotional (and from this remove, it’s a little hilarious, but I am also a jaded, horrible person).

Heighty Hi  is sometimes a product of its era. “Uummmm My Lady” is a nice bit of easy listening with organ flourishes, the kind of song that sounds like shag carpeting. But “Keep The Circle Turning” is timeless and exists on a plane where funk is pure and backup singers wail and the organ riff is a marriage of carnivals and churches. It’s a wild treat. Michaels’s savage cry that kicks off “Can I Get A Witness” is electrifying, as are his breathless, feral vocals, in the best tradition of white soul boys (think Paul Revere & The Raiders’ Mark Lindsay at his rawest for a radio friendly example). “Who Could Want More” is utterly funky with its strolling piano and syncopated drumming.

The music Lee Michaels made was iconoclastic. Heighty Hi is a fine collection of tracks, from the somber war-protesting songs to the happier, trippier tunes like the title track, to his flat-out soulful numbers. Michaels had/has an amazing well of talent, and Heighty Hi is a testament to that.

Heighty Hi was released by Manifesto Records on November 20.