| Higher and Higher: The Best of Heaven 17 | |
| Type: | compilation |
| Artist: | Heaven 17 |
| Cover: | Heaven_17_Higher_and_Higher_album_cover.jpg |
| Released: | 1993 |
| Label: | Virgin |
| Prev Title: | Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho |
| Prev Year: | 1988 |
| Next Title: | Bigger Than America |
| Next Year: | 1996 |
Higher and Higher: The Best of Heaven 17 is a compilation album by English new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in 1993.
The compilation includes singles from Heaven 17's first four studio albums Penthouse and Pavement (1981), The Luxury Gap (1983), How Men Are (1984) and Pleasure One (1986), plus two new remixes that were released as singles: "Temptation" (Brothers in Rhythm Remix), which reached number four in the UK Singles Chart in 1992[1] and "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" (Rapino Edit), which reached number 40 in 1993.[1] The US version of the album includes the Tommy D Master Remix of "Penthouse and Pavement" in place of the original version. The remix was also released as a single in the UK in 1993, reaching number 54.[1]
In 1999, Higher and Higher was re-issued as Temptation – The Best of Heaven 17, featuring new artwork and the same track listing as the original 1993 version.[2]
Upon its release, John Harris, writing for NME, was critical of the compilation. He commented on the label's "marketing tactic" for releasing it to capitalise on the success of the Brothers in Rhythm remix of "Temptation" and noted how, like "most '80s synth-pop", the tracks "sound hideously dated". He felt that many of them were "plinky-winky plodding affairs" which are "made even more unbearable by Gregory's pseudo-operatic vocals and terribly pompous lyrics". Harris concluded, "At best, Heaven 17 sounded like Blancmange with brains. At worst, they were three pretentious home keyboard enthusiasts who'd read too many books – and it was that aspect that usually held the upper hand." In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album is "an adequate overview of [Heaven 17's] career", although he also described it as containing "too much music for casual fans", that the order of the tracks was "slightly illogical" and that the album is "not comprehensive enough for dedicated collectors".
All tracks written by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware.
Note