Maybe.
But I'd rather have great torque with reasonable gears that would give the same power and performance as a car with crazy gearing and rpm. Better street manners better gas mileage, better engine life, same performance? No-brainer.
( and for reference, the big block/small block test referenced, big block hp peaked at 6000, carried to 6200 pretty well, the small block peaked at 6600, and fell off at 68/6900.
They figured to run 115, the big block could use 3.73s, the small block would need 4.88s.
I'll take the torque and 3.73s every time.