 HEAVEN
& EARTH
Taste of Heaven EP
Black Star Records 2004
www.heavenandearthband.com
Read the Stuart Smith/Kelly Hansen interview
What's the 4-1-1?
Heaven & Earth is a blues based rock and roll band that was formed in
1996 by British guitarist Stuart Smith after being offered a record deal
by Samsung to record a solo album. After the release of 1999’s Stuart
Smith’s Heaven and Earth, Smith and Co. followed it up in 2001 with
Windows to the World for Frontiers Records. It’s now 2004 and Heaven & Earth
are hard at work on their upcoming Black Star Records release Screaming
for Redemption. In the meantime, the group has released this limited
edition EP.
Genre
Rock n roll / hard rock
The Good
Heaven & Earth's latest EP is split into two parts. On the first half
are brand new studio tracks from their upcoming album, featuring vocalist
Paul Shortino (ex-Rough Cutt/Quiet Riot). "Screaming for Redemption" has
plenty of bluesy licks and hooks that compliment Shortino's scruffy yet smooth
vocals. The addition of synths gives the track a melodic warmth. "Heaven" relies
heavily on those same warm synths with the addition of some clean guitar
riffs. It's just as bluesy. On "Nasty Piece of Work", Shortino
compares his latest girlfriend to the most heinous and vile dictators and
murders of all time, and says she's worse! "I'd be True" slows
things down with acoustic guitars, a string section, and emotional lyrics
and vocals.
The second half of the EP showcases tracks from the first Heaven & Earth
CD, and features revolving vocalists. "Dreams of Desire" is an
instrumental duel between frantic guitars and manic keyboards. "When
A Blind Man Cries" features Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) on vocals. There
are plenty soulful guitars and emotional vocals on this one. You'll actually
feel the blues. Joe Lynn Turner handles vocals on "Heaven and Earth",
and it's one of his best performances I've ever heard. It starts off slow,
but builds up to an over-the-top power chorus. Very energetic, very AOR.
The final track is a bluesy swamp rock track by Glenn Huges entitled "See
That My Grave is Clean When I'm Gone".
The Bad
Nothing
The Verdict
Heaven and Earth recall the days of blues based rock and polish it off with
a melodic touch. After hearing the quality of the preview tracks, I can't
wait for the full album. It should be a strong AOR/melodic effort. I never
heard of Heaven and Earth before getting this EP, so getting a taste of
their debut album was a treat. Now I need to hunt down a copy of it; probably
for a pretty penny on eBay.
Did you know?
Anyone that purchases the EP from www.stuartsmith.com will receive $2.00
off the new full-length CD when released.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Heaven & Earth featuring Stuart Smith - S/T
--George Dionne
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