Heaven & Earth (Chi) [Import]

Stuart Smith, Heaven & Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Pony Canyon Japan
• ASIN: B00006LSL8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,279,632 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Keep Me Waiting

2. Heaven & Earth

3. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean

4. When a Blind Man Cries

5. Memories

6. Dreams of Desire [Instrumental]

7. Trouble in Paradise

8. Shadow of the Tyburn Tree

9. It's Got to Be Love

10. When the Blues Catch Up With You

11. Do You Ever Think of Me?

12. Road to Melniboné [Instrumental]

13. Howlin' at the Moon

14. Eyes of Man

15. Telstar 2000 [Instrumental]

16. Lose My Number

Editorial Reviews

Asian edition of acclaimed 1998 solo album by metal guitarist who played with Sweet in the 80s & learned his craft from Ritchie Blackmore. Includes five bonus tracks, 'Memories', ' When The Blues Catch Up With You', 'Howlin' At The Moon', 'Telstar 2000' (

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Near perfect compositions and collaborations, February 9, 2005

By 

George Dionne (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heaven & Earth (Chi) (Audio CD)

The Good
Kelly Hansen reaches down deep for his strong vocal performance on "Don't Keep Me Waiting". The track is loaded with seventies style keyboard tones and piercing solo work by Stuart Smith. Rock journeyman Joe Lynn Turner appears on three tracks. "Still Got the Blues", a pure blues track that has Stuart flexing his classical guitar skills a la Richie Blackmore, while JLT shows that he's on top of his game with raw and emotional vocals. "It's Got to Be Love" has JLT being backed up by familiar Rainbow-like keyboard melodies and a brass section. He delivers a great line to conclude the chorus: you know I hate you so much /its got be love. More classical guitar reigns supreme on "Shadow of the Tyburn Tree". Is that a pan flute I hear? It does fit appropriately with the songs 15th Century theme.

Stuart's fretwork takes a back seat to warm keyboard riffing on "Life on the Line", but he cuts loose when it comes to the break. Bobby Kimball handles vocals duties. Kelly Hansen returns for the power ballad "Do You Ever Think About Me". It's just Kelly's smooth vocals and a somber drumbeat during the verses, but it's not long before Stuart comes in with the riffs. Kelly brings it up a notch to put the chorus over-the-top. Hansen switches gears on "Trouble in Paradise". This time he's backed by a bluesy, boogie-woogie beat, complete with pounding piano keys and heavy riffs. Smith pulls off some great improvised guitar licks. "Howlin' at the Moon" features the weathered vocals of Paul Shortino. The meaty hooks really compliment his voice.

The Bad
Nothing

The Verdict
Blues-based hard rock has been missing from the musical landscape for a longtime. Fortunately, Heaven & Earth are here to fill that void with their near perfect compositions and collaborations.

5.0 out of 5 stars Blackmore influenced? Yeah ! So what?, October 1, 2001

By 

Zeca Wolf "brazilbass" (São Paulo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven & Earth (Audio CD)

This one ROCKS! The songs are very well arranged, the singers great, and Stuart Smith is a superfine guitar player. I think he needs to seek his musical individuality, as he plays a lot like Blackmore. What the hell, if you have to sound like somebody else, better be like the best there is. Anyway, I was totally blown away by this disc, and I reccomend it for the rocker and blues lover. And keep an open eye, this man is gonna make a lot of good stuff in the future.

4.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed By Blackmore's Night? Try This Instead, September 1, 2001

By 

El Kabong - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven & Earth (Audio CD)

In case you don't recognize the name (I sure didn't), Smith is an old friend and guitar protege of one Ritchie Blackmore. Once you're hip to that connection, the strong Purple/Rainbow flavor of these tracks should come as no surprise. Test YOUR Blackmore IQ and spot the many 'quotations' sprinkled throughout the album: "No No No", "Difficult to Cure", "No Time To Lose", "Temple of the King" and others make welcome cameo appearances throughout this cd. (A cover of Purple's "When A Blind Man Cries" is maybe pushing it juuust a little.) For added commercial heft, he has vocal duties split between Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Kelly Hansen & Ritchie Sambora. A good move: the diversity of vocalists lends the project freshness and vigor from start to finish. As a songwriter, Smith shows a nice touch for heavy, bluesy AOR tempered with interesting bits of classical and English folk music, much in the manner of The Man In Black his ownself around 80-3, so fans of later Rainbow will enjoy this thoroughly. (However, if you found 80s Rainbow to be a bit too sticky-sweet and poppy for your taste, be aware that HEAVEN & EARTH likewise pursues that sort of airbrushed glossiness. The sound here is Turner-era, as opposed to Dio-era, Rainbow.) That said, there are a handful of outstanding tunes here: opener "Don't Keep Me Waiting" is a beginning-to-end stunner that thunders along powerfully after a tension-mounting intro, driven home by a fiery vocal performance by Kelly Hansen; blues chestnut "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" is given a furious workout and features a typically wallrattling Glenn Hughes guest-vocal; "Shadow of the Tyburn Tree" is a surprising, and beautifully understated, slice of medieval minstrelry with one of Joe Lynn Turner's best-ever (and most restrained) performances; and "Lose My Number" is a roof-raiser closing out the proceedings with a hard-rock flourish reminiscent of Rainbow's "Lost in Hollywood". The other tracks may not be in the same league as those four, but they're uniformly full of good playing, singing, arrangements, etc, and Smith proves himself no slouch, delivering crisp fills and fiery leads without overwhelming the tracks or his bandmates. Hard to believe this hasn't (yet) been picked up for American distribution, but till it does, seek the recent Euro version with a raft of bonus tracks added on. Unlike a lot of flash-in-the-pan debut CDs, this one offers tantalizing promises of a masterful followup album as Smith solidifies his band lineup and gets his musical feet more firmly planted. Keep an eye on Stuart Smith.