Written by Dave Prince
LA’s very own ‘Heaven & Earth’ return with their 3rd release ‘Dig’, an album full to the brim with music that is unashamedly classic rock (think Purple/Rainbow and you’re somewhere in the right ball park). The record also adds a stellar cast of special guests including Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers), David Paich (Toto) and Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi). So you know that the music isn’t going to be substandard. Right?
The vocals of Joe Retta are certainly the centre point and his rich tones invokes images of Paul Rodgers, Joe Lynn Turner and at times Ronnie James Dio however it all sounds complete with the ritch(ie) guitar sound that Stuart Smith brings to the album. My subtle hint aside hopefully we all know that Stuart’s mentor in life and rock ‘n’ roll is none other than The Man In Black Mr. Ritchie Blackmore and this has never been evident than on the sound of ‘Dig’.
With such a bevy of beauties to choose from it’s hard to just single out particular tracks as this album really is fantastic. With the likes of the melodic rockers like opener ‘Victorious’, to the ballads like ‘I Don’t Know What Love Is’ and ‘A Day Like Today’, this album is a true delight to listen to from start to finish.
For me the stand outs are the mellower moments such as the ballads (obviously), but having said that the rock moments are great as well. Each song sparkles to life with the urgency that is seldom heard on classic rock albums say from the last 5 years, and this may be down to some of that aforementioned stellar cast of guests, or it might be just the fact that the band themselves are hardly new to this kind of thing . Whatever with a UK tour imminent (including at slot at this year’s Steelhouse Festival in Aberbeeg) any classic rock fan worth their salt would be a fool to miss such a great band. Hopefully live these songs will translate to be even better than their recorded counterparts.
With such a big sound and great songs this band should do the business…and I for one can’t wait to see them. In the meantime if you don’t trust my judgement (how dare you?) you can stream the band’s entire back catalogue via their website, the link to which I have included for you below. Enjoy!
To pick up your copy of ‘Dig’ – CLICK HERE