MICHELE LUPPI’S HEAVEN: Strive

Cover	Release	Style
	2005-07-18	melodic rock/aor
	Label
	Scarlet Records
	Website
	Michele Luppi
	Contact

	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	50:39	SC 105-2
	Review by	Rating
	Edwin	8,5/10
nederlands	Review
Heaven is the solo project of Vision Divine and (cover band) MR. PIG singer Michele Luppi. Fans of Vision Divine should note that this has absolutely nothing to do with the power metal of that band, though. This is 80’s melodic rock and aor; obvious comparisons are Boston, Journey and Toto – Luppi’s voice is absolutely perfect for this style. On this album, he is assisted by drummer Helder Stefanini, keyboard players Mimmo Camporeale and Oleg Smirnoff (Vision Divine), and a whole bunch of guitarists, of which Alex De Rosso (Dokken, Headrush) is the most famous. Some excellent songs on this. Some might argue that there are a few too many ballads; the balance is definitely in favour of the slow songs. But then you can’t deny Luppi is very good at them. The jazzy “Wasting My Time” has a very westcoast flavour - fantastic song, this one. “Tell Me About It” is very reminiscent of Saga ballads in their ‘pop’-era and “I Found A Way To Pray” reminds me of Richard Marx. “Always Remember You” and “The Caste Inside My Head” are also very nice tracks. More uptempo songs are “Time For Love”, “Feel Alive” (a bluesy touch, with some nice blues harp by Vic Johnson) and “Trust”, another great song, with a fantastic keyboard/guitar solo, although I’m not too fond of the drum sound on this one. The striking cover drawing of this album, and the clever, Angel-like logo (just look at it upside-down), will certainly attract some attention. And rightfully so, because this is really a very good album.
Musicians
Michele Luppi: Vocals, keyboards and Michael Wolves: Guitars Michele Vioni: Guitars Maurizio Solieri: Guitars Roberto Priori: Guitars Alex De Rosso: Guitars Olaf Thorsen: Guitars Miguel Lobos: Guitars Aolberto Bergonzoni: Guitars Giorgio Terenziani: Bass Roberto Galli: Bass Paolo Gialdi: Bass Mimmo Camporeale: Keyboards Oleg Smirnoff: Keyboards Helder Stefanini: Drums Vic Johnson: Blues harp
Tracklist
Trust If You Walk Away Feel Alive Always Remember You Tell Me About It Wasting My Time Stars The Castle Inside My Head Time For Love I Found A Way To Pray


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