Hanging Out In Heaven
by Marty Willson-Piper
REVIEWS and COMMENTS
Full Review of the 2019 2LP Reissue
4-1/2 stars out of 5
This is a stunning album. Pure and simple. Fans of Willson-Piper will be familiar with Hanging Out In Heaven, as it is regarded as one of his classic solo albums. Given how good it sounds on vinyl, I am a bit surprised it has taken 19 years for this album to make it to that fine format. Hanging Out In Heaven sounds like it was made for vinyl. The warm textures, the layered sounds, and the wonderful harmonies, sound better today than the did in 2000. In fact, this album has simply not aged. Time has finally caught up to this masterpiece.
Full Review of the 2019 2LP Reissue
Hanging Out in Heaven is a record that everyone should have in their collections and it is definitely the place to start if you only know him from his earlier, higher profile bands. But nostalgia and record collection box ticking aside, the main reason to have it is that it's brilliant and when it comes down to it a record that can sell itself on such assured terms has already stumbled upon the best PR trick in the book.
Full Review of the 2019 2LP Reissue
97/100
Both his previous solo albums leading up to this, "Rhyme" and "Art Attack," were carefree and uplifting, here on "Hanging Out In Heaven," Willson-Piper delves further into a spiritual abyss. Stretching with open arms into a more honest trajectory, finding the beauty which at times is lost in the shadows of society.
The album is perhaps known to many as it became an instant cult classic, an album that defined the new millennia. From the outset and the pop sparkle [of] "Forget The Radio," the listener is brought into the world of the singers soulful, honesty. A nice, subtle sting at how the best music is not tumbling across the airwaves, you actually have to find it, an irony with "Hanging Out In Heaven" upon release.