"Heaven In My Hands..."

Gee.. another Level 42 track... How'd that happen ;) Following the success of the multi-platinum album Running In The Family, brothers, and co-founding members Phil and Boon Gould left the band. Boon would continue to write for the band, but Phil was out for good (well, he did return for work on the Forever Now album in 1994).

Gary Husband replaced Phil on drums, and the late Alan Murphy replaced Boon on guitars (Murphy had previously worked with Go West and SFX) . The two new members gave the band a new sound, and when the first single, "Heaven In My Hands" was released featuring the new line-up, it peaked at No. 12 in the UK charts. The album containing the single, Staring At The Sun would later reach No. 2.

Many Level 42 fans feel the departure of the Gould brothers was a turning point for the band, and that the music would never be the same. While the guitars and drums were taken up a notch with the new line-up, the signature songcrafting remained. I still consider Staring At The Sun a great album, and "Heaven In My Hands" is proof of that. Brilliant brass intro, the driving guitar of Alan Murphy and Gary Husband's energetic percussion make this a killer song to play loud.

The commercial single and album versions of "Heaven In My Hands" are great, but the scarce promo mix is the one most fans prefer. The sound is tighter, the guitar parts are longer, and this should have been the version that made the final cut.

Heaven In My Hands "Promo Mix"