The vocals kind of remind me of The Moody Blues of all bands...so it's a little jarring with the heavy music behind it.
I would file this record under "interesting", I have the same feeling about that High Tide album Sea Shanties...it's "interesting", but I don't know if I'd go as far as to call it a success.
The oddest moment on Heavy Equipment is when they start with the riff from Foxey Lady and then continue with the most "un-funky" version of Gimme Some Lovin' imaginable.
I'll have to pull it out again and listen to it for a second opinion sometime in the future.