Customer Reviews

Crack the Sky

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Crack the Sky was an oddity in an odd sub-genre, Prog-Rock. CTS specialized in overblown guitar based epics that herk and jerk all over the map! A drummer buddy of mine turned me on the band in our sophomore year of high school, 1975. He loved them because of the constent time-changes in the songs. I grew to love them because of the over-powering guitar work. And Palumbo's voice was (and remains) hypnotic!

I highly recommend this record. If you want to dip your toe into the water of mid-70's Prog-Rock, here is your record, er, CD. Also try Animal Notes/Safety in Numbers, very nicely packaged together. Animal Notes being CTS's second release and Safety number three.

If you like other Prog-Rocker's of the time {Lamb and earlier Genesis, ELP, Yes and Wakeman's solo stuff, Rick Derrenger and Rundgren's Utopia} I'm sure you'll love Crack the Sky's first through third records!

The first time I heard this LP, I expected to be impressed. I wasn't impressed, I WAS SHOCKED, FLOORED, and BLOWN-AWAY!!!! Style-wise, CRACK THE SKY sounded remotely like a mix of Queen, Stardust-era Bowie, Yes, and lots of jazz/funk groups. The rad thing about CRACK THE SKY however, is the fact that while you can hear similarities between them and other groups, they don't actually sound like any other band. Their style is fiercily unique and their production values exceed the very best rock groups of the 70's. Also, lyrically CTS absolutely rule(just check out "Robots For Ronnie" or "Let Me Go Home" or "Sea Epic"). The guitar work on this album is amazing and will be appreciated by fans of jazz, hard rock, funk, and even metal. The album is also quite a treat when you have a buzz going!!! So in conclusion, if you're a fan of 70's prog-rock, hard rock, rock/funk fusion, or just great ROCK 'N' ROLL, YOU MUST ADD THIS ALBUM TO YOUR COLLECTION!!! Blow your friends away with a band which should have been a household name.

Crack the Sky is probably the best band that nobody ever heard of. Their first album was the Rolling Stone "Debut Album of the Year" in 1975.

Quirky, BEATLE-esq chord and timing changes, completely original. Great cuts: "Hold On", "She's a Dancer", "Surf City", and my favourite, "Ice". If you were in the Baltimore area in the mid 70's, you already know this band.

I just have to get this off my chest. I've wanted to say this for a long time.

Yes, this is my favorite American band. But who's in charge of their early discography for their CD releases? Their debut album reduxed? Just give me the whole original album unedited. Give me bonus tracks if you wish, but leave the original album alone! Don't substitute vocals! It's like changing rock history.

Now I have all of their early music on vinyl and I have the 2fers for both the first album and "White Music" on CD as well as "Animal Notes" and "Safety In Numbers". But if I want to hear the "whole" album of one of these, I have to dig out the scratchy records!

Why can't Lifesong just put out the original product for the devoted fans of this band?

Both 2fers sound like they were remastered from a non-Dolby cassette tape. There is so much hiss and it's been so poorly remastered that once again, I have to get out the vinyl if I want to hear a cleaner and full version of these albums. Are the original master tapes lost?

You don't even get all of the songs that appeared on the original albums on these 2fers. You get "selections". That's a rip-off.

This band doesn't deserve this and the fans don't either. In many ways, I used to consider them the "American Beatles" for their excellent creativity, originality and their humor and still do.

The best representation of their early work out there right now is "Crack Attic". But once again, some of those tracks sound muddy as well.

Let's petition Lifesong or John Palumbo to give us what we fans want - clean individual CDs with all of the songs that were remastered from the original master tapes.

I remember buying this album when it first came out. Quirky, strange, weird. But... Some of the most original music ever. Fun definately not PC lyrics. I have missed this great studio album since someone broke my yamaha turntable years ago. I have the live cd's but nothing can match the magic of this first studio work. Luckily, it is occasionally available here at amazon, so old fans can enjoy and new fans can be made.

A band of extremely talented musicians putting out a classic album that was classically overlooked due to poor marketing by Lifesong, a small, underfunded record company. This is one of those albums where every song is worth a listen to, over and over again. Although they had several lineups throughout the years, this was undoubtedly the best. Especially appreciated by any decent musician who will note the complex timing and rythym changes, when played loud, you are hearing the best of the 80's Rock. You can hear all their influences, The Beatles, Yes, ELP, Weather Report, Billy Cobham, they took it all to form their own alternately rocking, funky, thoughtful, hooky and intelligent sounds. Reminiscent of Living Colour in the 90's, they have a small but faithful following of fans with a discriminating ear. Although some of the songs sound dated, they are dated in a way the Beatles older stuff is, old but still worth listening to even today. In fact, some of their styles are now coming back into fashion, not unlike....fashion.
Also engineered on a top-notch level, especially for the time, they were voted best new album of the year by Rolling Stone when it emerged initially. Too bad Lifesong sucked as promoters or they'd be in the R&R Hall of fame for sure. for ANYONE who loves good, REAL rock and Roll, excellent musicianship and intelligent lyrics, this is a must have for your collection. anyone I have played this for cannot believe these guys were not up there next to Van Halen at the Stadiums. One of the few groups who could play their studio music, in all its complexities, just as well live. Thats! a rarity in itself. Friends, Romans and Countrymen, Lend your ears! to...Crack The Sky!! It will Crack Your Skull.

What can I say about one of the greatest Bands that almost was....This album was a must have in the 70's if you knew about them. They were awarded Rolling Stone's 1975 Debut Album of the Year and yet they signed with the worst Record label in history. They received no support from them and yet every concert that they Opened for a national Act, resulted in them blowing the headliners off the stage. Happened every time.

Very Bealtlesque being influenced by the melodies of the Fab 4 with homage to the best of the Art rock bands of their day. In concert they closed with I Am the Walrus to roars of the crowd. They could rock with the best. Great songs, catchy lyrics and incredible musicianship by true virtuoso's. This first album was and is a delight from cover to cover. The bonus tracks are OK but the traditional album played in its entirity is a great listen even today.

Listen to this CD and wish you were lucky enough to see them in their hey day. Those of us in MD, DC,PA, Ohio and Long Island were lucky to know them. Do yourself a favor and buy this CD, you will enjoy a well crafted jewel of the 70's.

Very fine album. Inventive art rock. Note there were only 9 tracks on the original release; the last 4 songs on this CD are bonus tracks. The band made other really good albums too: these guys should have become huge. Check out the article from the Baltimore City Paper from 1995 that's linked on their Wikipedia entry, for why that didn't happen.
Worth discovering, if you haven't heard them.

5 Stars = Masterpiece

Ohio's Crack the Sky put out one of the most intelligent progressive rock laced with funk albums of 1975 with their self titled debut. The musicianship just crackles on this album, & lead singer John Palumbo emotive vocals suited his sharp often humorous lyrics on subjects as diverse as racism, religion, transvestites, narcissism, misfits, & a multitude of other topics rarely heard in rock & roll at this time, & never with the insight & compassion this man obviously has. It amazes me to this day Crack the Sky never got beyond to what amounted to a huge regional band. People who have seen this band said they were a crack (no pun intended) live outfit that usually destroyed the headliner. Maybe this is why they did not become bigger, maybe it was record company disinterest? Whatever the reason(s) Crack the Sky put out several more albums, & though other than the debut, the only other album I have is "Crack Attic: The Best of Crack the Sky" which has suspiciously half of the debut on it, which tells me maybe the bands latter output was not as strong or shifted to a different style. In any case Crack the Sky is a band long forgotten & overlooked. Only a relative handful of people ever got the chance to enjoy this very talented intelligent band.

If you grew up in Baltimore in the 1970s, you know all about Crack the Sky. Their songs were staples on the local FM stations and they made frequent appearances around the area. Typically, you'd hear Surf City or She's a Dancer wedged in between Stairway to Heaven and Dream On on the radio. Much of the material on this first CTS album is fairly classic. CTS have a distinctive sound - a combination of progressive rock and straight ahead rock with a bit of jazz thrown in. The songwriting is quite strong. In fact, as others have pointed out, Rolling Stone magazine named it debut album of the year in 1975. So, if you enjoy discovering overlooked masterpieces, check this album out. Live Sky and Safety in Numbers are also pretty good.