Tennent Morrison - Tennent Morrison (1972 uk, fine folk classic rock)

Originally released on Polydor in 1972, Tennent & Morrison's debut album has been renowned for its superb musical sense by serious record collectors for many years. The album is an exquisite package full of American swamp rock and British folky sound. 

The band comprised of John Tennent and David Morrison. The album Tennent & Morrison (1972, Polydor) was their first album. It was recorded with several members of Stone the Crows (Jimmy, Ronnie Leahy, Steven Thompson, Colin Allen), plus Herbie Flowers (bass) and Clem Cattini (drums). 

Tracks
1. Good For You (Tennent, Morrison) - 03:28
2. Tomorrow It Might Rain (Tennent) - 02:39
3. Keep My Secrets (Morrison) - 04:08
4. I Should Have Known Better (Tennent) - 02:41
5. Round And Round (Morrison) - 02:59
6. For In The Future (Morrison) - 03:47
7. I Can't Imagine (Tennent) - 02:51
8. Easy Come, Easy Go (Tennent) - 03:51
9. The Last Hour (Morrison) - 02:40
10.Take My Place (Tennent) - 04:25
11.Death In A Distant Country (Tennent, Morrison) - 06:24

Musicians
*John Tennent - Guitar, Vocals
*Dave Morrison - Bottleneck, Vocals
*Jimmy McCulooch - Guitar
*Ronnie Leahy - Keyboards
*Steven Thompson - Bass
*Colin Allen -  Percussion
*Herbie Flowers - Bass
*Clem Cattini - Drums
*Dennis Lopez - Percussion

1972  Joe Soap - Keep It Clean (2010 koream remaster)

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Longdancer - If It Was So Simple (1973 uk, delicate smooth folk rock, with young David Stewart from Eurythmics fame, Vinyl edition)

Longdancer was an early 70s English folk-rock band that included David A. Stewart (of Eurythmics fame). The group grew out of a folk duo comprising Stewart and Brian Harrison. The pair played clubs and support gigs in the north east of England and in 1971 recorded an EP for the local Multichord label. Soon afterwards they added further singer/guitarists Steve Sproxton and Kai Olsson and were re-named Longdancer. In 1973, they became the first artists to sign to Elton John’s Rocket label, touring with John before Olsson left to be replaced by Matt Irving (keyboards) and Charlie Smith (drums). The new line-up made a second album in 1974. Shortly afterwards, Longdancer split up.

In 1977, Stewart formed The Tourists and in 1981, with Annie Lennox, the highly successful Eurythmics.

Kai Olsson made a 1979 solo album for Chrysalis Records (Crazy Love) while Harrison and Smith played with folk singers Robin & Barry Dransfield before Smith joined Blue.

Irving recorded with Philip Rambow before joining The Lords Of The New Church in the 80s. 

LsT

Tracks
1. Silent Emotions (Kai Olsson) - 4:21
2. Hold Up The World (Kai Olsson) - 3:40
3. Don't Turn Out The Lights (David Stewart) - 3:19
4. Trivialities (Steve Sproxton) - 5:10
5. Time To Pay (Brian Harrison, Steve Sproxton) - 4:39
6. Too Much To Soon (Kai Olsson) - 2:03
7. Take A Man (Steve Sproxton) - 2:36
8. Crying Out Loud (Steve Sproxton) - 4:43
9. Ballad Of Hillary (Kai Olsson) - 3:43
10.If It Was So Simple (Brian Harrison) - 4:27

Longdancer
*David A. Stewart - Guitars, Vocals, Bass
*Kai Olsson - Vocals
*Steve Sproxton - Guitars, Vocals
*Brian Harrison - Piano, Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Guests
*Tony Ashton - Keyboards
*Jimmy Hall - Percussion
*Dave Mattacks - Drums
*Roger Powell - Drums
*Andy Roberts - Dulcimer
*Bob Rongs - Bass

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Joe Soap - Keep It Clean (1972 uk, smart folk classic rock, 2010 koream remaster)

Joe Soap was a band comprised of John Tennent and David Morrison and the album "Tennent & Morrison" {Polydor, 1972) was their first album. It was recorded with several members of Stone the Crows (Jimmy, Ronnie Leahy, Steven Thompson, Colin Allen), plus Herbie Flowers (bass) and Clem Cattini (drums). Their second album, "Keep It Clean" (as Joe Soap) (Polydor, 1973), featured Gerry Conway (drums, later in Jethro Tull) and Mik Kaminski (violin, from ELO). 

Although they were regarded as a second class British rock bands in the early 70s' they were very good indeed. They were one of the most underrated bands in the British rock & pop history. The album features ten tracks composed by John and David with help of Sandy Robertson (producer). Two guys rather thick but fascinating voices diffuse strong masculine beauty in all tracks.

In addition to it, a mastermind violinist Mike Kaminski's scattering violin features most of the tracks especially on "Feel Strange" and "On The Wing" are just superb. Jimmy McCulloch's intense guitar domains on every track as well. Overall, the album is an awesome combo set of typical British rock classics with strong American southern rock flavor

Both Tennent and Morrison and Keep It Clean are now extremely rare and occasionally surface on the collectors' market. After they release two albums, both John and David are not active as musicians but their talents and the albums still remain even now.

CD Liner-notes

Tracks
1. Talkin"Bout You - 4:12
2. Warning Sign - 2:58
3. Lay It On Me - 7:05
4. Whatever The Song Is Now (Tennent) - 3:09
5. Get Out From Under - 3:00
6. Feels Strange - 3:24
7. On The Wing (Morrison) - 3:27
8. Time - 3:46
9. All Out Now - 3:22
10. Birdman (Tennent) – 3:33
All compositions by John Tennent, Dave Morrison unless as else indicated

Musicians
*John Tennent - Guitar, Vocals
*Dave Morrison - Bottleneck, Vocals
*Jimmy McCulloch - Guitar
*Jerry Conway - Drums
*Jeff Pearce - Bass
*Mike Kaminski - Violin

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Eddie Hardin And Pete York - The World`s Smallest Bigband (1969-70 uk, elegant jazzy prog rock, 2008 remaster with extra tracks)

The band's second studio album - "THE WORLD'S SMALLEST BIG BAND" - was taped at Olympic and De Lane Lea, although, as with their first, they still got the whole thing wrapped up inside a month. Some of the material had been stockpiled since their inception back in 1969 but with the pressures of touring, the sessions were hard work and the album wasn't as coherent.

Side one kicked off with three singer/songwriter performances, Eddie using piano rather than Hammond, followed by an abrupt change of mood as wild cheering heralded the start of a rock & roll medley which they'd decided to tape in front of an invited audience (of 'Soho deadbeats' as the liner notes put it!) This was followed by a lengthy drum workout titled, "The Pike", the nickname of their head roadie (it was he who had pulled off the snow filled amps trick mentioned earlier).

There were no guest musicians either, although Eddie remembers Jon Lord and Tony Ashton hanging around the studio at the time. Singer (and sometime Penthouse star) Dana Gillespie was also about, though only in her capacity as manager Ian Smithers' girlfriend. The results were issued in the then obligatory gatefold sleeve in 1970, again on the Bell label (SBLL 136).

So big were the band in Europe by now that they fell prey to bootleggers. "We were playing in a German Youth Centre," Eddie explained, "and the director asked if we would mind if his film club made a film of our show. It seemed OK. The next thing we knew was that an album had been released of the show. The filming had all been a cover to record a bootleg." Titled, "The Hardin & York Bootleg", copies were imported into the UK in early '71 with the first wave of European vinyl bootlegs.

The year flashed by in a blur of touring, and the new year looked set to be the same with Hardin & York booked to support Deep Purple on their February '71 UK tour. During the set, Purple's drummer Ian Paice took the chance to play alongside Pete York on a number called "Extension 345", an idea inspired by an Elvin Jones/Ginger Baker fiasco which York had witnessed. "That situation was contrary to the principals of entertainment, so Ian and I decided to show how musicians can work together and forget egos," Pete told a journalist.

In March '71, Hardin & York booked the Bumpers club for a marathon music "all star jam" session. By this time, both Eddie and Pete had their own bands with which to let off steam outside the confines of the duo. There was The Pete York Percussion Band, with vocalist Eric Dylan, guitarist Miller Anderson (from Keef Hartley's band), plus a brass section. Eddie's outfit went out as Hardin/Fenwick/Newman. The idea of the Bumpers show was to include slots by both offshoots, then finish with a Hardin & York set. At one stage they ended up with three drummers - Pete, Ian Paice and Keef Hartley - on stage together for a marathon version of "The Pike".

by Simon Robinson

Tracks
1. Just A Case Of Time - 4:03
2. I Can't Find My Way Home - 3:36
3. Love, A Song For You - 6:18
4. Rock And Roll Medley - 4:53
.a.Jailhouse Rock (Leiber, Stoller)
.b.Mean Woman Blues (Dunetrius)
.c.Rip It Up! (Marascalo, Blackwell)
5. The Pike (E. Hardin, P. York) - 9:00
6. Northern Medley - 10:12
.a.Lady Madonna (Lennon, McCartney)
.b.Norwegian Wood (Lennon, McCartney)
7. If I Could Join Them - 3:09
8. David Difficult - 6:09
9. Tomorrow Today - 3:20
10.Candlelight - 5:17
11.Little Miss Blue - 3:54
12.Can't Keep A Good Man Down - 6:09
13.Cowboy (Live) - 5:17
14.Everyone I Know (Live) - 4:50
All songs by Eddie Hardin except where noted

Personnel
*Eddie Hardin - Organ, Piano, Vocals
*Peter York - Drums, Percussion

1969-70  Tomorrow Today

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Eddie Hardin And Pete York - Tomorrow Today (1969-70 uk, magnificent organ drivin' prog psych, extra tracks issue)

Hardin and York's career spanned arguably one of rock's most productive periods. Pop music of the early sixties had influenced a generation of bands who were keen both to push the boundaries further and experiment with the possibilities of the long playing album format. By the end of the decade, progressive rock was being championed by groups as diverse as Yes, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues, ELP, Deep Purple and many more - all working hard to establish themselves with defining albums. This rush of energy lasted through into the early seventies before faltering as bands burnt themselves out and musical fashions changed.

When keyboardist Eddie Hardin (born 19th February 1949, South London) was recommended in 1967 by family friend and Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones for the vacant position in the then internationally popular Spencer Davis Group he could scarcely have believed that his introduction to the world of professional music would have led to a career that is now well over a quarter of a century old. On joining the band in April 1967, he teamed up with Davis, guitarist Phil Sawyer and drummer Pete York (born 15th August 1942, Middlesborough) they took off on an American tour followed by a cameo appereance in the film "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush". They also scored two UK hits, "Time Seller" (No.30) and "Mr. Second Class" (No.35), before, in the summer of '68, both Hardin and York left to begin work as a duo - 'The smallest big band in the world' as they were initially dubbed by the music press.

Securing a record deal with Bell Records, the duo released an album (SBLL 125) and single (BLL 1064) both called "Tomorrow Today" in mid '69 and found themselves in considerable demand on the European live circuit, gigging with the likes of Deep Purple, The Nice and Keef Hartley. One concert in a youth hostel in Hamburg-Blankenese was recorded without the pair's knowledge and released as a bootleg disc which the duo only found out about when fans used to bring it to gigs for them to sign. Eddie Hardin eventually tracked down a copy of this excellent quality recording and set about "bootlegging the bootleggers"! The 1970 LP "Smallest Big Band In The World" (SBLL 136) was followed by 1971's "For The World" (Decca SKL 5095) before the pair went their separate ways by releasing solo LP's - Hardin with "Home Is Where You Find It" (TXS 106) and York with "Pete York Percussion Band" (TXS 109), both on Decca Records.

by Mark Brennan

Tracks
1. Tomorrow Today - 3:36
2. 100 Years From Now - 2:44
3. I'm Lost - 8:23
4. Drinking My Wine - 4:45
5. Candlelight - 4:37
6. Beautiful Day - 2:32
7. Mountains Of Sand - 6:45
8. Can't Keep A Good Man Down - 6:23
9. Listen Everyone - 4:06
10.All I See Is You - 3:23
11.Mullberry Place - 4:30
12.Sunday Morning - 3:35
13.Rock 'N' Roll Music (Chuck Berry) - 3:52
14.Can't Find My Way Home - 2:37
15.Just A Case Of Time - 4:22
All songs by Eddie Hardin except where stated

Personnel
*Eddie Hardin - Keyboards, Vocals
*Pete York - Drums, Percussion
*Mel Thorpe - Flute, Horn, Trombone
*Vic Flick - Guitar
*Mike Hurst - Guitar
*Herbie Flowers - Bass
*Sue And Sunny - Backing Vocals

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Salvation - Salvation / Gypsy Carnival Caravan (1968 us, spectacular west coast acid psych rock)

Excellent psych from these San Francisco Hippies, great acid leads, some sitar too.

San Francisco psychedelic band Salvation was formed in 1967 by singer Al Linde and guitarist Joe Tate, who first met while students at the University of Washington. Bassist Artie McLean, keyboardist Art Resnick, and drummer Teddy Stewart later completed the original lineup, which at first called itself the New Salvation Army Banned.

After earning featured spots in a series of concerts in Golden Gate Park, the band signed to ABC Records, albeit on the condition they abbreviate their name for fear of legal action from the actual Salvation Army.

Salvation's self-titled debut album followed in 1968, boasting an expansive, eclectic sound highlighted by the first single, "Think Twice."

Opening slots for bands including the Doors, Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Canned Heat followed, and around the time of their second album, 1969's Gypsy Carnival Caravan, Salvation traveled to New York City to headline the Fillmore East and the Village Gate.

But their future was jeopardized after the group's management reputedly ran off with their ABC advance, and in 1970 Salvation dissolved; Resnick later resurfaced in jazz circles with a handful of solo recordings as well as sideman dates behind Nat Adderley, Freddie Hubbard, and others 

by Jason Ankeny

Tracks
1. Love Comes In Funny Packages - 3:01
2. Cinderella - 2:54
3. More Than It Seems - 3:25
4. Getting My Hat - 4:07
5. G.I. Joe (Joe Tate) - 4:41
6. Think Twice (Joe Tate) - 7:10
7. She Said Yeah (Al Linde, Joe Tate) - 3:45
8. The Village Shuck - 2:24
9. What Does An Indian Look Like - 3:40
10.Hollywood 1923 - 3:23
11.Handles Of Care - 5:49
12.Yuk Yuk (Joe Tate) - 7:37
13.In The Evening - 2:42
14.Salvation Jam (Stanley Clayton, Tom Scott) - 9:01
15.Come On Over Here (Joe Tate) - 4:27
16.What'll I Do #42 - 3:59
All songs by Al Linde except where stated

Salvation
*Al Linde - Vocals
*Joe Tate - Guitar
*Artie McLean - Bass
*Teddy Stewart - Drums
*Art Resnick - Organ, Harpsichord
Auxilliary Members
*Tom Scott - Tenor Sax, Flute
*Bill Plummer - Sitar

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Joshua - Opens Your Mind (1970 us, great rough heavy blues psych, Vinyl issue)

When you think of 60's music from California the town of Sacramento doesn’t immediately come to mind. but the state capitol had a fertile music scene having given birth to mind melters blue cheer who paved the way for other locals like Joshua.

Fronted by singer Mick Martin, Joshua were at the center of a scene that, for the most part, ignored the flower power shenanigans going on up north and worshipped at the altar of heavy Rock & Roll.

Along with other locals like Slo Loris and Jericho, Joshua created guitar lead, blues based rock music with lyrics that reflected the current events of the day, war & drugs.

While the band never released any music back in the day, they did record an LP’s worth of material along with some legendary live shows that took place at the university of California at Davis.

Anti-war feelings that still ring true today can be heard on cuts like “The Fist”, “G.I. Peace” and “No Country”. while expanding your mind with drugs is exposed on cuts like “Please Excuse Me” and The Title Track, “Open Your Mind”.

With heavy guitar crunchers in a style that will remind you of one of our earlier release, Stone Garden. it comes in a thick gatefold cover with liner notes by Mick Martin and lots of photos that compliment the mind blowing, full color front cover.

This is a totally unknown band that is not to be confused with any other band by the same name that may have released LP’s in the past. 

Defunct-Rockadelic

Tracks
1. The First (Robbie Smith) - 2:39
2. Open Your Mind - 5:03
3. You Still Hide - 2:57
4. Please Excuse Me - 3:34
5. Man on the Street - 5:15
6. It's a Game - 3:53
7. When You Grow Up - 3:16
8. No Country - 2:50
9. G.I. Peace - 6:14
All songs by Mick Martin except where stated

Joshua
*Mick Martin - Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Wayne Smith - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Ray Halverson - Lead Guitar
*Larry Sherwood - Bass, Backing Vocals
*Rick Yarrision - Drums

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Rockadrome - Royal American 20th Century Blues (1969 canada, amazing psychedelia, 2010 edition)

A near-mint copy of Rockadrome's lone 1969 LP will probably set you back at least a month's rent - and not a one-bedroom in Wawa (ON), either. Recorded in the early months of 1969 at Art Snider's Sound Canada studios in Toronto and pressed up in very limited quantities, Royal American 20th Century Blues is an impossibly rare psych-rock curio that has sold for upwards of US$1900.

The band (guitarists Ron Dove and Mike Clancy, along with bassist Paul Lachapelle and drummer Rick Vallieres) formed in Toronto in 1968, with the older Clancy having once recorded with rockabilly acts Jack Bailey and The Naturals and Jerry Warren and The Tremblers. Royal American... seems to have one foot planted on either side of the Atlantic, flitting from Brit-infused freakbeat ('Very Strange') to acerbic West Coast guitar jams ('Thirteen Miles Down'), sometimes even in the same song (the amazing five-minute title track). Dove's Dylanesque whine on the jangly 'There You Go Again' should by rights be maddeningly annoying, but instead the song could almost be a long-lost Blond on Blonde outtake. And the sombre piano reprise that closes side two is a sober lament - almost frighteningly so - on our own royal American twentieth century futility. The record is not without its detritus, but still, how Royal American 20th Century Blues could have gone so unnoticed remains a mystery.

Snider kept the lads busy later that year, employing them as session musicians on a couple of equally arcane endeavours, Hyde's obscure folk LP on Quality and, a few years later, for Snider's wife's project, the Allen Sisters. But aside from a solo seven-inch by Dove, the band responsible for one of Canada's rarest records was never heard from again. 

by Michael Panontin

Tracks
1. R.A.T.C.B. Teaser - 1:18
2. Very Strange - 3:15
3. Thirteen Miles Down - 2:23
4. Royal American Twentieth Century Blues - 4:57
5. Live And Love Child - 1:41
6. There You Go Again - 3:25
7. Inside Out, Inside In - 3:50
8. T.O. Town - 2:17
9. Ain't It A Shame - 3:17
10.Good Dream - 3:37
11.R.A.T.C.B. Reprise - 4:44
All songs by Ron J. Dove, Mike Clancy

Rockadrome
*Ron J. Dove - Vocals, Guitar
*Mike Clancy - Guitar, Percussion, Keyboards, Vocals
*Paul Lachapelle - Bass, Organ
*Rick Vallieres - Drums, Vocals

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The Neighb'rhood Childr'n - Long Years In Space (1967-68 us, fabulous garage beat folk psych)

From just south of Medford, Oregon in the tiny burg of Phoenix (population 600) came the teen band the Navarros. Guitarist Rick Bolz, drummer John Morrison and bassist George Glenn hooked up with singer/keyboardist Dyan Hoffman. After cutting a rowdy single for an Oregon label called Corby, the band came to San Francisco for a weekend and quickly became psychedelicized, moving as far away from the previous surf and R&B stance as their fuzztone pedals and Farfisa organs would carry them. After losing members to the draft (guitarist Ron Raschdorf and drummer W.A. Farrens replaced the departing John Morrison and temporary guitarist George Campbell), they changed their name to the Neighb'rhood Children. Recording their lone album at Golden State Recorders for release on the microscopic Acta label, 1968 looked to be the year for the band. 

They toured constantly behind the album, working everything from go-go clubs to one-off concerts with the Who, the Grass Roots and a small mini-tour with the Beau Brummels. Upon several close calls on the road, the group found religion and changed their name to White Horse. After finding that no label would release their second album (by all reports much more contemplative, laidback and acoustic than their debut), the group disbanded in 1970. Bolz responded to the years of road burnout by getting back to nature, buying a surplus parachute, turning it into a teepee and living off the land, hunting and fishing, while the others returned to home, hearth and semi-normal lives. 

by Cub Koda

Marinated in such diverse influences as the mind-splintering mushroom folk-rock blast of the Jefferson Airplane and the feel-good pristine pop of the Turtles, original copies of the Neighb’rhood Childr’n’s lone album trade hands these days for sums usually mentioned in ransom notes. Hailing from the tiny town of Phoenix, Oregon, the Childr’n made deep inroads into the early San Francisco scene, opening for the Who, the Grass Roots, and the Beau Brummels and subsequently taking the psychedelic message back to the Pacific Northwest hinterlands—sometimes at great risk to their persons at the hands of small-minded locals. Marked by singer-organist Dyan Hoffman’s wailing vocals and guitarist Rick Bolz’s stinging fuzz leads, the Neighb’rhood Childr’n are one of the most criminally overlooked acts of the entire psych/acid era. 

Sundazed

Tracks
1. Feeling Zero (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 3:10
2. Long Years In Space (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 2:56
3. Up Down Turn Around World (Rick Bolz) - 2:25
4. Changes Brought To Me (Rick Bolz) - 2:01
5. Please Leave Me Alone (Rick Bolz, T. Ryan, G. Campbell) - 2:38
6. Hobbit's Dream (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 1:55
7. Chocolate Angel (R. Bolz, D. Hoffman, R. Raschdorf, D.A. Farrens) - 2:32
8. Patterns (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 3:23
9. Happy Child (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 2:17
10.Happy World Of Captain K (Rick Bolz) - 2:54
11.She's Got No Identification (M. Murphy, O. Castleman) - 2:34
12.Can't Buy Me Love (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:16
13.That's What's Happening (Rick Bolz) - 2:29
14.Sunday Afternoon (Rick Bolz) - 1:48
15.Feeling Zero (Alternate Version) (Rick Bolz, Dyan Hoffman) - 3:04
16.The Little Black Egg (M. Stone) - 2:38
17.Tomorrow's Gone (Rick Bolz) - 2:00
18.Over The Rainbow (Harburg, Arlen) - 2:37
19.Louie Louie (R. Berry) - 2:33
20.I Need Love (Rick Bolz) - 2:30
21.Yesterday's Thoughts (Rick Bolz) - 1:43
22.Woman Think (J. C. Horton) - 3:59
23.Long Years In Space (Alternate Version) (Rick Bolz) - 2:51
24.Behold The Lillies (D. Hoffman) - 2:30

The Neighb'rhood Childr'n
Rick Bolz - 12 String Guitar, Harmonica, Tambourine, Triangle, Vocals
Wayne Arthur Farrens - Drums, Harmonica, Tambourine, Vocals
Dyan Hoffman - Organ, Tambourine, Vocals
Ron Raschdorf - Guitar, Harmonica, Tambourine, Vocals
George Glenn - Bass

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Crack The Sky - Crack The Sky (1975 us, powerfull prog rock with glam shades, 2002 remaster)

Progressive rock group Crack the Sky was formed in the Ohio River Valley region in 1975 by frontman John Palumbo, guitarists Jim Griffiths and Rick Witkowski, bassist Joe Macre, and drummer Joey D'Amico. According to the website at www.crackthesky.com, the band was originally dubbed ArcAngel, building a loyal following on the Cleveland and Baltimore club circuits before signing to the Lifesong label to issue their self-titled debut LP, which earned critical acclaim for Palumbo's acerbic lyrics and the songs' complex structures and time changes. 

Commercial reward was minimal, however, and after completing Crack the Sky's second LP, 1976's Animal Notes, Palumbo exited to pursue a solo career. D'Amico assumed lead vocal duties on 1978's Safety in Numbers, with singer Gary Lee Chappell featured on the Live Sky release. Crack the Sky then disbanded, but in 1980 Palumbo, Witkowski, and keyboardist Vince DePaul briefly reformed the group to record the White Music album before again dissolving. Palumbo then formed another new lineup for a series of albums including Photoflamingo, World in Motion I, and Raw before reuniting with Witkowski, D'Amico, and DePaul for a series of 1986 live dates at the Baltimore club Hammerjacks and eventually a new 1989 studio LP, From the Greenhouse. Dog City followed in 1990, and Crack the Sky infrequently reunited throughout the decade to come. 

by Jason Ankeny

The astonishing success of Crack the Sky's eponymous first album raised expectations that the band was never able to fulfill for the rest of their career. Critics and audiences alike delighted in the wry, intelligent lyrics, complex and powerful progressive rock, and carefully crafted harmonies. Radio programmers were more ambivalent. Songs like "Ice," "She's a Dancer," and "Surf City" all got nationwide airplay, though none actually became a real hit. 

All of them deserved more attention, but the label never focused their promotional efforts on any one of them, and as a result there was no hit single. (Shades of Moby Grape's first album.) Rolling Stone's designation of Crack the Sky as "Album of the Year" for 1975 helped did as much as anything the record company did, and in retrospect their award was well-deserved. The album still holds up very well, especially the delirious "A Sea Epic," one of the rare examples of a driving and complex progressive rock song with a really good sense of humor. Three years and two albums later, when Crack the Sky did a live album, most of the songs were from this album. They obviously knew where their best material was and played to their strengths. Highly recommended. 

by Richard Fos

Tracks
1. Hold On - 3:00
2. Surf City - 3:54
3. A Sea Epic - 6:33
4. She's a Dancer - 3:54
5. Robots for Ronnie - 4:39
6. Ice - 4:36
7. Mind Baby - 4:32
8. I Don't Have a Tie - 3:04
9. Sleep - 7:48
10.Let Me Go Home (A Visit to the Projects) - 3:25
11.Eileen, I Lean on You - 3:49
12.Hold On - 2:14
13.Dr. Octopus, Pt. 2 - 3:08
All songs composed by John Palumbo

Crack The Sky
*John Palumbo - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
*Rick Witkowski - Lead Guitar, Percussion
*Joe Macre - Bass Guitar, Vocals
*Jim Griffiths - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Joey D'Amico - Drums, Vocals
Additional Musicians
*Michael Brecker - Horns
*Randy Brecker - Horns
*David Sanborn - Horns
*George Marge - Woodwinds
*Tom Jones - Trombone

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