CRACK

What to say about a glorious classic record ? MUCH !!

This is an alternating beautiful /romantic with bombastic pieces music. Musicians are of Banco or Yes caliber and the record production is pretty good. This is art.

I guess I can make analogy with classics from Italy for the conception and ideas richness. Also because it's Latin origin sung music. Comes to mind 2 Locandas : 1st Quella Vecchia and delle Fate for the flute and complex acoustic instruments interplay. The Spanish vocals with female chorus are great, when it comes I reminded by Città Frontale, but Crack is better structured than the last.

The moog (one could say with old fashioned sound, I prefer to say "avant guard" sound) and strings keys (mellotron ?) brings personal characteristic to Crack. I have already listened those similar tones with Bloque, Mezquita or Gualberto. But they don't keep that evident flamenco sound we can listen in many Spanish bands, they are much more varied. Italian school analogy is more appropriated to describe the music.

I love when bands bring the typical country culture (or even unexpected elements) into the hybrid prog realm. Better when it works pretty well like Crack. I also love Los Canarios "Ciclos" and Gotic from Spain, but what to say about ITOIZ sung in Basque language ? This is another review for sure.

These guys sure know how to create pleasant melodies.Piano and flute lead the way most of the time with little in the way of instrumental outbreaks.The Spanish vocals fit the music well. "Descenso En El Mahellstrong" is an instrumental that begins and ends with birds singing and water flowing.Very pastoral.In between piano,gentle guitar and flute lead the way.The tempo does pick up before 1 1/2 minutes.Some nice prominant bass late. "Amantes De La Irrealidad" opens with piano,gentle guitar and vocals.A fuller sound arrives 1 1/2 minutes in.Mellotron before 3 minutes as flute then guitar come in.Vocals return 4 1/2 minutes in.Mellotron 6 minutes in to end it. "Cobarde O Desertor" is probably my favourite track.The melody sounds great with vocals. "Buenos Deseos" has a pleasant melody with vocals. "Marchando Una Del Cid" is an excellent tune as drums and flute lead the way early with piano joining in.Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes,mellotron a minute later.Synths 5 1/2 minutes in.Cool song. "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" features female and male vocals in this the longest track.Lots of synths late followed by tasteful guitar before 9 minutes. "Epillogo" features a piano,drums and flute intro as the tempo picks up.A calm with flute to end it. This really deserves 4 stars,it's so well done.For me though if it's light and pleasant like this album is,it has to move me or do something special for me.It doesn't. Good but not great.3.5 stars.

This spanish band release a single album way back in 1979, but what an album, high class symphonic prog. Si dodo hicera crack is an album full of vintage keyboards with solid guitar, bass and drums interplay. Vocals are sung in spanish and are very well done with loads of harmonic passages. Sometimes Crack reminds me of italian scene from the '70's but as well some of thier country fellows like Iceberg, Goma and Gotic and even in places Banana. Anyway this is an excellent album with spanish floavour just good to keep your attention on the highest levels. This is a great musical experience for me and i will give 4 stars without hesitation, one of the best bands from Spain no doubt. recommended.

A strong album that really doesn't sound like any other band I know....Maybe a little like early Genesis....but definitely it has a flavour all it's own....I highly recommend this to amyone who enjoys symphonic prog....which should be most people on this site ! ....There aren't very many vocals...but the vocals that are there are well done in spanish.... Read some of the other (better written) reviews for this excellent album....and then check them out!

Here's a disc full of cheerful and instantly appreciable songs, likely to resonate with the pulse of your blood the first time you hear it, and drive you mad through the same summery enthusiasm five plays later.

Crack have done a lot of work on their melodies, and all the songs have catchy moments strong enough to be chartable. Every cut on "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" is breathlessly lovely and uplifting - perhaps the songs aim to take you to such heights to disguise the music's lacking depth?

Maybe that's too strong, but it's fair to say that because Crack's music is so memorable in the first place, nothing is really gained through repeat listens; take the triumphant melodies of "Amantes de le Irrealidad" and realise that there's nothing interesting going on behind them, or else savour the restless joy of the title suite, and come to acknowledge the drab and unimaginative chords it has been drizzled upon.

The musicians themselves are certainly capable, and seem to have a variety of influences. There's a lot of Camel-ism going on here, both in elevator-jazz-pop and bad-solos-over-galloping-bass modes, and I can't say I'm a fan of their work, so it's a little cloying when it's copied so well. Still, this album has superior melody to anything on Mirage. What I do enjoy is the occasional Oldfieldian nod that takes place in the guitar playing. Additionally, the bittersweet moments reminiscent of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso are worth listening to the whole album for, although I dare say that the italian band would have taken more advantage of the group's skills. As it is, "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" is initially enjoyable, fading to nothing special.

This is one of those albums that makes collecting and reviewing progressive symphonic music a real pleasure. It’s also a band I would have never heard of had this not become such an addictive pastime.

Crack were a Spanish band that apparently existed briefly in the latter seventies but who did not have the flamenco-tinged sound of many other bands of that era. They are more like Italian symphonic music, kind of like Lisker or Gotic and other bands of that nature that produced one or two beautiful albums and then disappeared (at least I assume the comparisons are valid from the limited samples I’ve heard of those two bands). In one way they are more like Tarantula or Atila though, maybe not in their style, but in the fact someone took the time to track down their music and reissue it on CD. In this case that someone was Si-Wan Records, which is a great credit to that label. The downside, as with many Si-Wan CDs, is that the liner notes are in Korean so I have no idea what they say.

No matter, this is a fantastic recording and a choice find for any symphonic rock fan, especially those like me who have an affinity for the peculiar inflection of Spanish singers. The vocals here are both male and female, which lends an even more exotic flair to the music; although on some tracks like “Cobarde O Desertor” the falsetto male vocals are a bit of a distraction.

The keyboard work is also quite expressive, much like the limited amount of Italian symphonic bands I’ve heard like PFM or Osanna. Crack also feature flute quite heavily, but otherwise their surprisingly expansive sound comes from the voices, bass, guitar, and a single yet highly creative keyboardist, Mento Hevia.

The songs are all in Spanish, but again no matter that their meaning is lost if you don’t speak that language. The real magic hear is in the musical arrangements, which are bright, upbeat, and irrepressibly beguiling.

The opening “Descenso En El Mahellstrong” features the fat acoustic guitar flair so unique to Spanish music in general, along with delicate keyboards and Celtic-tinged flute, which seems to be something of a trademark of symphonic Spanish music as well. This is an instrumental, and the electric guitar work at the end casts an intensely introspective mood on the whole song. A beautiful work.

In contrast “Amantes De La Irrealidad” starts and ends with vocals, with leading male voice backed by almost operatic female backing, and endless tempo shifts punctuated by flourishing keyboards (pretty sure the heavy ones are mellotron), a couple brief passages of rather intense guitar, and finally a brief climax of keyboards and male chamber vocals before fading abruptly. Does the title mean ‘lovers of fantasy’? If so, an apt title.

“Cobarde O Desertor” is the most vocally intense track, including the strange falsetto singer who I assume represents the coward the lyrics are no doubt referring to. This is closer to a complex pop song or perhaps contemporary world music, but still Hevia’s keyboards set it apart from more mundane popular music.

I’m not sure what the desires are that referred to in “Buenos Deseos” (lust? Not sure). Anyway, this one also has more folkish vocals than symphonic, and again the keyboards save the day. Well, maybe not ‘save’ – it’s a good song nonetheless, but Mr. Hevia sure does know how to coax a lot of sounds out of his keyboards. Towards the end this one kind of wanders into jazzy-funk territory, a nice diversion that serves to give the album even more variety.

“Marchando Una Del Cid” has a martial rhythm, complete with militant drumming and flute. Again, no idea what this is about – marching somewhere to do something, not sure, and it occurs to me that the harmonic male vocals in the background may in fact be synthesized. But again it doesn’t really matter. This is the only track that has a bit of a dated feel to it, mostly because of the yawning lead male vocals, which remind me of some Mexican and Cuban pop bands of the early eighties, but besides the vocals this is a delicious two-part work that really takes off in the second part, which are almost completely dominated by the keyboards. I’m guessing this would be an interesting tale if I could get someone to translate the lyrics. It’s a top-notch symphonic adventure even without that.

The title track (“Si Todo Hiciera”) is the apex of this album. The female vocalists are more prominent here, trading leading bits with Hevia and the guitarist, while Hevia lavishes on the extended reverb in his keyboards, alternating between piano and more exotic synthesized sounds. I get the impression there’s a kind of ‘let’s all hug and get along’ kind of message to the lyrics, and the acoustic and electric guitars present a pleasantly upbeat mood behind the graceful vocals in support of that message. I’ve played this one song more than the rest of the album combined since picking it up, and it hasn’t dimmed in my estimation one bit.

The epilog is full of flute and piano, slowly winding down the mood and the music until a sustained note and piano flair bring it to an end.

This is really a great musical experience; I really don’t know any other way to put it. Hard to believe these guys basically faded away after such a short period. I read about the band a little, and my understanding is they had a lot of unfortunate personal issues and misfortunes that led to their early demise as a group. But I believe several of them have remained in music, including the brilliant keyboardist Mento Hevia, who ended up in a group known as Gueta Na Fonte after some time playing classical music as well as electronica. That’s good to know, as we can’t have enough creative symphonic keyboardists in this world in my opinion.

So, what to give this album? For the life of me I can’t find anything bad to say about it. The music is lively, complex, varied, and inspiring. It is a little treasure that can be had fairly easily thanks to its reissue on CD several years ago, and it represents pretty much everything I would look for in a great symphonic rock album. I’m hesitant to say it is essential, since I believe if it truly were then it would be more prominently known and appreciated in progressive circles. But it would most definitely make a great addition to any music lover’s collection. So four stars it is, but very close to five.

peace

From the northern Spanish Atlantic coast , from the semi-Celtic province of Asturias and from its capital Gijon, this little known band made a sole album in the late 70's that sounded more like what Italian bands were doing a few years before. Actually this is not a rare happening since after the end of Franco's dictatorship , many groups tried to make up for lost time so roughly the Spanish prog scene was split into symphonic and fusion. The former had to deal with the huge success of Flamenco inspired Triana, which inspired a lot of younger groups while those not willing to follow that route obviously indulged into the early and mid-70's Italian groups.

Crack is one of those groups and their only album certainly draws from Italian inspiration , but there are other folksier ambiances that can make you think of Tull (this is reinforced when the flute makes an appearance) and sometimes in more symphonic moments Genesis and Yes. The album title would amount to something like: If Everything Would Go Crack........

What strikes most in Crack is the vocal delivery which comes out like PFM, QVL and Osana, but this feeling is not limited to the singing: the songwriting also is strongly influenced. This is particularly the case for Coward Or Deserter and Good Desires (3rd and 4th tracks), which are IMHO the weaker tracks on the album. The second side of the record holds the two tracks that make the backbone of the album starting of with Marchando (an almost 8 min track divided in two movement) with abundant flutes and mellotrons providing all the possible dramatic effects to your attention - this where the comparison with Quella Vieccha Locanda fits best. The 10 min title track is the other standout track, but it seems rather tamer than its predecessor borrowing lots from Yes's GFTO album in terms of sonorities ending in a small piano and flute dominated Epilogue reminding me a bit of Quebec's Maneige.

Overall, one of the better late-70's Spanish album and a minor gem only waiting for the prospective proghead to make its claim on it. But not original enough to deserve above the 4 star status.

This Spanish band came from Gijon, the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Their only album "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" (1980) is one of the jewels of the Spanish progressive rock. It contains seven tracks, all with a beautiful harmony between keyboards, guitar and flute. There are hints of early GENESIS (sensitive piano chords and moving Mellotron waves) and JETHRO TULL (flute) but the typical Spanish climate and the elaborate compositions makes this album to an enthralling and emotional experience.

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Another one of those prog albums that taken me by surprise. Of course the reason for that was the late year of release (1979), at a time when punk rock, disco, new wave, and AOR were king. CRACK being from Spain, and the fact the country was a bit behind the times thanks to a dictatorship (Franco, which lasted from 1936 to 1975), making it not until 1975 when that county's prog scene really took off (although prog albums from that country did surface prior to 1975, like PAN Y REGALIZ, FUSIOON, and LOS CANARIOS). "Si Todo Hiciera" was their one and only album, and a masterpiece. The instrumental setup is as you pretty much expect in '70s prog (flute and Mellotron too). The synthesizer seems to sounds more like an ARP Odyssey than a Mini Moog. Vocals (both male and female) are in Spanish. The male vocalist reminds me a little of LOCANDA DELLE FATE's Leonardo Sasso.

Unfortunately the CD reissue, by Si-Wan Records from Korea has their liner notes in Korean, so it's a little difficult to determine who was in the band (if only I can find an original Spanish LP print of this on the Chapa label, but that's not likely). Taking from such prog bands as PFM and GENESIS, the made it their own without sounding like a clone or derivative. It's a bit difficult for me pointing out the high points, although there's a few times the band gets a little more "pop" like, such as "Buenos Deseos" and the first half of the title track. One of my favorites is the first part of "Marchando una del Cid" which starts off sounding a bit like JETHRO TULL. Also the second half of "Amantes de la Irrealidad" features some truly amazing and dramatic vocal passages. The music is complex enough to satisfy any symphonic prog fan out there. The band doesn't seem to go in to elaborate solos (sure there are solos), pretty much letting each member be heard. Great stuff, and one of the best prog albums I've heard from Spain.

My rating: 4 1/2 STARS

Tasteful and excellent work from Spain, in the late seventies, with a romantic mood in the vein of the early GENESIS, but also a personal imprinting of their own, sometimes reminding me of a South-American band ,"RECORDANDO O VALE DAS MACAS". Actually Crack were a mature band, whose stuff was more inspiring than that one of the South American ensemble, and I like to point out also the importance of such sweet interplay between the piano and the gentle flute as well!! Finally this is a true and important reference for the whole "Light Symphonic Progressive Scene" in Europe: in fact the album is plenty of Mellotron and an inspiring piano too, which is indeed very creative and melodic in the same time!! A warm atmosphere completes this memorable album till the end, which should have to be checked by every "Prog fan".

Highly recommended!!