GHOST

This 2002 release is something of a comeback for Crack the Sky,and is a return to the early days for this amazing Baltimore prog band(whose self-titled 1975 debut album was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as the "Debut Album of the Year").Crack the Sky is characteristically known for intelligent and insightful lyrics,strong musicianship(particularly on guitar) and for pulling elements of bands like Gentle Giant,Genesis and King Crimson into a unique blend of progressive rock that has rarely been done this well by anyone else. The band for this release is Bobby Hird (guitars,) John Palumbo (vocals, keyboards, guitar,) John Tracy (drums,) Rick Witkowski (guitars,) Glenn Workman (keyboards) and Carey Ziegler (bass.) Palumbo and Witkowski are the only members from the first iteration of the band, but most of the rest have been with the group for a while. The album: Coconuts- This starts out the album on a great note -- thumpy guitar from Witkowski and Palumbo's biting lyrics that recall early Crack the Sky albums.There's a real sense of free jazz in much of the backing music, along with some phenomenal drumming. Overall, likely the best track on the album! Ghost- Much more subdued, this has an ethereal undertone throughout, particularly with some creepy guitar bits that accent Palumbo's heavily filtered vocals. Musically, this is fairly minimal until about two minutes in, when it picks up with a scorching guitar bit, although this only lasts a short while before it's back to the subtle backing for the vocal. I- The band again uses a repetitive backing with interesting accents and fills to supplement the focus of Palumbo's vocals. Effective key change through the bridge at about three minutes in, with a jazzy piano backing that switches off with heavy guitar and drums. Go- With a fairly short lyric, one would assume this to be largely instrumental, and there is indeed some great dual guitar work throughout this track, but this slower track works well between Palumbo's melancholy singing and the rest of the band. Fly- Sleepy and moody, "Fly" is a nice smooth song that builds a soundscape quite well with a really sharp Spanish guitar bit in the middle. Tomorrow- Speaking to the uncertainties of life, this acerbic lyric by Palumbo is insightful and lies over a bed of music that truly recalls the first couple of Crack the Sky albums. Very thumpy bass, jazzy drums, and nice guitar solos throughout make this a fun and bouncy track. Zoom- Mostly instrumental, this is my favorite song on the album. It starts out as a fairly simple rock track, then breaks into a subtle jazzy piece about three minutes in. At almost nine minutes, it's wide enough to allow some aural exploration, and I really like where they go with this. All elements of the band gel very nicely and Palumbo's vocals are less of an intrusion than just another instrument within the mix. USA- A rather sarcastic view of the US from a centralist's point of view, the lyric on this doesn't quite have the kick of similar tracts on previous albums (like "Dog City" or "Lost in America") and when combined with Palumbo's rap-like vocal, this just doesn't work for me. Some interesting musical sections, but overall, not a great song. Zazen- Like "Fly," this brings the tempo way down for a sleepy effect. I love the flute towards the end of the track, although it's not credited on the liner notes, so it might be a sample. Husband- Ending the album on a bizarre note, this is a straight blues track. While the oddly minimalistic feel of the song sort of flies in the face of the depth of some of the previous songs, it works surprisingly well and either speaks to the versatility of the band or the simplicity on duplicating the Mississippi blues sound. For setting a goal of getting back to their roots,Crack the Sky haven't quite succeeded,but they have come very close.This is a superior album that will definitely appeal to long time fans of the band, particularly those who might have lost a bit of faith in the ensuing years.In addition, fans of Progressive Rock in general will find a lot to like here. 4 stars and an excellent addition to any prog music collection