MACHINE

Okay, they got me again. This album reunites four of the original band members: John Palumbo, Rick Witkowski, Joe Macre and Joey D'Amico (no Jim Griffiths) for the first time since Palumbo left during the recording of "Safety In Numbers". I expected an album at least approaching the inventiveness and exhilaration of those early albums. But alas, it is not to be.

First of all, Macre and D'Amico were once one of the best rhythm sections anywhere. The syncopated drum and bass were a signature of those early CTS albums. They hint at a bit of that at the beginning of Heaven, but it goes nowhere.

And there is very little prog on this album. If you like the Pink Floyd influenced CTS of "From The Greenhouse", than you may enjoy this album. Heaven, Come Out, Hero and We're All Dead all have those hints of "Wall"-ere Floyd.

The lyrics, as usual for Palumbo, are clever, and I wonder if Hyphen-American was inspired by the old John Wayne spoken word recording of the same title.

2.5 stars.

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Posted Thursday, September 16, 2010 | Review this album | Report (Review #299401)

This is my favorite Crack The Sky album. It's clearly a concept-album, almost a rock opera. The themes of man vs his creation, machines taking over permeate the album. And perhaps more than any other CTS album there's a sonic consistency: low key acoustic guitars, dueling rock guitars, extended ... (read more)

Report this review (#2968060) | Posted by ZUrlocker | Thursday, November 9, 2023 | Review Permanlink

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