Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Crack the Sky - Safety in Numbers - `78 - Lifesong Records




i never heard of this band until 1991. i was living in st. croix & met this kid who gave me the cassette. he told me if i was a rush fan , i had to check this band out , i would be blown away. and i was. if you don`t live up north , you like me , have probably never heard of this band. this is IMO , their peak of powers. it is simply greatness. any fan of art rock , prog rock & the like will enjoy this one - my fave tracks are safety , long nights & nuclear
~ here is a sample lyric.
"somethings wrong from the moon my friend , somethings wrong from the moon. as i gaze down upon you my friend , somethings wrong from the moon - poor little man , you`ve been run down" -- enjoy ~

It's generally a bad sign when the lead singer quits a band in the middle of an album, especially when that singer wrote every song on the band's previous two albums. It is therefore somewhat surprising that Safety in Numbers was not merely a good album, but one which rivals Crack the Sky's award-wining first release. Though departing leader John Palumbo contributed a few vocals before quitting the band, new singer Gary Lee Chappell and other bandmembers filled in nicely on a mix of Palumbo's songs and new tunes written by guitarist Rick Witkowski and various partners. The two songs written by Palumbo aren't even the best -- that distinction would have to go to "A Night on the Town (With Snow White)," a delightful piece that mixes styles from the 1920s and progressive rock in a way that is probably unique. There are other lyrical gems here too, including the grim title cut and the sarcastic concert favorite "Lighten Up McGraw." Palumbo's "Nuclear Apathy" is five minutes of good song stretched to eight minutes, though the splendid guitar work and inspired arrangement does much to redeem the error. Taken as a whole, Safety in Numbers showed that there was more to Crack the Sky than John Palumbo, and that the band was ready to carry on in high style. -- AMG

Crack the Sky - Safety in Numbers - LP Lifesong #35041 (1978)
MP3 @ 320 KBPS - includes scanned lyrics

- John Palumbo / lead vocals (tracks 1 & 2)
- Gary Lee Chappel / lead vocals (tracks 3 - 8)
- Jim Griffiths / guitars, harmonies
- Rick Witkowski / guitar, harmonies
- Joe Macre / bass, harmonies
- Joey D'Amico / drums, harmonies

1. Nuclear Apathy (8:32)
2. Long Nights (3:59)
3. Flashlight (4:45)
4. Prelude to Safety in Numbers (1:15)
5. Lighten Up McGraw (5:08)
6. Give Myself to You (3:23)
7. A Night on the Town(With Snow White) (3:25)
8. Safety in Numbers (6:41)




DOWNLOAD - -- HERE --


7 comments:

Matt_The_Cat said...

A very underrated band and a popular favorite in the baltimore area.'Lighten' was a radio staple as well as 'Long Nights' off this album.Another great one is Live Sky and their version of 'I Am The Walrus.'If you should run across that one it would be much appreciated as well as this one.Thank you!

akashaman said...

matt the cat ! love the nik as i am a huge fan of cats , lol.
ya , this LP will always be magical to me !
brings back mny great memories & its just a grand piece of work ~
being a native texan i am fortunate to even have run across it !
rok on , thanks for the feedback ~

aka`

akashaman said...

matt -- forgot to mention , i have most all CTS lp`s , even a couple of john`s solos !
will try & get to more for yaz.

aka`

Del said...

thanks - i haven't listened to these guys in a long time. growing up near baltimore - i heard these guys so much on the radio i assumed they were a nationally known group, it was only when i went to camp in another state did i realize they weren't as big as Tom Petty - in fact nobody had heard of them at all.these guys still play the baltimore area every now and then, i was back there a few years ago and saw them at Camden yards - they played a good set of originals then did most of Abbey Road for an extended encore.

akashaman said...

thanks for that feedback ; ya , i assumed they were pretty obscure across the southern part of the states & even out west. funny i heard about them in usvi , half way across the world in 91 !
if it were not for my bud who turned me on to them back in the day , i prob would still not know of em , lol.
so kewl u got to see em & they played some beatles eh !?
wow , i know they do a cool cover of walrus:

rok on , enjoy the wax !

aka`

Anonymous said...

Sir Akashaman!!!

Thanks for this (now woefully) hard to find CTS Lp! One of those bands that should have been H-u-G-E! See Ya!!

D.Moose

Anonymous said...

Always dug this one...still have it on vinyl...thanks for taking it into the digital age.