Spanish “symphonic prog” from 1979
Crack was a band from Gijon on the north Atlantic coast
The largest city in Asturias
They formed in 78
Produced the album in 79
And broke up in 80
Asturias itself became an “autonomous community” directly after, in 81
Their album was recorded in Madrid for the Chapa label
Titled “Si todo hiciera crack” (“if everything went crack”)
They only had 5 studio days to get it done
They had been together for about a year, and thought they were ready to go
But the producer had news for them
Their tracks were way too long
Even for prog
So they had to cut up their marathons into shorter legs
This track kicks the album off
But was actually originally a 17-minute monster that became 3 different titles on the album (one of which, El Cid, still had a part 1 and part 2)
Descenso en El mahellstrong is, presumably, their take on Poe
Or at least on the story’s themes
(disclaimer: i think Poe is probably the greatest writer ever)
Alberto Fontaneda is on guitar and vocals here
And the flute, which leads many to compare this to Jethro Tull (eh…)
In addition to the Poe,
And the album cover,
[The mouse
He escaped his cage
Yes
YES
The mouse is out]
Descenso is featured cuz of the absolutely deadly piano/bass/drums/flute in the middle of the whirlpool
3 and a half minutes in
Watch your surroundings, as you’re liable to slap your pappy when the beat drops
It’s definitely unusual for 1979
If it sounds more early 70s, it may be due to its sociohistorical context
Franco only died in 75
And the generalissimo’s dictatorship had suppressed and shut off Spain
So the conventional wisdom is that Spanish trends lagged several years behind its neighbors
Whether or not that theory holds water, Crack’s lone album delivers a thunderous rock blow in a discofied age
The LP didn’t sell much, and the group fell apart
They get a lot of love from prog-heads, and the album’s had a few Korean and Japanese reissues. Last year, Sony Europe put one out, too
“I positively felt a wish to explore its depths, even at the sacrifice I was going to make; and my principal grief was that I should never be able to tell my old companions on shore about the mysteries I should see.”
