Crack The Sky: From The Wood

Anyone familiar with the United States’ contribution to ‘70s progressive rock will at least have heard of Crack The Sky, originally based out of West Virginia. The band formed in 1975 and released their self-titled debut that same year. Crack The Sky never received the accolades as some other prog bands at the time, although Rolling Stone gave the debut “Album of the Year� status, they have persevered through many obstacles the music business presents and have continued to release albums in every decade since. This review will focus on their twentieth effort titled From The Wood, released in 2023.

The band decided to go all acoustic for this one, hence the title, and the results are superb. To call this progressive rock would not be completely accurate, but the arrangements do exude proggy bits here and there and the musicianship is of course excellent. The band has always been guitar driven and that still holds true as these tunes exhibit great acoustic guitar work.

The disc opens with the vibrant “I Get High� brimming with a good dose of jaunty fun with its near sunny outlook, musically speaking, and energetic vibe. The vocals of John Palumbo should also be mentioned as he still brings melodic hooks to each track. Next is “Lady In The Lake� where Palumbo’s vocals are a bit lower exhibiting a certain longing and the chorus is wonderfully catchy. The acoustic guitar playing is exceptional, the solo absolutely riveting. This one exudes a classiness not often heard in today’s rock scene. Sprinkles of piano and a darker vibe highlight the mysterious “My New World� and certainly touches on acoustic prog. It also features another catchy chorus and again, the acoustic guitar shines. The pure acoustic blues of “Fun In Isolation�, the beautiful acoustic guitars and piano in the haunting “Don’t Close Your Eyes�, Palumbo’s vocals are heart wrenching here, and the slow burn moody rock of “Outside Of Me� are more highlights.

After five decades of making music it is truly impressive the band has found a way to keep on releasing new music and the fact that it is of such high quality is a testament to this enduring band that we should be lucky to still enjoy. Very impressive indeed.

The band:
John Palumbo (lead vocals, guitar)
Rick Witkowski (background vocals, guitar, ukulele, djembe)
Bobby Hird (background vocals, guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin)
Joe D’Amico (background vocals, drums)
Dave DeMarco (bass)
Glenn Workman (piano, toy piano, accordion)

Track Listing:
1. I Get High (5:01)
2. Lady In The Lake (4:22)
3. My New World (4:48)
4. Fun In Isolation (3:35)
5. Don’t Close Your Eyes (4:09)
6. Outside Of Me (5:20)
7. Heart Of The Lion (4:40)
8. Going Downtown (4:01)
9. Don’t Feed The Tigers (4:03)
10. The Circle Of Life (4:45) Bonus Tracks
11. Fun In Isolation (3:33)
12. Don't Close Your Eyes (4:16)

Added: April 3rd 2026
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 86
Language: english

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