The Crack - In Search Of... (1993)

Although they are best remembered as being members of the Oi! punk movement, the Crack were actually closer to the musical stylings of punk popsters 999 and mod rockers the Chords than any of their Oi! brethren (the Business, Cockney Rejects, etc.). On the musical scene since 1982, when they won a national televised battle of the bands, the Crack didn't release this debut album until 1989. Certainly worth the wait, guitarist/vocalist Steve Jones (NOT the Sex Pistols' guitarist of the same name) leads the band through ten melodic anthems driven by a wall of guitars and biting melodies. At times, Jones sounds like 999's Nick Cash, then switches into a gutsier Pete Wylie on other tracks. Album opener "My World" starts the ball rolling in style, knocking down everything in its path. The fabulous "Don't You Ever Let Me Down," here in re-recorded form, doesn't equal the aural power of the original 1982 version but has a slightly new arrangement that adds a bit more heart and soul to it. Every one of the ten original tracks is nothing less than heart stopping, and they would have given Oasis a run for their money had the Crack been born ten years later. This Captain Oi! reissue adds six raw and rocking Crack tracks, including their revved up version of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize" (complete with a nod and a wink to the Pistols). Although these bonus tracks don't quite hit the highs that the album does, they are still worthy of inclusion. And you say you've never heard of the Crack?~In Search of the Crack Review by Stephen Schnee