SI TODO HICIERA CRACK

For those who love lush and beautiful symphonic progressive rock then may I suggest you swing a copy of CRACK's classic "Si Todo Hiciera". This late 70's offering is one of Spain's greatest contributions to the prog genre and would certainly appeal to all fans of 70's Italian prog. CRACK are a full ensemble who play some real tasty keyboard driven symphonic prog and manage to create some beautiful lush atmospheres. Along the way we are treated to some solid guitar, bass and drum interplay. Vocals are sung in Spanish and are very well done with loads of harmonic passages. Fan of the mellotron will also enjoy this release as CRACK use it from time to time throughout the album. This is one of those albums which is a real find and is full of great memorable melodies. Sound quality is very solid and it actually has a very fresh feel to it not sounding overly 70's.

Tasteful and excellent work from Spain, in the late seventies, with a romantic mood in the vein of the early GENESIS, but also a personal imprinting of their own, sometimes reminding me of a South-American band ,"RECORDANDO O VALE DAS MACAS". Actually Crack were a mature band, whose stuff was more inspiring than that one of the South American ensemble, and I like to point out also the importance of such sweet interplay between the piano and the gentle flute as well!! Finally this is a true and important reference for the whole "Light Symphonic Progressive Scene" in Europe: in fact the album is plenty of Mellotron and an inspiring piano too, which is indeed very creative and melodic in the same time!! A warm atmosphere completes this memorable album till the end, which should have to be checked by every "Prog fan".

Highly recommended!!

Another one of those prog albums that taken me by surprise. Of course the reason for that was the late year of release (1979), at a time when punk rock, disco, new wave, and AOR were king. CRACK being from Spain, and the fact the country was a bit behind the times thanks to a dictatorship (Franco, which lasted from 1936 to 1975), making it not until 1975 when that county's prog scene really took off (although prog albums from that country did surface prior to 1975, like PAN Y REGALIZ, FUSIOON, and LOS CANARIOS). "Si Todo Hiciera" was their one and only album, and a masterpiece. The instrumental setup is as you pretty much expect in '70s prog (flute and Mellotron too). The synthesizer seems to sounds more like an ARP Odyssey than a Mini Moog. Vocals (both male and female) are in Spanish. The male vocalist reminds me a little of LOCANDA DELLE FATE's Leonardo Sasso.

Unfortunately the CD reissue, by Si-Wan Records from Korea has their liner notes in Korean, so it's a little difficult to determine who was in the band (if only I can find an original Spanish LP print of this on the Chapa label, but that's not likely). Taking from such prog bands as PFM and GENESIS, the made it their own without sounding like a clone or derivative. It's a bit difficult for me pointing out the high points, although there's a few times the band gets a little more "pop" like, such as "Buenos Deseos" and the first half of the title track. One of my favorites is the first part of "Marchando una del Cid" which starts off sounding a bit like JETHRO TULL. Also the second half of "Amantes de la Irrealidad" features some truly amazing and dramatic vocal passages. The music is complex enough to satisfy any symphonic prog fan out there. The band doesn't seem to go in to elaborate solos (sure there are solos), pretty much letting each member be heard. Great stuff, and one of the best prog albums I've heard from Spain.

My rating: 4 1/2 STARS

This Spanish band came from Gijon, the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Their only album "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" (1980) is one of the jewels of the Spanish progressive rock. It contains seven tracks, all with a beautiful harmony between keyboards, guitar and flute. There are hints of early GENESIS (sensitive piano chords and moving Mellotron waves) and JETHRO TULL (flute) but the typical Spanish climate and the elaborate compositions makes this album to an enthralling and emotional experience.

From the northern Spanish Atlantic coast , from the semi-Celtic province of Asturias and from its capital Gijon, this little known band made a sole album in the late 70's that sounded more like what Italian bands were doing a few years before. Actually this is not a rare happening since after the end of Franco's dictatorship , many groups tried to make up for lost time so roughly the Spanish prog scene was split into symphonic and fusion. The former had to deal with the huge success of Flamenco inspired Triana, which inspired a lot of younger groups while those not willing to follow that route obviously indulged into the early and mid-70's Italian groups.

Crack is one of those groups and their only album certainly draws from Italian inspiration , but there are other folksier ambiances that can make you think of Tull (this is reinforced when the flute makes an appearance) and sometimes in more symphonic moments Genesis and Yes. The album title would amount to something like: If Everything Would Go Crack........

What strikes most in Crack is the vocal delivery which comes out like PFM, QVL and Osana, but this feeling is not limited to the singing: the songwriting also is strongly influenced. This is particularly the case for Coward Or Deserter and Good Desires (3rd and 4th tracks), which are IMHO the weaker tracks on the album. The second side of the record holds the two tracks that make the backbone of the album starting of with Marchando (an almost 8 min track divided in two movement) with abundant flutes and mellotrons providing all the possible dramatic effects to your attention - this where the comparison with Quella Vieccha Locanda fits best. The 10 min title track is the other standout track, but it seems rather tamer than its predecessor borrowing lots from Yes's GFTO album in terms of sonorities ending in a small piano and flute dominated Epilogue reminding me a bit of Quebec's Maneige.

Overall, one of the better late-70's Spanish album and a minor gem only waiting for the prospective proghead to make its claim on it. But not original enough to deserve above the 4 star status.

This is one of those albums that makes collecting and reviewing progressive symphonic music a real pleasure. It’s also a band I would have never heard of had this not become such an addictive pastime.

Crack were a Spanish band that apparently existed briefly in the latter seventies but who did not have the flamenco-tinged sound of many other bands of that era. They are more like Italian symphonic music, kind of like Lisker or Gotic and other bands of that nature that produced one or two beautiful albums and then disappeared (at least I assume the comparisons are valid from the limited samples I’ve heard of those two bands). In one way they are more like Tarantula or Atila though, maybe not in their style, but in the fact someone took the time to track down their music and reissue it on CD. In this case that someone was Si-Wan Records, which is a great credit to that label. The downside, as with many Si-Wan CDs, is that the liner notes are in Korean so I have no idea what they say.

No matter, this is a fantastic recording and a choice find for any symphonic rock fan, especially those like me who have an affinity for the peculiar inflection of Spanish singers. The vocals here are both male and female, which lends an even more exotic flair to the music; although on some tracks like “Cobarde O Desertor” the falsetto male vocals are a bit of a distraction.

The keyboard work is also quite expressive, much like the limited amount of Italian symphonic bands I’ve heard like PFM or Osanna. Crack also feature flute quite heavily, but otherwise their surprisingly expansive sound comes from the voices, bass, guitar, and a single yet highly creative keyboardist, Mento Hevia.

The songs are all in Spanish, but again no matter that their meaning is lost if you don’t speak that language. The real magic hear is in the musical arrangements, which are bright, upbeat, and irrepressibly beguiling.

The opening “Descenso En El Mahellstrong” features the fat acoustic guitar flair so unique to Spanish music in general, along with delicate keyboards and Celtic-tinged flute, which seems to be something of a trademark of symphonic Spanish music as well. This is an instrumental, and the electric guitar work at the end casts an intensely introspective mood on the whole song. A beautiful work.

In contrast “Amantes De La Irrealidad” starts and ends with vocals, with leading male voice backed by almost operatic female backing, and endless tempo shifts punctuated by flourishing keyboards (pretty sure the heavy ones are mellotron), a couple brief passages of rather intense guitar, and finally a brief climax of keyboards and male chamber vocals before fading abruptly. Does the title mean ‘lovers of fantasy’? If so, an apt title.

“Cobarde O Desertor” is the most vocally intense track, including the strange falsetto singer who I assume represents the coward the lyrics are no doubt referring to. This is closer to a complex pop song or perhaps contemporary world music, but still Hevia’s keyboards set it apart from more mundane popular music.

I’m not sure what the desires are that referred to in “Buenos Deseos” (lust? Not sure). Anyway, this one also has more folkish vocals than symphonic, and again the keyboards save the day. Well, maybe not ‘save’ – it’s a good song nonetheless, but Mr. Hevia sure does know how to coax a lot of sounds out of his keyboards. Towards the end this one kind of wanders into jazzy-funk territory, a nice diversion that serves to give the album even more variety.

“Marchando Una Del Cid” has a martial rhythm, complete with militant drumming and flute. Again, no idea what this is about – marching somewhere to do something, not sure, and it occurs to me that the harmonic male vocals in the background may in fact be synthesized. But again it doesn’t really matter. This is the only track that has a bit of a dated feel to it, mostly because of the yawning lead male vocals, which remind me of some Mexican and Cuban pop bands of the early eighties, but besides the vocals this is a delicious two-part work that really takes off in the second part, which are almost completely dominated by the keyboards. I’m guessing this would be an interesting tale if I could get someone to translate the lyrics. It’s a top-notch symphonic adventure even without that.

The title track (“Si Todo Hiciera”) is the apex of this album. The female vocalists are more prominent here, trading leading bits with Hevia and the guitarist, while Hevia lavishes on the extended reverb in his keyboards, alternating between piano and more exotic synthesized sounds. I get the impression there’s a kind of ‘let’s all hug and get along’ kind of message to the lyrics, and the acoustic and electric guitars present a pleasantly upbeat mood behind the graceful vocals in support of that message. I’ve played this one song more than the rest of the album combined since picking it up, and it hasn’t dimmed in my estimation one bit.

The epilog is full of flute and piano, slowly winding down the mood and the music until a sustained note and piano flair bring it to an end.

This is really a great musical experience; I really don’t know any other way to put it. Hard to believe these guys basically faded away after such a short period. I read about the band a little, and my understanding is they had a lot of unfortunate personal issues and misfortunes that led to their early demise as a group. But I believe several of them have remained in music, including the brilliant keyboardist Mento Hevia, who ended up in a group known as Gueta Na Fonte after some time playing classical music as well as electronica. That’s good to know, as we can’t have enough creative symphonic keyboardists in this world in my opinion.

So, what to give this album? For the life of me I can’t find anything bad to say about it. The music is lively, complex, varied, and inspiring. It is a little treasure that can be had fairly easily thanks to its reissue on CD several years ago, and it represents pretty much everything I would look for in a great symphonic rock album. I’m hesitant to say it is essential, since I believe if it truly were then it would be more prominently known and appreciated in progressive circles. But it would most definitely make a great addition to any music lover’s collection. So four stars it is, but very close to five.

peace

Here's a disc full of cheerful and instantly appreciable songs, likely to resonate with the pulse of your blood the first time you hear it, and drive you mad through the same summery enthusiasm five plays later.

Crack have done a lot of work on their melodies, and all the songs have catchy moments strong enough to be chartable. Every cut on "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" is breathlessly lovely and uplifting - perhaps the songs aim to take you to such heights to disguise the music's lacking depth?

Maybe that's too strong, but it's fair to say that because Crack's music is so memorable in the first place, nothing is really gained through repeat listens; take the triumphant melodies of "Amantes de le Irrealidad" and realise that there's nothing interesting going on behind them, or else savour the restless joy of the title suite, and come to acknowledge the drab and unimaginative chords it has been drizzled upon.

The musicians themselves are certainly capable, and seem to have a variety of influences. There's a lot of Camel-ism going on here, both in elevator-jazz-pop and bad-solos-over-galloping-bass modes, and I can't say I'm a fan of their work, so it's a little cloying when it's copied so well. Still, this album has superior melody to anything on Mirage. What I do enjoy is the occasional Oldfieldian nod that takes place in the guitar playing. Additionally, the bittersweet moments reminiscent of Banco del Mutuo Soccorso are worth listening to the whole album for, although I dare say that the italian band would have taken more advantage of the group's skills. As it is, "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" is initially enjoyable, fading to nothing special.

This spanish band release a single album way back in 1979, but what an album, high class symphonic prog. Si dodo hicera crack is an album full of vintage keyboards with solid guitar, bass and drums interplay. Vocals are sung in spanish and are very well done with loads of harmonic passages. Sometimes Crack reminds me of italian scene from the '70's but as well some of thier country fellows like Iceberg, Goma and Gotic and even in places Banana. Anyway this is an excellent album with spanish floavour just good to keep your attention on the highest levels. This is a great musical experience for me and i will give 4 stars without hesitation, one of the best bands from Spain no doubt. recommended.

These guys sure know how to create pleasant melodies. Piano and flute lead the way most of the time with little in the way of instrumental outbreaks. The Spanish vocals fit the music well.

"Descenso En El Mahellstrong" is an instrumental that begins and ends with birds singing and water flowing. Very pastoral. In between piano, gentle guitar and flute lead the way. The tempo does pick up before 1 1/2 minutes. Some nice prominant bass late. "Amantes De La Irrealidad" opens with piano,gentle guitar and vocals. A fuller sound arrives 1 1/2 minutes in. Mellotron before 3 minutes as flute then guitar come in. Vocals return 4 1/2 minutes in. Mellotron 6 minutes in to end it. "Cobarde O Desertor" is probably my favourite track. The melody sounds great with vocals.

"Buenos Deseos" has a pleasant melody with vocals. "Marchando Una Del Cid" is an excellent tune as drums and flute lead the way early with piano joining in. Vocals after 1 1/2 minutes, mellotron a minute later. Synths 5 1/2 minutes in. Cool song. "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" features female and male vocals in this the longest track. Lots of synths late followed by tasteful guitar before 9 minutes. "Epillogo" features a piano,drums and flute intro as the tempo picks up. A calm with flute to end it.

This really deserves 4 stars it's so well done. For me though if it's light and pleasant like this album is it has to move me or do something special for me. It doesn't. Good but not great. 3.5 stars.

A beautiful album from this Spanish band!

Crack was the name of this band from the north of Spain, Gijón to be more precise. And this was sadly one of those bands that only released one album and then disappeared; I said sadly because when you hear this kind of brilliant music, you wonder why they did not continue composing and sharing their talent with us.

Their only album was entitled "Si Todo Hiciera Crack", released in 1979 and composed of 7 songs that together reach 40 minutes. The first one is "Descenso en el Mahëllstrong". An instrumental and exciting opener that will let you appreciate the talent they had. The piano plays a main role here, having first a delicate sound but later turning faster and in some way powerful. There is also a magnificent flute sound all over the song. The symphonic and Spanish passage is obvious here, so with this song you can expect what's next.

"Amantes de la Irrealidad" is the first track that features vocals, of course in Spanish. There is a predominant male voice but you will also appreciate some female ones. The music is softer with nice piano and acoustic guitar. Later it changes and sounds like if you were inside a fairy tale, walking through a happy land, I believe that feeling was made on purpose because if you translate the title it would say "Fantasy Lovers", so I believe it has something to do. The music in general is beautiful, with excellent keyboard passages and nice guitar solos.

"Cobarde o Desertor" begins with vocals since the very first minute, those vocals have that distinctive Spanish sound. The music is nice, good bass notes and odd sporadic keyboard moments, this is not a bad, but by far not the best song on this album. "Buenos Deseos" is another short song, folk with symphonic, great keyboards and drums and there is also a choir, I believe made as well by keyboards. The sound is gentle and comfortable, the vocals are good and the bass lines sound strong but also gentle.

"Marchando una del Cid" starts precisely with a sound of people marching, military drums you know. Then it changes with the introduction of that special flute sound. All the instruments make an excellent job: bass, drums, piano and guitars, of course accompanied by those flute and keyboard masters. A couple of minutes later vocals appear and a classical piano appear. The music has its ups and downs, changes everytime on both music and atmosphere. The vocals are showing a lot of passion, while the music sounds fast and sometimes even nervous. The symphonic sound prevails here. There is a kind of interlude where the piano disappears for a second but later it returns faster and powerful. Later some brilliant keyboard solo appears while the rhythm of the whole song keeps the same form. This is an extraordinary composition.

"Si Todo Hiciera Crack" is the longest track. Melodic, melancholic in moments and adventurous in others. With a soft and charming sound produced by the vocals (male and female) and by the instruments. This time I feel again like a character of a fairy tale, the music has fantasy inherent so you can travel to new lands and worlds. The keyboards are the best thing here, sometimes with exceptional solos and sometimes just as "filler" which are not really. The previous song and this one are the strongest points of this brilliant album.

"Epílogo" represents what the name suggest, just the final part of this story. It is short and instrumental passage full of flute and exquisite drumming. A Beautiful way to finish this great album.

This is an album I like so much, forty minutes of great music made by this one shot Spanish band. Though it is not especially a masterpiece, it could be considered as a fabulous addition to any prog lover, and a must have for the symphonic prog ones. My final grade, four stars.

Enjoy it!

Undoubtedly one of the finest 70's spanish prog albums. The best-known 70's spanish prog bands belong to either the north-east Catalan school firmly rooted in Jazz-Rock or to the southern Andalusian school with its flamenco influences.

Crack (not to be confused with the catalans Crac which became integrated into Maquina! for their 2nd live album) were from the north-west city of Gijon and therefore alien to both schools, and their sound is totally RPI. Melodic, with lots of piano, flute, acoustic guitar and mellotron, very symphonic in nature leaning towards the soft side. Sure enough there are faster tempo sections, electric guitar and synths but even in the most energetic parts the music still sounds gentle. To give some well-known reference think of a mix of 75% La Locanda Delle Fate's "Forse Le Lucciole?" and 25% of Hamonium's "Si On Avait Besoin?". Yes, indeed great for any symphonic lover!

The musicianship is excellent but they do not indulge in virtuosism, the lyrics are in spanish, with the vocals by guitarist/flutist Alberto Fontaneda and keyboardist Mento Hevia reinforced in some tracks by the beautiful female vocals of guest singer Encarnacion Gonzalez "Cani".

Originally the band developed very long compositions, "Descenso En El Mahellstrom", "Marchando Una Del Cid" and "Epilogo" were actually movements of a long epic called "El Cid". "Amantes?", "Cobarde?" and "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" were also quite longer, but on suggestion of the recording label Chapa the songs were split and shortened to accommodate 7 tracks in the album. Despite some initial reluctance, the band eventually admitted that this was a good decision, and in any case except for the closer "Epilogo" (2m20s) all tracks still clocked between 4 and 10 min.

The opener "Descenso?" (Descending The Mahellstrom) is a 5:30 min instrumental overture in great RPI symphonic style. "Amantes?" (Lovers of Fantasy) continues the style, this time with vocals, great track. "Cobarde o Desertor" (Coward or Deserter) and "Buenos Deseos" (Good Wishes) are a bit more acoustic, some sections of "Cobarde?" remind me of the very early Pendragon (The Jewel) and some sections of "Buenos Deseos" of Yes And You and I with its synth lines on acoustic guitar.

"Marchado Una Del Cid" (This One's About El Cid) is a true epic, El Cid was a castillian military leader in the 11th century and the music and lyrics reflect his medieval epic story. The 10 minute title track (If Everything Would Crack) is another highlight, with more predominant female vocals by Cani, and the instrumental closer "Epilogo" closes the album in style, with a chord progression that reminds me of some section of Jesus Christ Superstar but played in 4/4 instead of 7/8.

All the songs are great, no fillers at all, just a bit short of deserving the 5 stars when compared to other masterpieces, but surely a great addition for any lover of 70's symphonic prog. Too bad they just released this great album and disappeared.

I was drawn to Crack because I've seen it suggested that Galadriel's debut album was reminiscent of their style, and in that respect I wasn't disappointed - like other Andalusian rock efforts, it combines a prog rock-inspired approach (in this case, a mashup of Genesis and Yes) and adds some gorgeous classical guitar into the mix, yielding a delightful mix of the acoustic and the electric. Vocalists Alberto Fontaneda and Mento Hevia do a fine job, and likewise the guitar performances from Rafael Rodriguez and Alberto deserve applause making the album a charming piece of prog which has rather slipped between the cracks due to being too late for the golden age of prog and a little early for the neo-prog revival.

Spain came late to the prog party due to Franco's iron grip on the nation until 1975 when artistic freedom was once again allowed to flourish. While a few bands like Triana, Canarios and Fusioon snuck out some progressive releases before the big change, most of the movement didn't start until 1976. One of the last vestiges of 70s Spanish prog came from the northern coastal city of Gijón by the symphonic prog group CRACK which consisted of Alex Cabral (bass), Alberto Fontaneda (guitar, flute, vocals), Mento Hevia (keyboards, vocals), Manolo Jiménez (drums) and Rafael Rodríguez (guitar). While the band released only one specimen with the odd title of SI TODO HICIERA CRACK (If Everything Made Crack), it has nonetheless gone down in history as one of the finest examples of Spanish prog often only behind Triana and Mezquita on best of lists.

Given the proximity not only geographically but in a linguistic sense, the Spanish progsters looked towards their Italian cousins for inspiration and found the warm romantic classically infused symphonic prog from the superstars such as PFM, Banco and Locanda Della Fate as their main inspiration for crafting their own belated contributions to the scene. In the case of CRACK, other influences range from the symphonic style of Genesis as well as a veritable Jethro Tull inspired inclusion of the flute. SI TODO HICIERA CRACK is very similar to the Italian greats in that it delivers an album's worth of lush melodic tracks that are rooted in classical piano music and augmented with rock bombast and folky acoustic guitar and flute placidity. Lyrics are sung in the Spanish language which is very similar sounding to Italian and the vocals display the same passionate operatic melodrama in perfect form. An uncredited female backing singer also adds a unique element missing from many Italian classics.

CRACK cranked out perhaps one of the most symphonic sounding albums in all of Spain with lush keyboards that range from classical arpeggios on piano to symphonic wizardry reminiscent of Keith Emerson. Despite the rather Italy meets England prog fusion, CRACK added touches of their Spanish ancestry but didn't go as far as bands like Triana that went all out and included flamenco. This is the type of prog that is instantly addictive and could be considered too pop oriented for many who prefer a more angular approach but despite the strong likable ear hooks, the passages are laced with off-kilter time signatures at various moments. The tracks are quite diverse and different movements take place within them without predictability. The dynamics and tempos parade around rather loosely and the variations on any given melody are quite creative displaying some jazz improvisation skills mixed into the tapestry of the symphonic elements.

While the band were dedicated to entire prog scene, the sad reality is that they were about five years too late and were but mere minnows swimming upstream of an ever growing raging waterfall as the musical world had moved on to a more post-punk and pop reality. The band broke up soon after due to many years of economic hardships that were suffered to bring this album to fruition. The band had every desire to carry on and were 100% committed to the symphonic prog paradigm that they deliver so well on this album but were realistic enough to understand that without public support they would receive no record company support and instead of dying in the process, aborted the project and moved on to other arenas. Despite the utter lack of interest at the time of its release, time has been kind to CRACK and their sole prog offering that squeaked by in 1979. This is indeed a lavishly produced product of its time that, like many other late to the party bands, found a way of unleashing a career's worth of ideas stuffed into a single album. This has stood the test of time for good reasons and it's obvious why this has only grown in popularity over the decades.

This spinster release by would be Spanish prog masters entered my collection well over a decade ago but I never got around to formally evaluating it. I just remember I found it overly busy and a little too "up" all the time, which tends to exhaust me. Returning to it recently, I still feel there is too much going on too often, and, while the vocals are functional, I am now most appreciative of the breadth of the keyboards and flutes and the bass timbre in particular.

While influences from the usual Anglo and Italian suspects are apparent, as well as a few of the better timed Iberian artists, CRACK really does justify its own story for most of these 40 minutes. Like QUELLA VECCHIA LOCANDA to whom some have drawn similarities, they tended to top load the album, with the two major triumphs occurring at the start. The intensely masterful "Amantes de le Irrealidad" is mildly sullied by the way it chooses to bow out, with a timid vocal passage and no reprise of the exhilarating instrumental themes. For the rest, the melodic vocal and expressive keyboard approaches are similar but perhaps not quite as cohesive. Still, the virtuosity without showboating is worth it for most symph (especially YES) fans who don't mind some folk foundations.

While not quite moving or consistent enough to be a lost or even near classic. "Si Todo Hiciera Crack" deserved more success in 1980 but thankfully is now far better known thanks to all of us. 3.5 stars rounded up.