ALL ACCESS

I have not been on ProgArchives for some time, but when I logged in tonight, I noticed that this video had not been reviewed or rated. This surprised me because, this is the only Crack the Sky (CTS) video that I am aware of that has decent video or audio quality. And this is one great band.

CTS All Access is a spectacular video of the band performing at the annual progressive rock festival called "The Rights of Spring Festival" better known as ROSFEST, which takes place every May in Gettysburg Pennsylvania.

First of all, this video brilliantly captures that essence of CTS and is extremely enjoyable, especially for long time fans and those who have actually had the opportunity to see them live. This video provides a nice live overview of the band from their early days (1970's) through their 80's resurgence, 90s punk period and onto some of the more recent hipster/prog fusion compositions.

The video shows off the undeniable raw talent of the musicians even as they move forward into their senior years. Many bands that have been around for the same period have long lost their technical edge. That is not true with CTS. They still perform with the same precision and energy as they did in the mid-80s.

This video includes many of the musicians that played with the band throughout the years. Almost like a "Yes-Union" version of the lineup, including a rare appearance of the original bassist Joe Macre.

The first half dozen songs of this performance includes the opening songs from set lists of the past. For any fan that has seen them multiple times this is a very enjoyable aspect of the video.

Of course as any CTS fan would know, this band was a generally overlooked by the masses and should have been in the history books with the classic progressive bands such as Yes, Genesis, Kansas, Pink Floyd and King Crimson. The video is clean, and the audio is fantastic. The performance is exceptional and should be a must-have for any progressive rock aficionado.