The Crack

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The Crack
Studio album by
The Ruts
Released29 September 1979 (1979-09-29)
Recorded1979
StudioThe Town House, London
GenrePunk rock
Length54:34
LabelVirgin
Producer
The Ruts chronology
The Crack
(1979) 		Grin & Bear It
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Classic Rock9/10[2]
Mojo[3]
Q[4]
Select[5]
Uncut9/10[6]
"Jah War"
An excerpt from "Jah War"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The Crack is the debut album by English punk rock band The Ruts, released in 1979.

The album contains the UK hit singles "Babylon's Burning" (number seven on the UK chart in June 1979) and "Something That I Said" (number 29 in September 1979).

Metropolitan Police Service's Special Patrol Group
in 1979, was also released as a single but did not make the UK chart.

Artwork

The cover picture by artist John H. Howard shows the members of the group (from left to right: Malcolm Owen, Paul Fox, Dave Ruffy and Segs – who is perusing a copy of

Metropolitan Police Service in the late 1970s. The astronomer Patrick Moore
looks on somewhat disapprovingly from the left.

The album sleeve contains a dedication to Jimmy O'Neal, one of the organizers of the Deeply Vale Free Festival, where the band had their beginnings.

The original painting is now in the possession of punk icon (and fan and friend of the Ruts), Henry Rollins, who had gone on a search for the painting with the band's blessing. Rollins proudly displayed the painting in a video promoting the 2019 remastered vinyl edition of The Crack.

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Ruts (

The Marquee
, London, 19 July 1979) 4:34
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Give Youth a Chance" (B-side of "Something That I Said"; produced by Bob Sargeant)3:07
14."I Ain't Sofisticated" (B-side of "Jah War")2:16
15."The Crack" (B-side of "West One (Shine On Me)")5:49

Personnel

The Ruts
  • Malcolm Owen – vocals
  • Paul Fox – guitar, backing vocals; occasional organ on "Jah War"
  • John "Segs" Jennings – bass guitar, backing vocals; piano ("stanking Steinway") on "Jah War"
  • Dave Ruffy – drums, percussion, backing vocals

with:

  • Richard Mannah – backing vocals on "S.U.S" and "Criminal Mind"
  • Bertie, Pocky, Rocky – backing vocals on "Jah War"
  • Mick Glossop – synthesizer effects on "It Was Cold"
  • Gary Barnacle – saxophone
  • Luke Tunney – trumpet
Technical
  • Mick Glossop – production, engineering, mixing
  • The Ruts – cover concept
  • John H. Howard – front cover painting

Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 16

References

  1. ^ Greene, Jo-Ann. "The Crack – Ruts". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  2. ^ Fortnam, Ian (April 2019). "The Ruts: The Crack". Classic Rock. No. 260. p. 94.
  3. ^ Bulley, Jenny (March 2019). "The Ruts: The Crack". Mojo. No. 304. p. 109.
  4. ^ "The Ruts: The Crack". Q. No. 190. May 2002. p. 140.
  5. ^ Prendergast, Mark (September 1990). "The Ruts: The Crack". Select. No. 3. p. 105.
  6. ^ Watts, Peter (April 2019). "The Ruts: The Crack". Uncut. No. 263. p. 51.
  7. ^ "Ruts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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