Crawler's history is filled with adversity. Originally named Back Street Crawler, the band suffered the loss of guitar great, Paul Kossoff, yet managed to release an extraordinary final album. Buoyed by the quality that this excellent band of musicians could produce, they shortened their name to Crawler and produced two fine rock and roll albums for Epic Records in the US. Unfortunately, that was the end of a great band. After their second album, Crawler elected to call it quits.

Fortunately, Crawler left behind a batch of demos and a wealth of live material. What remained was for an enterprising label such as England's Angel Air, to release some of this hidden treasure. And treasure it is. Given the fact that Crawler's effective life was shortened by a disinterested audience and a changing musical landscape, it's amazing how enduring their music is.

The first disc by Angel Air is an album of demos recorded between 1975 and 1978. This collection of songs, largely unfinished yet containing an essence of blues rock, highlights the greatness of the band that was unable to fully realize their potential during their time.Taken from unfinished songs 'in the can', "Demo Anthology" gives us more, not only of what we missed but also a glimpse into the song crafting process that Crawler employed.

18 songs are on this disc, filed in the year that the demo (song) was recorded. With this disc, we are afforded a rare view into the extraordinary output of Crawler as the band prepared to rehearse for their first Epic release and then their second, "Snake, Rattle & Roll" shortly thereafter.

Selections on this disc include the demos for "Sail On" and "First Class Operator", which were eventually finished and made it onto their second album. There are other songs that were demoed for the Snake sessions but didn't make it onto the final product. You can call these gems extended jams because that is what they turned out to be. The importance of this disc is that it gives up songs that would never be chosen (for the most part). It's like getting another Crawler album. The stuff is unrefined but if you're a fan, who cares.

Listening to the early 75 -76 songs is pure Crawler output. These songs were good enough to be released and that's why Angel Air in conjunction with Crawler, notably "Rabbit" Bundrick, released them. They rock. And with the world much poorer for only 2 official Crawler releases from Epic Records, discs like these help to fill the void. I'm actually enjoying this disc as the next release that we never got.

I'm not going to get into a song dissection here because every song is great. Although I would have loved an embryonic "Stone Cold Sober", "Demo Anthology" comes highly recommended.

Additionally, Angel Air released a live set, taped at the Agora Club in Cleveland, Ohio sometime in 1978. The show, as represented on the CD, is slightly over an hour. Featuring Crawler at their tightest, this collection of songs are captured and exhibit the bluesy spirit of the band. The clarity of the show is beautiful. You can hear every instrument clearly although the vocals sometimes gets buried. But for passionate fans of Crawler, which there are many, it's forgiven. The chance to hear the band let loose like this is a special heartfelt thing.

Wilson-Slesser's vocals are at the height of their effectiveness during this time. With Geoff Whitehorn's fiery guitar riffs and Bundrick's keyboard presence fitted with Braunagel's drums and Wilson's bass to create one of the best over-looked blues rock band that never saw success as it should have.

This album presents songs from Crawler's first of two releases, "Crawler" (with almost the entire album represented except for "Sold on Down the Line" and "One Too Many Lovers") and nothing from "Snake Rattle and Roll". The differences in growth were stunning between the two studio albums. You can actually discern that growth here as this show barely pre-dates 1978's "Snake Rattle and Roll".

Some of you will remember "Stone Cold Sober" as the single release and FM staple from the first album. It's live rendition here is far too cold to have been included and is disappointing in it's slightly over 3 minute performance. Still, the band deserves a documented live disc and this is the one we have. It's not exemplary but it works.

If you can only get one of the two releases spoken about here, make "Demo Anthology" your definite first choice. It's contents are very effective and feels like another Crawler disc, something that a lot of us fans have always wished for. However, "Live at Agora" is still a good choice for the chance to hear Crawler in their natural environment. It's just a shame that "Stone Cold Sober" didn't get the treatment that the 10 minute plus "Blue Soul" received.

Both discs come with a detailed booklet essay that describes the history of the band. Both albums also feature picture discs. Overall, the albums are 'must have' collectible for Crawler fans.

Crawler has rocked as few have. It would be great for some of us to get a club circuit run by the original band so we can experience live one of the hottest blues rock band in the history of the genre.

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Crawler

Demo Anthology
1975 - 1978

Released: August 29, 2002
Origination Year: 2002
Time: 78:27
Tracks: 18
Produced by: N/A
Compiled by: Rabbit
Engineered by: N/A
Mastered by: Ian Shepard at SRT, Cambridge
Style: Studio/Compilation
Format: CD
Enhancement: None
Label: Angel Air
Website:
www.johnbundrick.co.uk

Sweet, Sweet Judy *
Cold, Cold World **
Evening Time **
Sit Down Easy **
Crazy Woman ***
The Music's Mine ****
Poor Man ****
Sweet Sister ****
Red Beans and Rice ****
Tony's Blues *****
Red Beans *****
Direct South *****
Sail On *****
Alone Baby ******
How Do You Live Your Life? ******
Jesus ******
1st Class Operator ******
Burning in the Fire ******