Snake, Rattle And Roll
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Album Summary
Crawler was a band born from the ashes of Back Street Crawler, the group that emerged following the tragic loss of the legendary Free guitarist Paul Kossoff, and by 1978 these cats were still carrying that heavy, bluesy torch into the studio with everything they had. 'Snake, Rattle And Roll' came out on Epic Records and was produced during a period when the band — anchored by the gritty vocals and guitar work of Terry Wilson and the rhythm section that could shake the walls — was pushing hard to establish its own identity beyond the shadow of its origins. The record was laid down with a raw, road-worn energy, blending hard rock muscle with deep blues feeling, the kind of grooves that told you these musicians had been living every note they played.
Reception
- The album did not make a significant commercial breakthrough on the charts, as the late-1970s rock landscape was crowded and Crawler remained more of a cult favorite among devotees of the British blues-rock tradition.
- Critics who paid attention recognized the band's tightness and emotional authenticity, particularly noting the soulful interplay between the guitars and rhythm section throughout the record.
- The album found its most appreciative audience among fans who had followed the lineage from Free through Back Street Crawler, though mainstream radio largely passed it by.
Significance
- 'Snake, Rattle And Roll' stands as a testament to the resilience of British blues-rock at a time when punk and disco were pulling the airwaves in entirely different directions — these men refused to let that deep groove tradition go quietly.
- Tracks like 'Midnight Blues' and 'Muddy Water' reflect the band's genuine reverence for the blues foundation that informed everything from Kossoff's legacy forward, keeping that soulful lineage alive into the late 1970s.
- The album represents one of the final statements from a band that had navigated extraordinary loss and reinvention, making it a historically poignant document of perseverance within the British hard rock and blues-rock community.
Tracklist
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A1 Sail On —
3:59
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A2 Disc Heroes —
3:17
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A3 How Will You Break My Heart —
3:47
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A4 Muddy Water —
4:07
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A5 First Class Operator —
3:20
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B1 Where Is The Money? —
4:18
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B2 Hold On —
1:44
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B3 Midnight Blues —
4:18
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B4 Liar —
3:42
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B5 One Way Street —
4:46
Artist Details
Crawler was a hard-driving British rock outfit that rose from the ashes of Back Street Crawler in 1977, carrying on the blues-soaked legacy of the late, great Paul Kossoff after his tragic passing, with Terry Wilson-Slesser and the rest of the cats keeping that raw, soulful energy alive out of England. Their sound sat right in that sweet spot between heavy rock and deep-rooted blues, giving the people something gritty and real at a time when the music scene was pulling in a hundred different directions. Though they never quite broke through to the mainstream the way their talent deserved, Crawler remains a respected chapter in the story of British blues-rock, a testament to musicians who kept the flame burning for the love of the music itself.
