Crawler

One can’t help but wonder if the majority of those who bought this record did so more for the striking cover art than for the music itself. I suppose the only ones who know for sure are the five or six people who actually purchased a copy. Crawler evolved from a band called Back Street Crawler, a group formed by former Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. After Kossoff’s death in 1976, the remaining members shortened the name and signed a two-record deal with Epic Records. Crawler, first released in 1977, is a serviceable slice of blues-based hard rock. The excellent “Stone Cold Sober” serves as the album’s centerpiece, a smoldering, mid-tempo number that actually scraped the lower reaches of the Billboard singles chart. The remaining eight tracks typify the band’s brand of sturdy, workman-like rock. “Without You Babe” and “Pastime Dreamer” are no-frills meat-and-potatoes rockers, while “You Are My Savior” and “You and Me” are surprisingly stylish ballads. Crawler is hardly groundbreaking material, but its plethora of riff-heavy guitar licks and effectively placed keyboard fills qualifies it as a decent entry into the annals of late ‘70s hard rock. The band released one final record—1978’s Snake, Rattle and Roll—before slithering off into obscurity.