The Ruts “The Crack” 1979. Today, April 11th, would have been The Ruts’ singer/guitarist Paul Fox’s 70th birthday (b. 1951, d. 2007). The Crack was the UK punk band’s debut album and hit #16 on the UK charts. Its most well-known song is the opening track “Babylon’s Burning” which went to #7 in the UK. “Something That I Said” is another popular punk single; it reached #29. The Ruts also released the anti-police brutality reggae-infused “Jah War” but it failed to chart. I also really like “You’re Just A” which has a blast of speed-metal and “Savage Circle” which is a punky funky ass-shaker. The Crack is really polished for a UK punk debut, and that’s not a criticism. The band clearly could play their instruments and enlisted outside musicians for the recording including sax, trumpet and synths (that would be on “It Was Cold” which does have a really dark new wave/post-punk vibe going on). The cover art of The Crack depicts the band members, plus other punks like Rat Scabies (The Damned), actors (Dudley Moore of all people) plus Jimi Hendrix because why not? I guess Henry Rollins owns the original painting (Rollins guest-performed with The Ruts just before Fox’s death in 2007).