Earlier in the year Cruzados hit Europe again, taking on dates in France, Belgium, Spain, Germany and Austria. The year previous saw the release of ‘Live from Marseille’ is a full-length live album captured on the previous years tour of Europe and containing performances of Cruzados classics and some new tunes from 2022-2023. It’s been a big few years and they’re back already with a Rocking new EP ‘Land of the Endless Sun’ that sports cover art reminiscent of the 60’s Sci-Fi TV Show ‘Land of the Giants’.
The Cruzados origins are well documented of course and their debut hit as long ago as 1985, it’s a great album too, sadly like so many great bands of the era even nots from huge names like John Fogerty and Stevie Nicks and tours with Joe Cocker, INXS and Fleetwood Mac couldn’t propel them into the big time and by the 90’s they split. The reformed band with Tony Marsico at the helm might not be doing it for fame but with the addition of Ron Young (Little Caesar) on vocals they are again punching above their weight. It’s like a who’s who of great musicians that the remainder of the band has played with in the intervening years.
This was always Tony’s band though, and stylistically its a wonderful mash of rock and blues with a Latin flavour. The songs for that reformation album may have been there before the rest of the band came together , but his time around it’s all co-written with the exception of the title track. So we get a new 6 track EP that very much picks up where that wonderful last album left off. It’s not so much as case of evolution as the rest of the band just completely getting it as there is no stylistic shift just more great music.
Opening with the rocker ‘Dead Inside’ there’s a 60’s UK Blues Rock revival feel and West Coast airiness that really hits the spot. It’s a great song to open with and has plenty of fire with swelling keys and a wonderful lyric. Title track ‘Land of the Endless Sun’ adds a wonderful bluesy stagger, a hypnotic guitar patten holds it all together and Ron going deep south with his vocal really cuts it. It all builds to a great solo that almost stops, but rolls on through. It’s smoking!
The foot is off the pedal for ‘Golden Child’ a sun-licked, rather laid back number that sees things taken down to a whisper like a scene slowly receding in the rearview it takes you down another less- travelled highway and gathers more moss with each roll. Conversely ‘A Little More Time’ is like the getaway from gas station robbery, it’s rock and roll, southern boogie truck stop blues with a punky edge in the guitar that cuts nicely across the background harmonies.
We’re all ZZ Top meets Creedence for ‘Queen of the Quake’ a beguiling shuffle that really hits the spot; and closer ‘Johnny Pay to Play’ rounds out the EP with a tale of the reality of Rock and Roll and the duality of life on the Sunset Strip back in the day. It’s all fiery guitars and inescapable Chuck Berry as we close and it’s damn fine stuff. A great way to close what is as fine an EP as you’ll hear all year. What a band!
8 / 10