Rod Stewart - Atlantic Crossing Exp +Album Reviews

Sail Away With this One

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 04/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Atlantic Crossing was Rod Stewart's first release on the Warner Brothers labeland he recorded most of it at the famous Muscle Schoals Studio in Alabama. The album has a gritty, R&B edge, but is balanced out nicely by some ballads. "Three Time Loser", "Alright For Another" & "Stone Cold Sober" has a delta blues sound to them, while his cover of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" has a Stax Records vibe. He does his original take on The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart Of Mine" here and he does a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition of Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse's "I Don't Want To Talk About It". "Sailing" was not a hit in America, but was absolutely humongous in the UK. It is his biggest hit by far over there. Atlantic Crossing was a nice bounce back after the disappointing Smiler and a great start to his warner Brothers career."

A Period of Transition

K. Owen | Avon, Indiana United States | 11/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Stewart's first recording for Warner Brothers, this set is satisfying but no match to his finest Mercury output (most notably "Every Picture Tells A Story").That said, for those who bought the original CD (which was extremely hissy and flat), this remastering is a *revelation*! 24-bit audio (not listed on the outside of the packaging) and a very obvious attention to detail make the upgrade a no-brainer (the other Stewart remasters are similarly striking).Hear Rod's Muscle Shoals effort like you've never heard it before. Musically, it's above par. Sonically, it's never been better."

Hugely musical Stewart LP with a touch of Muscle Shoals

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 06/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title refers to Stewart's abandonment of England for the USA, and the music followed suit. Produced by Tom Dowd and backed by a number of Muscle Shoals musicians, Stewart moved to a more polished pop sound, yet maintained much of the energy found in his earlier recordings.The song selection is well matched to Stewart's emotional, raspy voice, including several bluesy originals ("Three Time Loser" "Stone Cold Sober") and a host of well done covers ("Drift Away" "I Don't Want to Talk About It" "Sailing").A surprisingly touching LP that still plays very well."

Sing it again Rod...

Mr. N. Wright | UK | 03/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this album its definitely stood the test of time well and it was better than any other Rod did ever after 1975 (is it really 30 years old?).

The title refers to Stewart's departure for the US and the cover depicts the transition and he is accompanied by top session musicians (including Steve Cropper, Barry Beckett and Lee Sklar) and veteran American producer Tom Dowd to create an overall slick sound.

The album is divided into two parts - slow side and fast side. The slow side is much stronger than the fast side overall, and all the hits and best-known tracks are on the slow half. Although there were no major hits in the US, 'Sailing' was number 1 in UK for 4 weeks in the summer of 1975. All 5 tracks on the slow side are excellent.

Stewart's version of Danny Whitten's 'I Don't Want To Talk About It' must be one his best performances ever. 'Its not the Spotlight' is convincing. Track 3 on the slow half is the original version of 'This Old Heart of Mine' which is far superior to the later version. 'Still Love You' grows on you, and last but not least the catchy 'Sailing'.

The fast side unfortunately suffers from one or two weak tracks and the vocals aren't as strong, apart from 'Drift Away' (which really belongs in the slow half). The rest are mostly uptempo rockers, of which 'Three Time Loser' and and 'Stone Cold Sober' catch fire.

I originally had it on vinyl. Interestingly in some editions of the original LP the slow half was side one, and 'Stone Cold Sober' was listed as the final album track. The digitally remastered edition is the best yet - the original CD recording quality was poor so its definitely worth the upgrade.

Even though its not quite as strong as some of Rod's earlier material (including 'Maggie May'), this is his best out of all his albums that came Warner Brothers. A great album, worth having even if you only like the slow tracks, and one that you can always come back to enjoy.

"

Holds up well over time

rocdoc | United States | 02/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I waited with anticipation when this was released in the '70's. All in all, I think the ballads held up better than the rockers over time. I think his vocals were too far in the background on the rockers. The ballads here are far better than the re-recordings done for the "If We Fall In Love Tonight" and "Storyteller" collections. It's definitely not his best effort, but it's still worth having, and the sound quality is much improved over the earlier versions of this title."

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	Rod Stewart Atlantic Crossing (Exp) Genres: Pop, Rock, Classic Rock, Metal Remastered Japanese pressing. Details TBA. Warner. 2005.
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