Rod Stewart: Atlantic Crossing - 1975

 

Atlantic Crossing is a most enjoyable album, immaculately played by top session musicians including the legendary Memphis guitarist Steve Cropper, but it is the sort of album that, a while after listening to it, you can’t really remember much about it. It's not a classic, but neither is it bad. 

It was commercially huge, of course, so who am I to say it is ordinary? I do feel, however, that it just didn’t have that appealing folky blues vibe of Rod Stewart’s first five solo albums. Those acoustic guitars and mandolins were gone, replaced by a driving US rock sound. 

It marked the start of his transatlantic mega-stardom and much of that homely feel of those early albums was gone, forever. Rod Stewart albums would now be musically note-perfect, played by experienced musicians, but from now on they would just be a little soulless, which was a shame. That joie de vivre of those albums and the Faces work would never be repeated, unfortunately. 

There is certainly some excellent material on the album though, notably a superb cover of The Isley Brothers’ This Old Heart Of Mine; the beautiful, heartbreaking cover of Danny (Crazy Horse) Whitten's I Don't Want To Talk About It that Rod totally made his own; a most soulful cover of Dobie Gray’s Drift Away; and some upbeat, grinding Faces-style rockers (sort of) in Three Time Loser (about venereal disease); All In The Name Of Rock 'n' Roll (with a namecheck for the now seemingly venerable “Mr. McCartney”); Stone Cold Sober and Alright For An Hour. 

All pretty good, but I have to say nothing jump out of your seat incredible. There are a couple of fine love songs present too, though, in the touching Still Love You and It's Not The Spotlight. 

Oh, did I forget something? Oh yes, bloody Sailing. I had previously known it from 1972’s dirge-like Sutherland Brothers single. I didn’t go for Rod’s anthemic version then and I still don’t. Sorry Rod. Millions love it though, so fair enough. It is also guaranteed to get me all nostalgic for 1975, so it does have something good. Arms in the air now.....

I ought to also mention that this one and the next Rod album had a "slow side" and a "fast side".

As I said, a pleasant album, but one I rarely return to. It is so much the sound of 1975 though.

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