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Rod Stewart
Atlantic Crossing
[Deluxe Edition]
(Warner Bros./Rhino)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2009, Volume 16, #9
Written by John Metzger
Fri September 11, 2009, 06:30 AM CDT
In 1975, the music business was at a crossroads. Rod Stewart knew this because he was at one, too. Everything on which he had been weaned and from
which he had constructed his career — from the snarling blues of the Rolling Stones to the earthy grooves that defined the Stax sound — was being replaced by
a morass of grandiose statements, bloated arrangements, and overly slick
production techniques. Since stepping out on his own, Stewart had milked
everything he could from the Faces, but given how the industry was changing, he
likely felt that the outfit’s raucous, garage-band approach wasn’t compatible
with the direction he needed to take if he wanted to sell a lot of albums.
With a brand new recording contract in hand, Stewart saw an opportunity to
rebound from the failure of his 1974 outing Smiler by making a clean
break from his past, and he took advantage of it. Moving from England to Los
Angeles, Stewart jettisoned his supporting cast and began anew. Under the
guidance of veteran producer Tom Dowd, Stewart worked with an array of session
men in Memphis and Muscle Shoals — including the MGs and Al Green’s rhythm
section. Not surprisingly, then, Stewart was able to use his sixth solo effort
Atlantic Crossing to reinvent himself through the process of embracing
his soul-infused roots.
In hindsight, Atlantic Crossing undeniably was a transitional effort,
one that remained tethered to Stewart’s beginnings, even as it tested the waters
and laid the groundwork for his future. Essentially, Stewart and Dowd hedged
their bets in ways that were designed to ease the singer’s established base of
fans into his new paradigm. With songs like Three Time Loser, Stone Cold Sober, and All in the Name of Rock ’n‘ Roll, Stewart dabbled in
the rough-and-tumble, Stones-inflected rowdiness that had been a cornerstone of
his work with the Faces. Beneath the surface of these tracks, however, the
changes to his approach were obvious. His chaotic, edgy intensity not only was
diminished, but augmented by an assortment of horns and backing vocalists, the
music also assumed a crisper air. Elsewhere, the gentle tickling of a mandolin
that graced Still Love You was meant to draw comparisons to Maggie May,
but overall, the tune was more styled and less organic than its predecessor.
This, of course, was a problem that has plagued Stewart’s output ever since.
Atlantic Crossing’s biggest flaw, however, is the way in which it was
constructed. Split between fast and slow songs, there is a distinctive lack of
variation among the tracks that fill each of the effort’s sides. The ballads
suffer most. Stewart wrings the heartache from I Don’t Want to Talk about It,
for example, but the strings press so heavily against the arrangement that they
become too much to bear. A cover of This Old Heart of Mine, which had
been a huge hit for the Isley Brothers, fares even worse, and despite the hushed
longing that greets Still Love You, his heartfelt sentiments are lost
amidst the lethargic pace of Atlantic Crossing’s latter half.
None of the alternate renditions featured on the deluxe edition of Atlantic Crossing would have made the original album any better, either.
Instead, they further highlight the collection’s flaws. Without the extra polish
that eventually was applied to its songs, more of Stewart’s trademark swagger
was able to bubble to the surface. Yet, these newly unearthed tracks ultimately
feel incomplete. As superfluous as they were to conveying the emotional content
of the material, the addition of horns, strings, and backing vocalists were made
an integral part of the arrangements. Although Atlantic Crossing is a
solid endeavor, it also sowed the seeds of Stewart’s gradual artistic decline,
as he chose to pursue fame and fortune by following, instead of challenging, the
industry. 
Of Further Interest...
Donavon Frankenreiter - Move by Yourself
The Isley Brothers - 3 + 3
Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul: Collector's Edition
Atlantic Crossing: Deluxe Edition is available from
Amazon. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2009 The Music Box
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