Atlantic Crossing


Atlantic Crossing is the sixth solo album by Rod Stewart. Released on 15 August 1975, and recorded in five American studios including Muscle Shoals, Alabama, between April and June 1975, it was produced by Tom Dowd, and peaked at number one in the UK, and number nine on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. The album was divided into a fast side and a slow side, apparently at the suggestion of Stewart's then-girlfriend, Swedish actress Britt Ekland. Stewart would repeat the format for his next two albums. The album contained two of Stewart's most popular songs, "Sailing" and "I Don't Want to Talk About It”, and classic rock favourites "Three Time Loser" and "Stone Cold Sober". The album was the 14th of Stewart's career, starting with Jeff Beck's Truth in 1968, and his sixth solo.

Recording

The album was recorded in five different American studios: A&R, Criteria, Wally Heider's Studio 3, Hi Recording Studio, and Muscle Shoals between April and June 1975, and produced by Tom Dowd, who had been the engineer or producer for many of Stewart's heroes during Dowd's time at Atlantic Records.
With Atlantic Crossing, Stewart ended his association with Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan and the stable of musicians who had been his core collaborators on his classic run of albums for Mercury Records, fusing soul and folk. Instead, he used a group of session musicians, including The Memphis Horns and Booker T. and the MG's. The only song performed from this album on The Faces' final US tour in autumn 1975 was "Three Time Loser", and the rest of the group heavily disliked Stewart's change in musical direction on this album. Following the success of the album, and his move to the U.S., Stewart announced his exit from the Faces by the end of the year.

Release

"Sailing" was a number one hit in the UK in September 1975, and returned to the UK Top 3 a year later when it was used as the theme for the BBC series Sailor; both acoustic and electric guitars in the song were played by Pete Carr. In 1977, almost two years after the album was released, Stewart scored another UK number one from the album with the double A-side single "I Don't Want to Talk About It" and "The First Cut Is the Deepest".
In 2009, Rhino Records released a two-disc version of the album with bonus tracks.

Reception

Track listing

Fast Side
  1. "Three Time Loser" – 4:03
  2. "Alright for an Hour" – 4:17
  3. "All in the Name of Rock 'N' Roll" – 5:02
  4. "Drift Away" – 3:43
  5. "Stone Cold Sober" – 4:12
Slow Side
  1. "I Don't Want to Talk About It" – 4:47
  2. "It's Not the Spotlight" – 4:21
  3. "This Old Heart of Mine" – 4:04
  4. "Still Love You" – 5:08
  5. "Sailing" – 4:37

    2009 two disc re-release

Disc one
  2. "Skye Boat Song " 4:13
Disc two
  1. "To Love Somebody" – 4:12
  2. "Holy Cow" – 3:16
  3. "Return to Sender" – 3:42
  4. "Three Time Loser" – 4:40
  5. "Alright for an Hour" – 4:36
  6. "All in the Name of Rock 'n' Roll" – 5:00
  7. "Drift Away" – 3:58
  8. "Too Much Noise" – 3:24
  9. "I Don't Want to Talk About It" – 4:56
  10. "It's Not the Spotlight" – 4:27
  11. "This Old Heart of Mine" – 3:54
  12. "Still Love You" 4:57
  13. "Sailing" 4:39
  14. "Skye Boat Song " 4:20

    Personnel

String arrangements by Arif Mardin and James Mitchell
Album design and art direction by John Kosh; illustration by Peter Lloyd

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums 17
German Albums 39
New Zealand Albums 12
UK Albums 22

Chart Peak
position
New Zealand Albums 30

Certifications