"Atlantic Crossing" by ROD STEWART – August 1975 UK and US Sixth Studio Album on Warner Brothers Records featuring Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn of Booker T & The M.G.'s, Jesse Ed Davis, Jimmy Johnson, Fred Tackett, David Lindley, Barry Beckett, Nigel Olsson and The Memphis Horns (November 2000 UK Warner Brothers CD Reissue in the 'Warner Remasters' Series – Patrick Kraus Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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CAPT. FANTASTIC - 1975

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"...Home Again...Across The Sea..."

Issued in Blighty in November 2000 - can this forgotten CD Remaster really be 'over' 20 years old in 2021? Well it is - and at just above a fiver-English (brand new and sealed) from darling Jeff and his Amazonian hoards – tis still bloody good value for money too. 

Common consensus tells us that Rodders lost something in his transition from fantastic Faces frontman vocalist intertwined with a stunning solo career in the first half of the Seventies when he segued to this - his August 1975 Warner Brothers big Stateside push that came complete with a model wife, saffron scarf, bubbly glass in hand, Art acquisitions on the Malibu walls and burgers bigger than Kenny Everett's bum-pads in that now infamous slag-off sketch (very sexy Ken).  

But actually, as far as I'm concerned, the musical rot did not really start in until December 1978's "Blondes Have More Fun". I know some of the more sexist tunes like "Hot Legs" were hard to take then and even more so now – but like most fans of my advanced years, I've always held a torch for "Atlantic Crossing" (1975), "A Night On The Town" (1976) and "Foot Loose And Fancy Free" (1977)  - a trio of good to occasionally great albums in a period where most Rock acts were either floundering or downright superfluous to Rock 'n' Roll requirements. I don't want to talk about it – how you broke my heart - yes I do - here are the boozy half-and-half pass-the-champagne-Britt details...

UK released November 2000 - "Atlantic Crossing" by ROD STEWART on Warner Brothers 9362-47729-2 (Barcode 093624772927) is part of the Warner Remasters Series and is a straightforward CD reissue of his 1975 LP that plays out as follows (44:27 minutes):

Fast Half 

1. Three Time Loser [Side 1]

2. Alright For An Hour 

3. All In The Name Of Rock 'n' Roll 

4. Drift Away 

5. Stone Cold Sober 

Slow Half

6. I Don't Want To Talk About It [Side 2]

7. It's Not The Spotlight 

8. This Old Heart Of Mine 

9. Still Love You

10. Sailing 

Tracks 1 to 10 are his sixth studio album "Atlantic Crossing" - released August 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56151 (reissued January 1978 on his own label Riva Records RVLP 4) and August 1975 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2875. Produced by TOM DOWD - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 9 in the US album charts. "Three Time Loser", "All In The Name Of Rock 'n' Roll" and "Still Love You" written by Rod Stewart - "Alright For An Hour" co-written with Jesse Ed Davis while "Stone Cold Sober" was co-written with Steve Cropper of Booker T & The M.G.'s. The other five tracks are cover versions (each discussed below).

MUSICIANS featured were:

GUITARS - Steve Cropper (Booker T & The M.G.'s), Jesse Ed Davis, Jimmy Johnson and Fred Tackett 

MANDOLIN and VIOLIN - David Lindley 

KEYBOARDS - Barry Beckett and Albhy Galuten

HORNS - The Memphis Horns 

BASS - Duck Dunn (Booker T & The M.G.'s), Bob Glaub, David Hood and Lee Sklar 

DRUMS and PERCUSSION - Willie Correa, Roger Hawkins, Al Jackson and Nigel Olsson (Elton John's Band)

BACKING VOCALS - Cindy and Bob Singers, The Pets and The Clappers  

STRING ARRANGEMENTS - Arif Mardin for "Sailing" and "I Don't Want To Talk About It" - James Mitchell for "This Old Heart Of Mine"

The foldout three-way gatefold slip inlay offers only credits alongside that photo which adorned the inner sleeve of the 1975 LP and naught else. For such a huge album, it seems kind of cheap and piddly and has not been expanded ever since. But the 24-Bit High Resolution Audio supplied in this Warner Remaster done by PATRICK KRAUS rocks like the proverbial clappers. The recordings were top notch originally anyway, but this CD has a real punch and swagger – amplifying what was boogie-on-down one minute (Side 1) – then Soulful and swaying the next (Side 2). To the record...

Recorded in America with a very Memphis Rock-Soul feel and produced by the legendary Tom Dowd – the LP title wasn't just a nod to his new future and aspirations - Rod had literally upped sticks to the USA to escape (like so many at the time) ludicrously crippling British taxation laws that we're robbed him of almost all his earnings. More importantly, with "Atlantic Crossing", Stewart had also left behind the 'sound' of his old British Steamhammer, Jeff Beck Group and Faces muckers Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan and Martin Quittenton. Now it was sessionmen galore – Soul Boys like Steve Cropper and Jesse Ed Davis who also understood and loved Rock and R&B and Funk. There was a deliberate commercialism to "Atlantic Crossing" – a ten-track winner full of potential singles – least not of all the arms-waving-in-the-air Celtic-ish ballad "Sailing" (a cover version of a Sutherland Brothers single from 1972 on Island Records penned by Gavin Sutherland) of course repeating the No. 1 status of the album in the UK. 

A huge fan fave and a great snotty little rock 'n' roller, "Three Time Loser" opens proceedings on Side 1 with a catchy chorus wrapped around a tale of too many girls our determined monogamist thought were the one only to find they left him with more than a memory. "Alright For An Hour" gets Funky - a slight Reggae swing where it's alright for a day but it didn't last through to the weekend (drums and bass so clear). Five minutes of a great guitar boogie follows with "All In The Name Of Rock 'n' Roll" where Rodders and his band take on New York and all points thereafter (a very Stones swagger to this one - look out kids - it's the FBI wanting to know what's that in your fruit bowl that's keeping up on stage all night every night). 

Not for the first time on this album does Rod tap into Dobie Gray's output when he hits us with a Soul-Rock Reggae-fied rendition of "Drift Away". Give me the beat boys to sooth my Soul - I wanna get lost in your Rock 'n' Roll and drift away. Originally written by Mentor Williams but made a hit on MCA Records by Dobie Gray, unfortunately Rod's version is strangely lacking despite all that great musicianship (Dobie's is one of the greatest Soul singles ever in my book – a song that actually touches you – something Rod’s version absolutely doesn’t). Back to boozy Mick Ronson-type Lou Reed riffage in the excellent "Stone Cold Sober" - a co-write with guitarist Steve Cropper of Booker T & The M.G.'s - one of the first tunes to make real use of The Memphis Horns as the guitars riff and the pianos roll – it ends Side 1 on a real high with great slide guitar and soloing too.

Time to smooch with the slow half. It seems astonishing even now that the stunning Danny Whitten-written Crazy Horse cover version of "I Don't Want To Talk About It" - a song that is so synonymous with Rod Stewart - wasn't actually issued as a 45-single in 1975 anywhere. It would have to wait until April 1977 in England to see it relegated to the B-side of "The First Cut Is The Deepest" on Riva Records RIVA 4 (the US single featured "The Balltrap"). This is really where his newer more sophisticated sound started - all those acoustic guitar notes and Arif Mardin arranged strings swirling around your speakers. "...Talk About It" is followed by a much more successful cover of "It's Not The Spotlight" - a Barry Goldberg and Gerry Goffin song made famous by both Bobby Bland and Dobie Gray - a street of dreams remembrance that still has the power to move. 

In November 1975 his own Riva Records issued his cover of The Isley Brothers Motown classic "This Old Heart Of Mine" as a single with "All In The Name Of Rock 'n' Roll" on its flip-side and was rewarded with a No. 4 chart position in the UK. I've never liked it - insipid really - but that Sax solo sounds splendid now. One of the album's forgotten tunes is his own "Still Love You" - an awkward declaration about a girl with cherry wine spilled on her dress - nights out dancing - two hearts now parted. And of course "Sailing" made him an international superstar in 1975 - a huge four-and-half-minute hit that had gone unnoticed when The Sutherland Brothers Band put it out in July 1972 on Island Records. It only goes to show his uncanny knack at noticing the potential in a song. 

For sure the inlay to "Atlantic Crossing" is merely functionary and some of the tunes are a wee bit 'too' saccharine for most tastes nowadays - but the good stuff is great.  

"...I am sailing, home again, across the sea, I am sailing stormy waters, to be with you, to be free..." - Rod sang on that global dominator of a song. Revisit this continent joiner of an album...though perhaps with a bottle of real ale instead of a glass of bubbly this time (and maybe loose the negligee too). Well done my son...

"Something Extra Special - The Complete Volt Recordings 1968-1971" by JIMMY HUGHES. A Review Of The 2010 Ace/Kent CD Compilation.

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"…I Like Everything About You…"

As a voracious lover of Sixties and Seventies Motown, Chess and Stax, I’ve probably waded through a veritable warehouse full of CD compilations in my search to find Soul goodies to listen to. And as the years pass - a few names begin to emerge as genuine class acts you didn’t know too much about before your journey started - singers like Barbara Acklin, Luther Ingram, Maxine Brown, James Carr, Doris Duke, Spencer Wiggins and many more. JIMMY HUGHES is one of those singers.

Possessed of a truly great voice, he could rasp like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, but could also caress a melody like Bobby Womack, Tyrone Davis and Brook Benton. Couple this vocal dexterity and expressiveness with superb Stax in-house songwriting (Isaac Hayes, David Porter and Homer Banks) – and you’re on a winner. And that’s where this fantastic CD reissue comes in…

UK released in July 2010 - this is the 3rd volume in a series of three dedicated to the Alabama soul man; Ace Records/Kent CDKEND 341 breaks down as follows (79:11 minutes):

1. I LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU
2. LET `EM DOWN BABY
3. I'M SO GLAD
4. LAY IT ON THE LINE
5. SWEET THINGS YOU DO
6. CHAINS OF LOVE
7. I'M NOT ASHAMED TO BEG AND PLEAD
8. IT'S ALL UP TO YOU
9. LOCK ME UP
10. WHAT SIDE OF THE DOOR
11. PEEPED AROUND YONDER'S BEND
12. JUST AIN'T AS STRONG AS I USED TO BE (YOU DONE FED ME SUMPIN')
13. DID YOU FORGET
14. NO EASY WAY
15. DON'T YOU KNOW I'M ALL ALONE
16. I WAS CLOSEST AT HAND
17. I WANT YOU SO BAD
18. I WORRY ABOUT YOU
19. IT JUST AIN'T ENOUGH
20. LOOK WHAT I GOT
21. NEVER GROW OLD
22. YOUR LOVE MADE A U TURN
23. TELL HIM TONIGHT
24. TOO OLD TO PLAY
25. LEAVE US ALONE
26. YOU GOT THE POWER
27. YOUR LOVE IS IMPORTANT TO ME

Tracks 1 to 11 are the Stereo album "Something Special" issued May 1969 in the USA on Volt Records VOS-6003 (Volt was a subsidiary label of Stax Records)

Tracks 12 and 13 are "Just Ain’t As Strong As I Used To Be (You Done Fed Me Sumpin')" and "Did You Forget" – the non-album A&B sides of a USA 45 (see below)

Tracks 14 to 27 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Volt Recordings

For the first time - this CD will allow fans to sequence all 5 of his rare and desirable 'Volt' 45's as follows:

1. I Like Everything About You b/w What Side Of The Door (July 1968, Volt VOA-4002)
2. Sweet Things You Do b/w Let 'Em Down Baby (February 1969, Volt VOA-4008)
3. Chains Of Love b/w I’m Not Ashamed To Beg Or Plead (April 1969, Volt VOA-4017)
4. I’m So Glad b/w Lay It On The Line (May 1969, Volt-VOA 4024)
5. Just Ain't As Strong As I Used To Be (You Done Fed Me Sumpin') b/w Did You Forget (June 1969, Volt VOA-4060)
[Note: 2 above was issued as his 1st 45 in the UK on Stax 117 in April 1969, while 3 was UK issued on Stax 126 in August 1969]

Proceedings open with an absolute killer – "I Like Everything About You" – as lovely as Sixties Soul gets (lyrics above). But you are also floored by the sound quality – it’s GORGEOUS. Remastered by NICK ROBBINS at Sound Mastering in London – I’ve raved about his huge body of work before and this CD is no exception. The audio quality is clear, warm and detailed – and if there is hiss on some tracks, it isn’t compressed out of existence - nor is the treble ratcheted up to 12 to get volume for the sake of volume. It’s a really nice job done.

The 26-page booklet is the usual informative affair from Ace with superb liner notes from Soul lover and expert – TONY ROUNCE.
It gives a history of Hughes' short but frustrating stay at the Stax subsidiary label and pictures all the 45’s (with label bags), some demo versions of the same, publicity photos and a repro of the rear of the rare album sleeve. Rounce’s name has been involved in a huge number of reissues covering major Soul labels like Philadelphia International, Hot Wax, Invictus and RCA Victor.

Highlights include the fabulously funky "Chains Of Love" which was coupled with the aching "I’m Not Ashamed To Beg Or Plead" on its flip – a great double-header issued as a seven on both sides of the pond. I’ve had the "Chains Of Love" A-side on the 1993 9CD Box Set "The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1968-1971 (Volume 2)" for years now, but the sound quality here is much improved. The harmonica-driven slink of "What Side Of The Door" is wicked too and the album ends on the lovely Al Green soundalike - "Did You Forget". The whole record is an embarrassment of riches really…

The huge haul of 14 Previously Unreleased tracks confirms what fans have known for years – like Motown – the vaults of Stax have harboured hidden gems for decades – only now seeing the light of day thanks to dedicated reissue labels like Ace and many others.
The recording dates range from February 1968 to April 1971 and feature songs by famous soul writers like STEVE CROPPER, GEORGE JACKSON, EDDIE FLOYD, DONNA and SANDRA RHODES, AL JACKSON and CHARLES CHALMERS. Highlights include the pleading "Tell Him Tonight" (recorded April 1970 at Sun Studios) and "Don’t You Know I’m All Alone" sounding not unlike an Al Green outtake. Impressive stuff…

To sum up - in his liner notes to this CD (and being a lifetime lover and collector of Soul Music) - Tony Rounce can barely contain his glee at being involved in reissuing everything this great artist did. It’s been a labour of love for him and Ace Records - and on hearing these 27 slices of Southern goodness by Jimmy Hughes - it’s easy to hear why.

A superlative reissue – and wholeheartedly recommended.

PS: the other 2 volumes in this series are "Steal Away – The Early Fame Recordings" (Kent CDKEND 324) and "Why not Tonight? – The Fame Recordings Vol.2" (Kent CDKEND 331)

"Hard Candy/Prone" by NED DOHENY (July 2011 SuperBird CD Reissue of 1976 and 1978 Albums onto 1CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Get It Up For Love…"

Ned Doheny is a virtual unknown outside of certain circles – and hopefully this release with change that.

Musically think Boz Scaggs circa "Lowdown", Steely Dan doing "FM (No Static At All)" or Robbie Dupree giving it his best Michael McDonald songwriting impression on "Steal Away" – and you get the picture. The radio-friendly tunes and arrangements are very West Coast Funky-Rock-Soul and its easy to hear why tracks like "Get It Up For Love" and "To Prove My Love" have been gracing slick Seventies compilations for years now.

In fact, 2009 saw the release of these albums on CD – but in Japan only – and even they have gathered cult status and price tags stretching into three figures. So this reissue on one of Cherry Red’s subsidiary labels (SuperBird) will be welcome new to fans that never thought they’d see this stuff reissued at a reasonable price…

Released in the UK on 25 July 2011 - "Hard Candy/Prone" by NED DOHENY on SuperBird SBIRD 0048 (Barcode 5013929884823) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and breaks down as follows (72:21 minutes):

1. Get It Up For Love
2. If You Should Fall
3. Each Time You Pray
4. When Love Hangs In The Balance
5. A Love Of Your Own
6. I've Got Your Number
7. On The Swing Shift
8. Sing To Me
9. Valentine
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Hard Candy" issued in October 1976 in the USA on Columbia PC 34259

10. To Prove My Love
11. Think Like A Lover
12. Labor Of Love
13. Thinking With My Heart
14. Guess Who's Looking For Love Again
15. The Devil In You
16. Funky Love
17. If You Only Knew
18. Sweet Friction
Tracks 10 to 18 are the album “Prone” issued in 1979 in Japan on CBS/Sony 25AP 1359

The list of contributing musicians on each album reads like a virtual who’s who of the hip Rock scene in the mid Seventies – Linda Ronstadt, J.D. Souther, Don Henley and Glen Frey (on Vocals), David Foster, Graig Doerge and David Garland (on Keyboards), Tom Scott, Jim Horn, Chuck Findley and the Tower Of Power Horns (on Brass), Dennis Parker (on Bass), Gary Mallaber, John Guerin and Jeff Porcaro (on Drums), Victor Feldman and Steve Forman (on Percussion) with String and Horn Arrangements by Jimmie Haskell (on “Prone”). The remaster has been done by ROGER LOMAS at Ro-Lo Studios and the sound is superb – clear and warm. The 12-page booklet has album credits and a brief history of the man and his albums by MALCOLM DOME – it’s neatly done.

The opening track “Get It Up For Love” is genius – a fantastically catchy tune that regularly has customers coming to the counter asking after it when I place it on a “70’s Fest” compilation.
Hamish Stuart (of the Average White Band) co-wrote and sang on the lovely “A Love Of Your Own”. If the title seems familiar it’s because it was a hit for the AWB in their own right (Stuart and Doheny also went on to wrote “Whatcha Gonna Do For Me” – a big hit for Chaka Khan). Bonnie Raitt sings backing vocals with Rosemary Butler on the very popular “To Prove My Love”, Steve Perry adds vocals to the funky “Sweet Friction” - while both of the albums benefited from the high production values of Steve Cropper from Booker T. & The MG’s (he also played and sang on many tracks).

I wish I could say it’s all as good as “Get It Up For Love” but as you can imagine it falls into the schlocky lurve song too many times – still – “Each Time You Play” and “Guess Who’s Looking For Love” are excellent and remind me of the melodious Stephen Bishop at his best.

Doheny went on to make sporadic albums in the Eighties and Nineties, but his cult reputation falls on these two rare and pricey albums – and it’s nice to finally seem them get a domestic issue at a reasonable price. A very clever reissue indeed.

Recommended like a Babylon Sister shaking it...

"David Clayton-Thomas" by DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS [of Blood, Sweat & Tears] (2006 Repertoire CD Reissue and Remaster of his 1972 Debut Album) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Why Am I Fighting To Live If I'm Just Living To Fight…"

Surrey-born David Thomsett moved with his Canadian-born father and musical English mum to the suburbs of Toronto when he was just a 6 year-old child. Hot-blooded and driven, he left home at 14, waded through reformatories, farm jobs and bar bands until he finally hit pay dirt with Al Kooper's BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS in 1968. 

By the time he was 30 (and with his surname changed) - David Clayton-Thomas was ready to release his debut. And having fronted the mighty BST as its funky and fantastic Lead Vocalist for "Blood, Sweat & Tears" (1969), "Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" (1970) and "B, S & T: 4" in 1971 – his 1972 solo LP was simply more of the same. Which brings us to the CD reissue of it - too quietly forgotten it seems when I'd argue it shouldn't be...

UK released March 2006 - "David Clayton-Thomas" by DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS [of Blood, Sweat & Tears] on Repertoire RES 2300 (Barcode 400910230022) is a straightforward CD remaster of his 1972 debut solo album on Columbia records and plays out as follows (33:50 minutes):

1. Magnificent Sanctuary Band [Dorsey Burnette cover] - featuring Mike Deasy & David Cohen on Guitars with Clydie King & Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals

2. We're All Meat From The Same Bone [Gary Zekley song] - featuring Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MG’s on Guitar with Bobby Colomby of Blood, Sweat & Tears on Tambourine

3. Stealin' In The Name Of The Lord [Paul Kelly cover] - featuring Paul Cannon with Steve Cropper on Guitars, Jay Spell on Keyboards with Clydie King and Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals

4. Dying To Live [Edgar Winter cover] - arranged & conducted by Klaus Ogerman, it also features Hugh McCracken & Sal DiTroia on Guitars, Frank Owens on Piano with the Strings Arranged by Julie Held

5. Sing A Song [Gary Wright cover (formerly with Spooky Tooth)] - featuring Mike Deasy & David Cohen on Guitars with Clydie King & Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals

6. She [writers Gram Parsons and Christ Etheridge/Flying Burrito Brothers cover] - featuring Hugh McCracken and Sal DiTroia on Guitars, Frank Owens on Piano and duet vocals with Patricia Holloway

7. Don't Let It Bring You Down [Neil Young cover] -arranged and conducted by Jimmy Guiffre, Various Brass Players with Bobby Colomby on Drums

8. Once Burned [Todd Rundgren cover] - featuring Mike Deasy & David Cohen on Guitars with Clydie King & Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals

9. North Beach Racetrack [David Clayton-Thomas song] - features guitars by Steve Cropper, Paul Cannon and David Clayton-Thomas with Jay Spell on Piano and Drums by Richie Simpson

10. Caress Me Pretty Music [Anita O’Day cover] - featuring Paul Griffin on Guitar with Bobby Colomby on Drums

Co-produced by Blood, Sweat & Tears buddies BOBBY COLOMBY and JOEL SILL – the original vinyl LP was released April 1972 on Columbia KC 31000 in the USA and in the UK on CBS Records S 64755 (peaked at No. 184 on the US LP charts - didn't chart in the UK). The card digipak mimics the original gatefold sleeve of the vinyl LP and has an 8-page inlay with liner notes by noted British writer CHRIS WELCH.

Highlights are Edgar Winter's post-Woodstock anti-war anthem "Dying To Live" which is given a powerful rendition with strings that strengthen the melody and message rather than drown it (lyrics above). The "After The Gold Rush" classic of "Don't Let It Bring You Down" by Neil Young is also treated to a strange solitary French Horn opening that really works – it takes a good song and moves it to somewhere different – very cool. But the real peach here is his gorgeous vocal to Gram Parson’s much-covered "She". Clayton-Thomas does it more than justice – he almost makes it his own. 

His lone self-penned contribution about his favourite haunt "North Beach Racetrack" is a 'daddy was a junky' song with a funky-as-f**k guitar romp while he roars a trademark B, S & T mannerism "…tell the truth boy!" It's excellent and features slick guitar work from all three - Paul Cannon, Steve Cropper and Thomas himself.

The sound is superb throughout the entire album - punchy and vibrant (Repertoire has always had a good rep for quality audio transfers). There is hiss on some of the quieter songs like "Once Burned" but it's not too much to detract.

A niggle would be that the writers for "Dying To Live" and "Sing A Song" are wrongly credited in the booklet (their corrected above) - but apart from that – this is a great reissue of a criminally forgotten Seventies gem. 

Clayton-Thomas went on to make two more albums during the period - "Tequila Sunrise" in 1973 and "Harmony Junction" in 1974 and they're available elsewhere.

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I’ve always had a soft spot for Blood, Sweat & Tears and anything that sounds like them. Check out CT's funky and righteous cover of Paul Kelly’s "Stealin' In The Name Of The Lord" (it was a minor hit for its originator in 1970 on Happy Tiger Records) or his gorgeous cover of "She". I think you'll be hooked...and telling the truth...