Alternate Atlantic Crossing

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With <i>Atlantic Crossing</i>, Rod Stewart headed to America and hooked up with legendary Atlantic Records R&B producer Tom Dowd to try a new attack of sleeker soul and pop-rock. The ‘70s were changing and it was time to replace the rough-and-tumble urgency of his folk-based hard rock with smoother rhythms, horns, and a brighter sound than his audience was used to. The Muscle Shoals-rooted musicians here know their stuff inside-out and crank through with an almost mechanical precision. “All In the Name of Rock ‘n’ Roll” features plenty of blazing guitar and tight-grooved propulsion, yet it lacks the soul that Stewart brings to “I Don’t Want To Talk About It,” “Three Time Loser,” and the Holland-Holland-Dozier classic “This Old Heart of Mine.” Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” fits seamlessly with Dowd’s radio-ready schematic and Stewart sounds fairly comfortable in his new surroundings, if not completely settled. Like many late-‘60s-early ‘70s troubadours, Stewart was experiencing a period of transition.

via Apple Music

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