Born To Run/Atlantic Crossing
This weekend, On The Turntable features two albums released within ten days of each other in 1975. The program begins with ‘Born To Run’ from Bruce Springsteen and follows that with ‘Atlantic Crossing’ from Sir Rod Stewart.
Born To Run
Born to Run is the third studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released this very week in 1975. This was Springsteen’s ‘make it, or break it lp’ and was hugely supported by his record label, Columbia Records, with a $250,000 promotional budget. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 – it also charted twice in the 80’s following the releases of ‘The River’ and ‘Born In The USA’. The album also went on to sell six million copies. This was a huge album in 1975 … two singles were released and three songs, “Thunder Road”, “She’s The One” and “Jungleland” were album rock staples.
I did not purchase ‘Born To Run’ until February of 1976, six months after the release. I was not an initial Springsteen fan. This album was so overplayed on Detroit Radio that you could not escape it. Early one morning a local radio announcer mentioned that there were still a few good seats available and this is a concert is one that should not be missed. I bit. I bought tenth row seats the day of the show and to this day, it is still one of my top five concerts of all time. I bought the very LP that we will play, in this program, the very next day. The album has been honored with a plethora of accolade. Best Ever Albums Dot Com considers Born To Run to be the third best album of 1975, the 18th best of the decade and positions it 64th in its Top 100 of All-Time. Digital Dream Door Dot Com ranked the LP number five on its top one hundred of the year. Billboard ranks Born To Run 19th on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list … The album also landed Springsteen on the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week in October 75.
Notable Tracks – ‘Born To Run’ ‘Thunder Road’ ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’ ‘She’s The One’
Atlantic Crossing
Atlantic Crossing is the sixth studio album from Rod Stewart. The album was meant to signify Stewarts life changes; he was moving to Warner Brothers Records and moving to live in Los Angeles to escape the tax burdens of his homeland. The album peaked at number one in the UK and number nine in the US. It was also his first of three consecutive albums to feature a slow side and a fast side.
The album and the life changes were timely. Stewarts relationship with Faces was deteriorating and the group disbanded following the 75 Tour, which I witnessed in Detroit. Though the LP reached the top ten in the US, the singles did not fare as well as they did in the UK. And I will go on record with this – as much as I like this record, it is on my list of the 100 worst album covers of all time. Best Ever Albums Dot Com considers Atlantic Crossing to be the 58th best album of 1975 and the 582nd best of the decade. Digital Dream Door Dot Com ranked the album 95th on its Top 100 of the year.
Notable Tracks – ‘Stone Cold Sober’ ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’ “Sailing’ ‘Three Time Loser’
On The Turntable can be heard on KVOL 1330AM/97.7FM The Rewind each Saturday evening at 6pm. Listen over-the-air, on line at www.kvol1330.com and on The Rewind App. The program is rewound Sunday morning at 7am.