Atlantic Crossing

Atlantic Crossing was recorded in five American studios between April and June 1975 and produced by Tom Dowd, who had worked on records by many of Stewart's heroes during his years at Atlantic. With it Stewart ended his association with Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan and the other players who had been his core collaborators on the Mercury albums. Instead he used session musicians, among them the Memphis Horns and Booker T. and the MG's. The rest of Faces heavily disliked the change in direction, and the only song from the album performed on the band's final US tour that autumn was Three Time Loser. After the album's success and his move to the United States, Stewart announced he would leave the group by the end of the year.

The album is divided into a fast side and a slow side, a format he repeated on his next two records. It went to number one in the UK, his fourth solo album to do so, and to nine on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. Sailing was the UK number one in September 1975. In 1977 the double A-side of I Don't Want to Talk About It and The First Cut Is the Deepest, the latter from A Night on the Town, gave Stewart another UK number one. Christgau gave the album a B+ and wrote that after Smiler he had been convinced Stewart's talent had vanished. Rhino reissued it as a two-disc set in 2009.