The Crossing (Paul Young album)

The Crossing
Studio album by Paul Young
Released	11 October 1993
Genre	Rock pop rock blue-eyed soul
Length	49:44
Label	Columbia
Producer	Don Was Peter Vale Christopher Neil Steve Lindsey
Paul Young chronology
From Time to Time – The Singles Collection (1991) The Crossing (1993) Reflections (1994)
Singles from The Crossing
"Now I Know What Made Otis Blue" Released: 13 September 1993 "Hope in a Hopeless World" Released: 8 October 1993 "It Will Be You" Released: 11 April 1994 [1]

The Crossing is the fifth studio album by English singer Paul Young. Released in 1993, the album peaked at No. 27 on the UK Albums Chart. ^[2]

The album contains three UK singles: "Now I Know What Made Otis Blue" (UK No. 14), "Hope in a Hopeless World" (UK No. 42), and "It Will Be You" (UK No. 34). ^[2] The album was dedicated to the memory of Jeff Porcaro, having appeared on 6 out of 11 pieces, who died in August 1992. Its liner notes by Paul Young describe the sessions for the album

Critical reaction

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Music Week	[4]

Aaron Badgley of AllMusic writes that The Crossing is a "very consistent, smooth, well-produced album ... "Now I Know What Made Otis Blue" is worth the price of the CD alone, but the other songs are top-notch as well." ^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Hope in a Hopeless World"	Bob Thiele Phil Roy	Don Was	4:19
2.	"Now I Know What Made Otis Blue"	Mick Leeson Peter Vale	Peter Vale	4:00
3.	"Bring Me Home"	George Merrill Shannon Rubicam	Christopher Neil	4:03
4.	"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"	Paul Young Doug James	Was	4:21
5.	"Won't Look Back"	Young Drew Barfield	Was	5:23
6.	"Only Game in Town"	Young Martin Page	Was	4:20
7.	"Love Has No Pride"	Eric Kaz Libby Titus	Was	3:46
8.	"Down in Chinatown"	Young Barfield Don Was	Was	5:36
9.	"Half a Step Away"	Young Barfield	Was	5:00
10.	"Follow On"	Paul Brady	Was	4:10
11.	"It Will Be You"	Thiele Roy	Steve Lindsey	4:41

Personnel

• Paul Young – lead vocals, backing vocals (6)
• Roy Hay – keyboards (1), guitar (1)
• Bob Thiele Jr. – keyboards (1), backing vocals (1)
• Billy Preston – Hammond B3 organ (1)
• Peter Vale – keyboards (2), programming (2), guitar (2), bass (2), backing vocals (2)
• Adrian Lee – keyboards (3), bass (3)
• Louis Biancaniello – keyboards (4, 8), Fairlight programming (4), synth bass (4), drum programming (4), sequencing (4), arrangements (4, 8), programming (8)
• Jamie Muhoberac – additional keyboards (4)
• Larry Knechtel – acoustic piano (5, 7, 9, 10)
• Benmont Tench – Hammond B3 organ (5, 7, 9, 10)
• Don Was – Mellotron (5), vibraphone (8)
• Martin Page – keyboards (6), acoustic piano (6), programming (6), backing vocals (6)
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (9, 10)
• Greg Phillinganes – acoustic piano (11)
• Jim Cox – organ (11)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – electric guitar (1, 4), guitars (11)
• Phil Roy – guitar (1), backing vocals (1)
• Neil Hubbard – rhythm guitar (2)
• Tim Renwick – guitars (3)
• Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (5, 7, 9, 10), slide guitar (7), guitar solo (7), electric guitar (8)
• Reggie Young – electric guitar (5, 7, 9, 10)
• Mark Goldenberg – guitars (6)
• Davey Faragher – bass (1)
• James "Hutch" Hutchinson – bass (5, 9)
• Pino Palladino – bass (6, 7, 10)
• Ken Wild – bass (10)
• Freddie Washington – bass (11)
• Jeff Porcaro – drums (1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10)
• Peter Van Hooke – drums (3)
• Ed Greene – drums (11)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1, 5-10)
• Luis Conte – tambourine (1), congas (4), shaker (4), timbales (4)
• Alan Estes – vibraphone (11)
• Mark Feltham – harmonica (2)
• Tommy Morgan – bass harmonica (10)
• Kirk Whalum – saxophone (4, 5)
• Jon Clarke – woodwind (5, 7, 10)
• Andrew Love – saxophone (7)
• Steve Kujala – flute (9)
• Gary Herbig – saxophone solo (11)
• Wayne Jackson – trombone (7), trumpet (7)
• Mark Isham – trumpet (8)
• David Campbell – string arrangements (5, 7, 10, 11), conductor (11)
• Larry Corbett – cello (5, 7, 10)
• Suzie Katayama – cello (5, 7, 10)
• Novi Novog – viola (5, 7, 10)
• Charlie Bisharat – violin (5, 7, 10)
• Ron Clark – violin (5, 7, 10)
• Lee Thornberg – horn arrangements (11)
• Angel Rogers – backing vocals (1)
• Billy Valentine – backing vocals (1)
• Sylvia Mason-James – backing vocals (2)
• Beverley Skeete – backing vocals (2)
• Pam Sheyne – backing vocals (3)
• Linda Taylor – backing vocals (3)
• Willie Greene Jr. – backing vocals (5, 7, 9, 10)
• Arno Lucas – backing vocals (5, 9)
• Leslie Smith – backing vocals (5, 9)
• Everette Drake – backing vocals (7, 10)
• Wayne Murry – backing vocals (7, 10)
• Francine Reed – backing vocals (7, 10)
• Delta Dickerson – backing vocals (8)
• Portia Griffin – backing vocals (8)
• Anita Sherman – backing vocals (8)
• Myrna Smith – backing vocals (8)
• Jessica Williams – backing vocals (8)
• Kathleen Turner – special guest vocal appearance (8)
• Patty Smith – backing vocals (10)
• Kevin Dorsey – backing vocals (11)
• Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (11)
• Dorian Holley – backing vocals (11)
• Darryl Phinnessee – backing vocals (11)

Production

• Paul Young – executive producer
• Don Was – producer (1, 4-10)
• Peter Vale – producer (2)
• Christopher Neil – producer (3), mixing (3)
• Steve Lindsey – producer (11)
• Rik Pekkonen – recording (1, 4-10), mixing (9, 10)
• Richard Whaley – engineer (2)
• Simon Hurrell – engineer (3)
• Gabe Veltri – engineer (11), recording (11)
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing (1)
• Laurie Latham – mixing (2), additional vocal mixing (4), additional recording production (5)
• Ken Kessie – mixing (4, 8)
• George Massenburg – mixing (5)
• Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (6)
• Ed Cherney – mixing (7)
• Bill Schnee – mixing (11)
• Dan Bosworth – recording assistant (1, 4-10), mix assistant (4, 9, 10)
• Alex Reed – mix assistant (1)
• Randy Wine – mix assistant (1)
• Paul Mortimer – assistant engineer (3)
• Marnie Riley – mix assistant (5, 7)
• Talley Sherwood – mix assistant (6)
• Danny Alonso – mix assistant (8)
• Noel Hazen – recording assistant (11)
• Vince Frost – art direction, design
• Douglas Brothers – photography

Charts

Chart performance for The Crossing

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [6]	65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [7]	82
UK Albums (OCC) [8]	27

References

1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . 9 April 1994. p. 31.
2. "PAUL YOUNG - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
3. Badgley, Aaron. "Review: The Crossing – Paul Young". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
4. Jones, Alan (23 October 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week . p. 13. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
5. "Crossing - Paul Young - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul Young – The Crossing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul Young – The Crossing" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

External links

• The Crossing at Discogs (list of releases)