Northern Lights – Southern Cross
| Northern Lights – Southern Cross | ||||
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| Studio album by The Band | ||||
| Released | November 1, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | Spring–Summer 1975 | |||
| Studio | Shangri-La Studio, Zuma Beach, California | |||
| Genre | Roots rock, folk rock, country rock, Americana | |||
| Length | 40:40 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | The Band | |||
| The Band chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| MusicHound |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Northern Lights – Southern Cross is the sixth studio album by Canadian-American rock group the Band, released in 1975. It was the first album to be recorded at their new California studio, Shangri-La, and the first album of all new material since 1971's Cahoots. All eight songs are credited as compositions of guitarist Robbie Robertson.
Northern Lights – Southern Cross was recorded using a 24-track tape recorder, which allowed Garth Hudson to include multiple layers of keyboards on several tracks.
Three songs from the album – "It Makes No Difference", "Ophelia" and "Acadian Driftwood" – were performed at The Last Waltz, the Band's 1976 "final performance". "It Makes No Difference" and "Ophelia" were included in the Last Waltz film and on the original 1978 soundtrack album, and "Acadian Driftwood" was included in the 2002 extended re-release of the soundtrack album. These songs in particular have enjoyed subsequent revivals and cover versions. "Acadian Driftwood" was featured in a 1984 CBC-TV special titled Murray McLauchlan's Floating Over Canada. The only Band member to appear in the sequence was Levon Helm. In this presentation of the song, Levon, his wife Sandy Helm, and Murray McLauchlan depict the expulsion of Acadian citizens by British forces.
The album was well-received critically: Rolling Stone declared that The Band had kicked "a field goal", and, while he was put off by the sentimentality of the lyrics, Robert Christgau wrote "the pure comeliness of every melody on this album led to an immediate infatuation."
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