One Album Wonders: A Cross, A Ross, And An All Around Wonderful Record

The British music scene in the early 70s had an interestingly active group of bands that were trying to mimic the sounds that came splashing over the ocean to their shores. More precisely, the sounds that had travelled across the U.S. mainland before going on a transatlantic journey. The sounds of the westcoast. Bands like Brinsley Schwartz were shamelessly mimicking Crosby, Stills & Nash, while the Jess Roden-led Bronco or Hookfoot were trying their own spin on So Cal country rock. And then there were these two blokes, Keith Cross and Peter Ross, two songwriters who briefly teamed up to make one of the most Westcoast-sounding albums of all time. Oh, and also one of the best. Bored Civilians is the sun-kissed place where the influences of The Byrds, and The Beach Boys meet, and ir's glorious. Not bad for two Brits. 

Just take the album opener and instant classic "The Last Ocean Rider". Almost seven minute of pure bliss. The song itself is over by the three an a half minute mark, the rest is a long vamping section that I normally would look at suspiciously at the very least, but this is the equivalent of Martin Scorsese's "it's a quick three hour movie" (guess the picture he said it about!), it doesn't feel like seven minutes while you bathe in that warm ocean coda. There is a spirited cover of Fairport Convention side project Fotheringay's "Peace In The End", which is the only outside number, with the rest of the songs written by either Cross or Ross, and original closer "Fly Home" a co-write. 

I probably prefer Peter Ross' contributions, even though Ross was a bit of the junior member of the association. Not age-wise, but Keith Cross had already played in short-lived prog rock groups Bulldog Breed and T2, and was a bit of a name, at least to insiders. Besides "The Last Ocean Rider", Ross ' other highlights include the catchy "The Dead Salute" (which sounds like it could have been a single) and the atmospheric b-sides "Blind Willie Johnson" and "Prophets Finders". Keith Cross seems more responsible for the slower songs and ballad side of things, though he does get a little bit funky on the lengthy "Story To A Friend". That last track, together with "Rider" and the equally lengthy "Fly Home" plus Cross' past work is no doubt responsible for this album still being lumped in with progressive rock (or prog folk, more precisely), and while I don't find anything overtly proggish in it, besides these extended instrumental sections, the labeling doesn't matter, though it might have mattered back in 1972. 

And it might have mattered, because artwork and promotion for this album were..., let's say, suboptimal. The original cover for Bored Ciivilians is a great shot by itself, it just isn't very representative of the album and doesn't represent the sunny sounds within at all. It's a great cover shot, but for the wrong album. The new cover art is based on a pastel painting (ha!) by Australian artist Tricia Reust. CD back cover art is included for CD folks like myself! While the cover shot was great but ill-fitting, I never liked the original album title. Bored Civilians? Who is that supposed to entice to pick this up? I don't know if the newly christened Pastels would have sold more copies, but it is an improvement I'd say. It's certainly more indicative of the great music within. 

I love this image, but it sucks at selling the music within properly...

Changes, however, aren't limited to packaging. I thought the sequencing left room for improvement. I didn't like the eleven minute "Story To a Friend" taking up so much space in the middle and slowing it down. This track, rather then a closer for side a seemed destined to be the long run-out groove at the end of the record, which is where I placed it. And I thought that the three non-album songs "Can You Believe It", "Blind Willie Johnson" and "Prophets Guiders" were so strong, that they deserved to be included in the album proper instead of being merely attached as bonus tracks extra limbs, so that's what I did. The latter two songs, both b-sides and both by Peter Ross, are interesting in that the vocals are quite a bit grittier than the conventionally beautiful leads on the album, on "Prophets Guiders" Ross does sound a faint bit like Mercury-era folk rock Rod Stewart. 

Mixing in these three extra songs means that this alt album version of Bored Civilians breaks a little bit with one of the principles I have maintained on my alt albums from yesteryear, namely respecting the vinyl limits of the time to have an authentic record as it could have come out at the time of release. So most of my alt albums clock in between 35 and 45 minutes, as they would or could have at the same time. But, seriously, who cares about fake historical possibility when it's about the music, right? So you get a vinyl recording-limit spraining 55 minutes of fabulous music by Cross and Ross, time-period authenticity be damned! At least I don't leave no damn tracks off for no damn reason! 

Seriously, how hard could it be, though, to collect all the songs of this glorious, but brief collaboration? Really fuckin' hard it seems, because throughout two re-issues they couldn't get it done. The original 1994 re-issue had an extra single, a-side "Can You Believe It" and b-side "Blind Willie Johnson", but somehow failed to include the b-side to lead single "Peace In The End", "Prophets Guiders". For years I could only unearth a crackly period version of it that sounded so much worse in terms of fidelity compared to the rest, that I had no choice but to attach it at the end, sort of as a quick encore, after Cross and Ross have finished their album 'set' with "Story To a Friend". Then, when Esoteric Recordings reissued it 20 years later, it had "Prophets Guiders", but now "Can You Believe It" was missing. Are you kidding me? Specialist re-issue companies and they can not manage to include everything their core audience want from such a release? Hell, Cross and Ross only recorded these twelve songs, so why the fuck are they not all here from the start, remastered and presented as they should? So now sites like this one have to do the job 'cause these doofuses can't get their shit together...(Gee, I curse a lot here, huh? This needless idiocy and avoidable treasure hunting seemingly really goats my get, if you drift my catch...). 

But now all our imaginary pain over these botches is over, as I'm proud to present what I think is the best way to hear the entire output of Cross & Ross. New artwork, new and improved sequencing, all tracks presented and accounted for. What more can you ask for? More music from these two, obviously, but it wasn't to be. After Bored Civilins bombed, both seems to have walked away from the music business, as Discogs has no rntries for them whatsoever after this album. But what a glorious one-shot it is! Cross & Ross might've only worked together for a small amount of time, but Pastels is proof that when you hit the bull's eye right away, sometimes once can be enough...