Transit [Import]

A.J. Croce | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 6, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 29, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B00004LMKY
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,359 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Maybe

2. It's Only Me [Oh Ya-Ya]

3. Turn Out the Light

4. Summer Can't Come Too Soon

5. The Bargain

6. Find Out How

7. Everyman

8. What I Wouldn't Do

9. Change

10. Five

11. She Was Always Right

12. Don't Leave Me Now

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cd that gets stuck in your head, May 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Transit (Audio CD)

I have so much to say about this record that it's tough to figure out where to begin. I have been an A.J. fan for years since his first album came out in '93. My wife also became a fan when we saw him play a free concert on a hot November day in Oceanside when he just blew the place away with his amazing piano playing and bluesy sound. That is really what A.J. was all about until he recorded this cd. His piano playing was unmatched and his vocals were gritty and his songs were rooted in the blues. Transit is a total departure from this style. The songs are guitar-based instead of the piano being the dominant instrument although in "Find out Now" and "Five" A.J. does bang the piano a little just to remind you that he's still the king of the 88 keys. for the most part the grit has left his voice and the songs sound more like something the beatles would have recorded in '65 or '66 at the latest. When we first listened to the cd I immediately liked "maybe" which is the single, "Summer Can't Come Too Soon", which is just a fantastic feel-good rock/pop song with a nice electric piano solo in the middle, "she Was always Right" because it makes use of his trademark lyrical sense of humor and "Five" which is just a killer rocker that takes your head off when A.J. attacks the piano in the middle of the song. As for the rest of the songs I thought they were kind of forced and that he was straining as hard as he could to sound like the Beatles, especially on "the Bargain". However, as I listened to the cd a few more times I discovered that while he may have unashamedly borrowed from some older styles he still found a way to make those songs his own and now I can honestly say that I love all of them. The last track "don't Leave me Now" was the hardest one to like. At first I couldn't get past the trite lyrics, "Please say you'll stay. Don't leave me now. I'll never leave. I don't know how." This song, like all the others, grew on me though as I listened to the instrumentation and the way it all fit together. I have asked myself if I would love this album as much if someone other than a.J. had recorded it and I can honestly say now that the answer is definitely yes! The songs are just too catchy, well-written and well-produced for me to not like them no matter who the artist is. If you are an A.J. fan already you will have to go into this record with an open mind and not expect to hear the blues piano stuff because it's not there. If you can listen to this record without dwelling in the past I promise you you'll fall in love with it as I have. If you've never heard of a.J., well then, you'll just love this record from the start. One warning though...As I said in my title once you start playing this cd you will *not* be able to get these tunes out of your head.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a varied talent!, June 29, 2005

By 

E Street Exile "Jeff" (Flagler Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transit (Audio CD)

A splendid diversion from his previous style, Croce shows off his true musical virtuosity on TRANSIT. Venturing into more of a "bubble-gum" style of pop music, his layered harmonies and Hammond B3 use harken back to the days of the Zombies, Byrds and even The Beatles (some of which are credited as influences in the album's liner notes.) Needless to say, his strong, witty songwriting continues at the same high level as his previous work. The title itself, TRANSIT, suggests a move in a different direction...that move being musical style, in this case. So, to those critics who are aghast at this change, just sit back and appreciate it. He pulls it off as if it's been his style all along. AJ Croce is truly a varied and special talent...unfortunately underappreciated by today's music listening public. It's their loss!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars New album is uninteresting, May 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Transit (Audio CD)

Even though I am an AJ Croce fan, this album did very little for me. After buying Fit to Serve and his debut album and seeing him live, I though he was a great original talent. On Transit every song sounds about the same. They are bland and monotonous and he seems to be forcing the so called "textured vocals". Whoever produced this seems to have decided they could take a interesting talent with lots of originality and turn it into a manufactured sound that anyone could reproduce. If you want good music stick to his first few albums.