Northern Lights - Southern Cross
by The Band

Northern Lights - Southern Cross by The Band
Year: 1975
Overall rank: 4,123rd   
Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 122 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1975 (64th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (699th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,123rd)

Listen on Spotify Spotify
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
🎸 The Band NORTHERN LIGHTS SOUTHERN CROSS CD 2001 💿 BRAND NEW SEALED Roots
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
The Band Northern Lights Southern Cross vinyl record LP Classic Rock 70s
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
THE BAND NORTHERN LIGHTS - SOUTHERN CROSS LP 1975 Capitol ST-11440 1st Win EX/EX
Condition: Used


  My favourite store:  

The Band bestography

Northern Lights - Southern Cross is ranked 5th best out of 19 albums by The Band on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Band is The Band which is ranked number 250 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,452.

The Band album bestography « Higher ranked (3,663rd)
Stage Fright
This album (4,123rd)
Northern Lights - Southern Cross
Lower ranked (5,267th) »
Rock Of Ages (The Band In Concert)

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Nov
30
Tue
00:00
POSTPONED - Bobby Thompson Band Tribute to Derek & The Dominos
Pearl Street Warehouse, Washington, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Nov
30
Tue
00:00
The Dazz Band, Original Lakeside, and Gilbert Esquivel
Oxnard Performing Arts Center, Oxnard, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Nov
30
Tue
00:00
Yachty By Nature: The Smoothest Yacht Rock Band In The Land
The Canyon Agoura Hills, Agoura Hills, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Northern Lights - Southern Cross on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Northern Lights - Southern Cross track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 78 (23 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
2.
Average Rating: 79 (22 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Average Rating: 83 (38 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
4.
Track pick (860 - 41 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (41 votes)Comments: View 1
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Average Rating: 79 (22 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Track pick (850 - 48 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (48 votes)Comments: View 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
7.
Average Rating: 78 (20 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
8.
Average Rating: 80 (24 votes)Comments: View 0
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Northern Lights - Southern Cross rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,123rd | 1970s rank: 699th | 1975 rank: 64th

Northern Lights - Southern Cross collection

Northern Lights - Southern Cross ratings

Average Rating: 
74/100 (from 122 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 122 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
12/28/2025 11:41 Exist-en-ciel   6,36670/100
 
15/100
 !
12/23/2025 17:37 Proto   3,91233/100
 
75/100
 !
12/13/2025 10:10 Imaybeparanoid   7,31971/100
 
80/100
 !
04/14/2025 17:08 matterhornrider   4,83381/100
 
75/100
 !
04/04/2025 07:57 Siromynian   1,60078/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 13% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.4/100, a mean average of 73.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.1.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Northern Lights - Southern Cross favourites

Showing all 9 members who have added this album as a favourite

Northern Lights - Southern Cross comments

Showing all 8 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
75/100
From 07/17/2023 12:12 | #298179
Excellnt
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 09/23/2022 05:28 | #289883
Very solid album that shows off The Band's full instrumental and vocal capabilities; feels a lot fuller sounding than some of the older folkier stuff. A little bit up and down, but the highs are quite high—Ophelia is a great, fun song that stays in your head forever, It Makes No Difference is beautiful with its sad lyrics and sax, and Acadian Driftwood might be the single best song The Band ever did.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/30/2019 15:45 | #246123
Great album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/20/2018 15:30 | #218540
A well underrated record. Music from Big pink and the self titled album quite rightly get the recognition they deserve but, Northern lights-Southern cross, like, Stage fright, is an excellent record. Forbidden fruit, Acadian driftwood, and especially, It makes no difference, are as good as anything on their first two albums. Having said that, this is probably The Band's last top quality album. It's not quite as consistently brilliant as those first two albums but it's still very good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/28/2016 21:31 | #162885
This is a way underrated record by The Band. A return of form of sorts the production and choice of material is top notch.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/01/2014 20:21 | #125976
It's hard to pick a favorite Band album, but "It Makes No Difference" is one of my all time favorite songs
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 07/30/2012 23:09 | #47488
You could tell they were returning to their roots... This is more earthy and raw. This got a tonne of airplay in Canada, because it seems like the most Canadian of the Band's releases. Excellent. Just shy of The Band and Big Pink.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 09/11/2010 21:41 | #6275
This is such a fantastic album that I imagine the only reason why it isn't on more people's favorite charts is because it received no airplay. "Acadian Driftwood" is, IMO, the all time greatest track. Garth Hudson's keyboard flourishes add a whole other dimension that really define this album...probably more so than on the other Band albums. This song is a spiritual experience, one of the ones you have to check out before you die.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Northern Lights - Southern Cross

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1975
1. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
2. Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan
3. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
4. Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin
5. A Night At The Opera by Queen
6. Another Green World by Eno
7. Horses by Patti Smith
8. Tonight's The Night by Neil Young
9. Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac
10. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns by Joni Mitchell
11. Mothership Connection by Parliament
12. Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
13. The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett
14. Zuma by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
15. Young Americans by David Bowie
16. The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan & The Band
17. Expensive Shit by Fela Kuti & Africa 70
18. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John
19. Sabotage by Black Sabbath
20. Ommadawn by Mike Oldfield
Back to Top