A devastating debut, one of the finest albums not only of the punk era, but of the 1970s as a whole, Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts was the summation of a year's worth of gigging, honing a repertoire that — jagged, jarring, and frequently underplayed though it was — nevertheless bristled with hits, both commercial and cultural. "No Time to Be 21," "One Chord Wonders," and "Bored Teenagers" were already established among the most potent rallying cries of the entire new wave, catch phrases for a generation that had no time for anthems; "Bombsite Boy," "Safety in Numbers," and "Great British Mistake" offered salvation to the movement's disaffected hordes; and the whole thing was cut with such numbingly widescreen energy that, even with the volume down, it still shakes the foundations. The band's original vision saw a rerecording of "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," a Top 20 hit during summer 1977, included on the album — it was dropped (for space considerations) at the last minute. Several early '80s reissues of the album attempted to rectify the omission by appending the single version to side two of the LP, but it was 1983 before the rerecording itself made it out, as a minor U.K. hit single, and 1998 before Smith himself was finally able to restore Red Sea to its original glory, with "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" slotted in immediately before "Bombsite Boy," and another absentee, "New Day Dawning," following "Safety in Numbers." This revised CD release also wrapped up the remainder of the Adverts' 1977-era singles as additional bonus tracks; in 2002, the so-called "Ultimate Edition" of Red Sea appended a further six tracks, drawn from a riotous live show in early 1978, effectively doubling the original album's length.

by Dave Thompson (allmusic)

1. One Chord Wonders
2. Bored Teenagers
3. New Church
4. On The Roof
5. New Boys
6. Gary Gilmore's Eyes
7. Bombsite Boys
8. No Time To Be 21
9. Safety In Numbers
10. New Day Dawns
11. Drowning Men
12. On Wheels
13. Great British Mistake
14. One Chord Wonders
15. Quickstep
16. Gary Gilmore's Eye
17. Bored Teenagers
18. Safety In Numbers
19. We Who Wait
20. On Wheels (Live)
21. New Boys (Live)
22. New Church (Live)
23. Gary Gilmore's Eyes (Live)
24. Drowning Men (Live)
25. No Time to Be 21 (Live)