The Crossing is the second full-length studio album by American rhythm and blues group Menahan Street Band.
[3] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Fred Thomas writing that this album "expands somewhat on the band's debut, with the group plucking inspiration from a wide spectrum of soul and funk subcategories" and the band "cultivates a rich collection of emotionally complex instrumental soul, with precise musicianship meeting inspired production and a deeply studied obsession with the often sampled and less often acknowledged obscure geniuses of soul music".
[1] Len Comaratta of Consequence of Sound scored this album a B, noting the band's non-soul influences and states that a "slightly haunting, lower-timbre" runs through most of the album.
[4] In The Irish Times, Jim Carroll gave The Crossing 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing the music: "these tight, moody, sumptuous instrumentals are widescreen, cinematic pace-setters, with detailed, punchy, textured playing that draws you in and allows the drama to unfold".
[5] Elias Leight of PopMatters gave this release an 8 out of 10, stating that this work "once again shows their talent at creating tight instrumental funk" with music "buoyed by firm backbeats and highly synchronized horn section".