Classic Rock Bottom

It's the twenty-second album in the series I thought up all by myself and it's also the second month in a row that I refuse to post an anniversary album when I should because it just doesn't fit into my plan.

This week's selection is Every Turn Of The World from Christopher Cross, released in 1985. It's his third album and follows the gold certified Another Page which reached #11 in 1983 and that was the followup to his 5X platinum self-titled debut which was released in 1979. I really like the debut, for those that wonder. Some of the songs bring back memories. 

Anyway, what should stand out first about this week's pick is the cover. Unlike his first two albums, the pink flamingo is missing. On a side note, have you seen Pink Flamingos? It's the one where Divine eats doggie poo. Really.

Anyway (again), there's some sort of racing automobile on the cover of Every Turn Of The World so in MY mind, this would be more of a rock record. And, believe it or not, it actually is! Not hard rock, but quite a few uptempo tunes with plenty of geetar.

At this time, nobody seemed to care about Christopher Cross. The album peaked at #127 on the US charts and three singles were released with only "Charm The Snake" reaching the charts at #68. 

Listening to this while typing my nonsense, I really do like it. Maybe I'm in the mood for this "type" of music today.

Well, let's see if allmusic.com likes it:

Having suffered a commercial decline with the ballad-filled Another Page, Christopher Cross took a harder rocking approach with his third album, Every Turn of the World. Gone were the L.A. session aces and the SoCal chorus of famous fellow pop singers, as Cross wielded his SynthAxe and producer/co-writer, Michael Omartian his keyboards, along with a rhythm section, on a selection of up-tempo songs, many of which had 'save-the-world' themes. It didn't work. "Charm the Snake," the typically energetic lead-off single, sputtered on the charts, while Cross' core audience of "adult contemporary" ballad fans deserted him, and the album was a sales disaster. If anybody had tried turning over the LP and sampling tunes like The Beach Boys tribute, "Love Found a Home," they would have discovered a couple of more characteristic Cross songs, but it was too little, too late.

Eh. Maybe kinda.

Every Turn Of The World

1. Every Turn Of The World
2. Charm The Snake
3. I Hear You Call
4. Don't Say Goodbye
5. It's You That Really Matters
6. Love Is Love (In Any Language)
7. Swing Street
8. Love Found A Home
9. That Girl
10. Open Your Heart

Availability: The version featuring this album only is less than $5. If you want the version with the followup, Back Of My Mind, that runs around $19.

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I'm a fan of this guys music.  That debut is unbelievably stellar!  And his later work is very good as well, as a matter of fact my wife was listening to his latest release the other day (its titled Secret Ladder if you'd like to search it out and yes I posted in a NMC but that player is dead) ...  One of our favorite albums from him is titled Windows, just a quality songwriter and very technically sound guitarist.  All that to say I like this album but understood why it didn't catch on.

I think Every Turn of the World is as good as anything he'd done up to this point.  There is a lot of layers here and maybe that's a product of the times but I think for some artists it works, and when it comes to one who's got a very large jazz influence I think its needed.  Before you get lost in the 80's hand claps, electronic drums and keyboards, please be careful to listen to the guitar work.  But also the quality of the song structures, choruses and vocal performances and feel all the instrumentation happening, its some of the best ever done.

By the time you get to Its You That Really Matters you may have forgotten this was Christopher Cross, but this song will remind you in a very nice way.    Followed by two Internationally flavored tunes the album has hit a very nice stride and flow...  Love Found a Home comes on and transports you back to Another Page, its the first real reminder of the old Christopher Cross.

If you want to find a song to fuss about then That Girl might be the one. Buts its not all bad just a little quirky.  The closer is just sweet!  Listen close and turn it up a bit so you don't get any background noise, and hear the quality production and melt into the tune.  Love this album and this artist.  Shame he got lost to the Mtv generation because this type of quality songwriting and production was just what could have carried pop music into such a better direction, but alas...  If that were true we wouldn't be listening to this slice of heaven right now.

Yes I like it that much...  Nice post!!!

I like some of Cross's stuff.  He was on Sunday Morning a few months back and that was an interesting piece.  But I'm really only familiar with his hits.  He is the definition of yacht rock, and that in and of itself isn't a negative connotation for me. But I would imagine, on a full album basis, that he might tend to get a bit cheesy.

And that's what happens here.  I like that first track.  It's a really good song, something I could easily imagine on a greatest hits disc alongside Ride Like The Wind.  Even the third song, I Hear You Call, has a nice vibe. I dig it too.  As a matter of fact, the album moves along fairly nicely until the second half. Love Is Love (In Any Language) kicks off the cheese fest. And it really just continues on through the second half of the album.

So for me, Christopher Cross is really just a decent dude to listen to when I'm in a mood for yacht rock.  And for that, all I need is his greatest hits disc. 

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