Number 604 - Christopher Cross

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Number 604

Christopher Cross

"Sailing"

(1980)
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Genre:Soft Rock

How do you put your finger on or put into words certain songs that stir feeling? You know the feeling... the one that makes your spine ... twinge. I'm sure everyone is different, to some, "Sailing" might stir revulsion or make one click to another song on their playlist (in the old days it was just "move the dial" ). I have been thinking of other songs that have the same affect as "Sailing" and its really hard to conjure a list straight of the bat. I thought of Little River Band's " Cool Change" (oddly, that's about sailing, is there something about sailing thats serene? ) or the song "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins and maybe "One Tree Hill" by U2.

I think what makes a song like "Sailing" special is that you don't hear the song everyday, they also have a melancholy but also a sweet memory, yeah... bittersweet, as such. Makes you wonder what todays generation will look back on. Lets hope its not Paris Hilton "Stars are Blind"!

Christopher Cross' debut was a huge hit and widely acclaimed, at least among industry professionals (critics didn't give it a second listen), leading to multi-platinum success and Grammys. In retrospect, it might seem like the kind of success that's disproportional to the record itself, especially to hipper-than-thou younger generations, but in truth, Christopher Cross was a hell of a record -- it just was a hell of a soft rock record, something that doesn't carry a lot of weight among most audiences. That doesn't erase Cross' considerable gifts as a craftsman. Yes, he does favor sentimentality and can be very sweet on the ballads, but his melodicism is rich and construction tight, so there's a sturdy foundation for the classy professional gloss provided by his studio pros and friends, including indelible backing vocals by Michael McDonald. And while the hits like the dreamy "Sailing" and the surging "Ride Like the Wind" deserved all the attention, they're hardly the only highlights here -- to borrow a sports metaphor, this has a deep bench, and there's not a weak moment here. In fact, soft rock albums hardly ever came better than this, and it remains one of the best mainstream albums of its time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

For more Christopher Cross in the countdown see Number 850
For Smashing Pumpkins see Number 864 & Number 811 & Number 680
For more Smashing Pumpkins see @ MM Vol 1 Number 139
For U2 in the countdown see Number 661
For more U2 see @ MM Vol 1 Number 129
For Paris Hilton see a Doctor!
For Michael McDonald see Number 868

What does Rolling Stone think about Chriss Cross?

Christopher Cross churn out music that knows its place: Top Forty radio. This San Antonio-born group, named after its lead singer-guitarist-songwriter, combines the Marshall Tucker Band's sophisticated country rock, Danny O'Keefe's soulful folk stylings and the kind of glossy, Los Angeles cha-cha sound that producer Ted Templeman helps Nicolette Larson and the Doobie Brothers make. Such a familiar yet unusual blend seems as striking and pleasurable as that of early Chicago (the group, not the city) in the days before commercial was a dirty word.

Several songs on Christopher Cross – especially "Say You'll Be Mine" and "I Really Don't Know Anymore" – exude the cheerful romanticism of an all-American Fleetwood Mac, and though a few go on too long in order to show off the band's not particularly spectacular musicianship (these guys would love to be Steely Dan), most of the tunes here are as hummable, singable and pleasantly insubstantial as anything you'd care to hear on the car radio.

Michael Omartian's production is glistening but unsterile, while guest stars Michael McDonald, Nicolette Larson and Valerie Carter turn in sterling supporting vocals. (Carter's solo singing in "Spinning" is her best work ever. Could she be studying with Rickie Lee Jones?)

Public Image Ltd. fetishists might consider Christopher Cross the ultimate in California decadence. But me, I like to hear music that's fun, fun, fun every now and then. (RS 320)

What did you expect? Two thumbs up?

For Doobies Brothers see Number 868 & Number 776

For Steely Dan see Number 907

For Rickie Lee Jones see Number 721

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Tingly spine?) and the Album ranked at Number (What drugs are you on crowbarred?)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 72 out of 108 pts

Lyrics to the song . Please report broken vid

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