Christopher Cross
Omnivore, 2025
9/10
The debut album from Christopher Cross arrived in 1979 and made him a household name pretty quick and the recipient of several Grammys. This expanded version of the soft-rock classic comes with 11 extra tracks that further proves just how timeless Cross’ music is.
The upbeat and melodic “Say You’ll Be Mine” opens with Cross’ unmistakable voice alongside Jay Graydon’s flowing guitar and Michael Omartian’s charming piano, and “I Really Don’t Know Anymore” follows with a trio of saxophones and Michael McDonad’s backing voice adding much beauty.
Moving into the middle, “Poor Shirley” finds itself in rich territory via Tommy Taylor’s scrappy drumming and Andy Salmon’s precise bass that suit Cross’ colorful pipes, while “Sailing”, his biggest hit, uses Victor Feldman’s percussion and Rob Meurer’s synth amid Cross’ stirring vocals.
Of the bonus material, the demo version of “Parade” offers a heartfelt moment of lush textures, and the demo of “Say Goodbye To Mary Ann” is a bit more muscular and emits plenty of harmonic, frisky ideas.
These days you might call this “Yacht Rock”, but Cross’ version of soft-rock came at a time when disco and hard rock were in demand, and the four top 20 hits that the album produced cemented Christopher Cross as an artist who shifted the landscape of American music.
Travels well with: Christopher Cross- A Christopher Cross Christmas; Carpenters- Christmas Once More