Record #416: Christopher Cross – Christopher Cross (1979)

I was only marginally interested in this MOR, unassuming soft rock album, until I learned something that broke my brain.
This record beat Pink Floyd’s The Wall for Album of the Year.

That thought is consuming me as I listen. Because for the life of me, I can’t figure out how.
It’s not that it’s bad. That’s absolutely not it. Vanilla, sure. But lots of great things are vanilla. Vanilla ice cream, for instance.
This record is very rarely challenging, but it is, at all times, enjoyable. Christopher’s voice is great, with Michael McDonald popping up in the background every once in a while. The arrangements are lush and beautiful, with the occasional soaring guitar solo.
And with tracks like Ride Like the Wind and Sailing padding out the tracklist, it’s no wonder that this album would become much of the blueprint for 80s pop. This is album is sentimental to the core and romantic as all get out.
Is it better than The Wall? Who’s to say? Probably not. But it’s not as self indulgent.