Christopher Cross--Sailing (1980)

     In a blog not too long ago, I referenced, "luck" as a ingredient in the success of an artist or a song. Those who say, "you make your own luck" obviously never tried their hand at music. There are not many career directions that are determined, not only by hard work, but by the whims and tastes of an audience that for the most part you never see. One of the things we do at, "The Rock and Roll Omnibus" radio show is to not only celebrate the hits from the past, but also to give due to those who produced quality music which never got the recognition. 
     In hindsight, Christopher Cross' first album came at a perfect time for a breath of fresh pop air. The disco backlash was in full swing, most of radio listeners were not latching on to punk, and what was to become new wave had not been fully developed yet. His unique vocal style blended with a timeless soft rock sense that was punctuated by Michael Omartain's production produced a single, (and album) that is a near flawless record of it's genre.
     Despite what critics (especially those who think of themselves as 'hip')  might have said about his career, Cross has done very well. He had a total of 8 top 40 hits from 1980 to 1983 and that first album won a Grammy. He continues to tour and record with regularity.You can find him on the internet here: http://www.christophercross.com/

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Air Supply--Lost in Love (1980)

      Doing these blogs from a bit of a historic perspective has given me a different view of many of the songs of our past. It also reminds me that, just like histories of other events (say US history for example) that one can document what actually happened, but interpreting the event is another thing altogether, and proves that historians can be subjected to prejudices just like anyone else.

       I say all of this to confess that not all of the music that you find here on the blogs are...shall I say favorites of mine? The late 70's combined my disdain of top 40  music (overproduced LA rock, disco, some form of soft rock that made groups like Bread sound like The Who), with my more rebellious years (it's a relative thing....but compared to  my geeky high school years, it was revolutionary). I wouldn't be caught dead with an Air Supply album.

      The truth however is that there WERE some songs (like this one), that I truly loved. Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock did have a tendency to get a bit heavy handed with the syrup, especially as the hits kept coming, but looking back now over 30 years after they first hit stateside, I realize there had to be a lot more closet fans. I never actually met anyone who would admit it, but SOMEBODY had to be buying all of those records. 

      They still continue to tour and record, but hadn't heard any of their music for at least a couple of decades, and are probably known more to a generation of TV watchers now as two guys who are hawking some soft rock albums on infomercials. If your one of those kids, ask your old rocker parents about Air Supply, then after you get the "unhip" line about them....rummage through their old records to see if it's not there (Christopher Cross' debut album would also out them....)

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