Christopher Cross was introduced
to us on to the radio for the first time in 1980 and scored eight Billboard Top
40 hits over the next four years. He performed ALL of them last weekend (January
15th) at an intimate gig in Manhattan in a new venue called the City
Winery.
Believe it or not, it has been 13
years since Christopher released an album of all new material, but that changed
recently with the CD “Doctor Faith.” Christopher artfully sprinkled in tunes
from his latest offering in between the songs that earned him 5 Grammy Awards.
His voice has not changed over the years. Even though he looks like a tackle
for the Dallas Cowboys, when he opens his mouth
that sweet pristine voice from Texas is still
intact.
He opened his show in a way I had
never seen before. He is so proud of the five musicians who surround him on
stage, the first thing he did was introduce all of them. And although every
singer will tell you from the stage they have one of the greatest bands in the
world, Christopher has done his home work. He has sought out top notch
colleagues. The musicians that bring his music to life on the road are
dazzling. A first class quintet, including Sax man, David Mann; keyboardist /
vocalist Kiki Ebsen and bass / vocalist Chazz Frichtel.
His set
included:
-- Sailing (his first # 1
song)
-- Think Of Laura (he said the
song is based on a real woman, Laura Carter, who was the best friend of the girl
he was dating at the time. She killed by a stray bullet while she was driving
her car one night)
-- Arthur’s Theme (Christopher
told his fans it was of the biggest thrills of his career writing this song with
Burt Bacharach. And although he acknowledged Hollywood recently put out a remake of the
movie “Arthur,” it just wasn’t the same. As far as he is concerned there will
never be another Dudley Moore.
-- Ride Like the Wind (Michael
McDonald who contributed vocals on this 1980 chart topper, also sings on
Christopher’s new CD)
-- Leave It To Me (a catchy song
from the new album with a brass arrangement that pays tribute to the band
Chicago
-- Dreamers (another new
composition that was well received by the capacity crowd. He dedicated the song
to the late Steve Jobs)
Born 60 years ago under his legal
name, Christopher Geppert, Cross is the father of two children. Throughout his
set it was evident that he has a very dry sense of humor and was excited to
share the new songs he had been working on for the past
decade.
-- Tom
Cuddy
New York, NY
Tom also sent us a copy of Christopher Cross' set list ...
And here's a shot of Chris on stage, courtesy of photographer Brad
Joblin:
And, even cooler yet ... how about an EXCLUSIVE "live" video of
Christopher Cross performing two of his biggest hits ... only available for
viewing through this Forgotten Hits link. (Again, VERY special thanks to Tom
Cuddy and Brad Joblin for
this!)
Kent:
Here's an exclusive for Forgotten Hits readers! It's an HD video
of Christopher Cross performing two of his hits in NYC last weekend. This is
private video stored at You Tube. You can only get access through this
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHChEGQqIHs
Video shot by Brad Joblin. Post Production work done
by Blake Joblin.
Tom
