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Cross: A very common concert
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By Ernie Santosuosso Globe Staff Christopher Cross' only album was released in December 1979. He was a virtual unknown at the time. Last year he collected five Grammys for that album, Christopher Cross. This year all he could muster for his efforts was an Oscar, shared with Carole Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach and Peter Allen, for Best Original Song for The Theme from "Arthur" ("Best That You Can Do") Now, Christopher Cross is so secure financially he can afford to delay the cutting of his second album, "Another Page," almost indefinitely. Appearing before some 6500 persons and a couple of hundred high-rise eavesdroppers at last night's second program of the 'Concerts on the Common" series, he projected an amiable personality, played lead guitar adequately if not imaginatively and sang in a high Vienna Boys Choir tenor. The crowd obviously enjoyed his performance. if a couple of standing ovations are any measure of his performance. However, to this reporter, his rundown of songs from the still-selling first album, a clutch of yet unrecorded songs which he declined to identify, it was a very common concert mostly undisinguishable except for a redeeming item here and there. The assemblage represented a consolidation of ticketholders for the canceled Wendesday show with those who paid for seats at last night's show, so all seats were unreserved as a consequence. The Wednesday scrubbing was reportedly due to a delay in shipment of the performer's equipment from the West Coast. Cross opened vigorously (with a painfully overamplified bass) with "Never Be The Same" resorting to a |
formula of repeated refrains that seem to course
predictably through most of his songs. "Poor Shirley" evoked limp allusions
to the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby." "Say You'll Be Mine" carried the message
loud and clear. A song whose title seemed to be
"Don't Talk to Me About
Love Anymore" was tolerable and the spare piano solo by Robert Meurer was
even better. 'The introduction to "Sailing," one of the chart hits from
the album, triggered an ovation, and Cross cruised through the song. There
was another new song about gambling which came up snake-eyes. This he
followed with the title song from the upcoming "Another Page" L.P. The
most elaborate chart was reserved for "The Light Is On" as Meurer's
extended piano introduction yielded to Hank Hemsoth's brief but articulate
tenor passage and, during a sustained comping, Cross identified all the
musicians, including bassist-vocalist Andy Salmon, percussionist James Fenner
and drummer Tommy Taylor.
Cross' high-register voice passed a stern test on "I Really Don't Know Anymore" and the backup harmonies were nicely compatible. The Theme from "Arthur" served as a prelude to a long-standing ovation acknowledged by two encores as Cross et al returned onstage wearing New England Patriots jerseys, which had been presented by the team's cheerleaders. Following another mystery tune *, the crowd clapped rhythmically to another Cross hit "Ride Like The Wind," after which the concert concluded and the squirrels reemerged.  Poor Jack Tempchin. He deserved a better fate. A club performer with acoustic guitar, he impressively sang his compositions, one recorded by The Eagles, "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and the other, "Slow Dancing," by Johnny Rivers. However, his patter and too much of his singing were lost amid the late arrivals and incessant conversationalists. |