Good, but not great ballad-heavy follow-up.

In 1983, Cross released his second album, appropriately titled 'Another Page.'



While his debut spawned four hits and several grammies, it seemed a bit more balanced than this does. However, this featured a slightly stronger 80's sound, with the songs having more synths and typical production of the era, combined with Christopher's usual brand of Ambrosia meets REO Speedwagon pop sound.



1. No Time For Talk -- A very minor hit which seemingly went nowhere. Dark and somewhat sad sounding tale of a breakup, set to a slightly uptempo beat.



2. Baby Says No -- Melodic, sweet ballad, which sounds like it's about love without actually saying it. That was one thing about CC that, in my mind at least, set him apart from many similar artists of the era. I also think this would've made a good hit.



3. What Am I Supposed to Believe -- Piano based very quiet ballad, which is also a duet with Karla Bonoff. One of the weaker songs. Even for him, it's too sappy and doesn't have much of a hook.



4. Deal 'Em Again -- Another possible hit, and one of the few uptempo songs on the album. Synth based easygoing pop/rock, which compares love to a card game.



5. Think of Laura -- The one ballad that became a huge hit, due to its appearence on General Hospital. Partially accoustic quiet, yet somewhat catchy, saddening song about someone Christopher knew. On its own, it probably wouldn't have become a hit.



6. All Right -- The one truly upbeat song, which was also a sizeable hit back in the day. Positive, happy sounding pop/rocker with a Steve Lukather guitar solo sounds (not surprisngly) a but like Toto, and even the lighter side of Loverboy or Journey. It stands in contrast to the rest of the album. As such, it might've actually not been a wise choice for the first single.



7. Talking in My Sleep -- The remaining songs are all ballads. This is probably another one that could've been a single. Sad and low key, yet somewhat catchy song about wishing a love would come back, and hence, talking in [his] sleep about it.



8. Nature of the Game -- The first of two very "quiet ballads" which are even harder to distinhuish from each other. Yet another 'accepting love is over' theme is present here.



9. Long World -- The theme here is actually a little more positive, about finding a new love and wanting her through the "Long world we're living in." Probably the softest and saddest sounding tune, which is very beautiful, but could probably even put a dentist to sleep out of boredom after awhile (sorry Chris).



10. Words of Wisdom -- A more unique sound is present here. Even though it's the umpteenth post-love theme, it goes from a quiet beginning to a slightly uptempo, heartfelt guitar solo and back again. I guess you could call it his "power ballad," LOL. It's too bad it got buried at the end, under all the soundalike ballads.



Basically, although this is a good album (certainly better than most junk out today) with a very heavy theme of romanace or loss thereof, I think the problem lies in the fact that there's simply too many ballads. 7 out of 10 songs are (and "No Time For Talk" could be considered teetering on the edge of the 8th).



The "melodic" ballads -- Baby Says No, Talking in My Sleep, and Words of Wisdom -- all were strong and could've been successul hits, but unfortunately all get blurred by the "quiet" ballads -- What Am I Supposed to Believe, Nature of the Game, and Long World -- which, while strong on their own, tend to blend in together and create less of an impression.



For instance, simply replacing "Long World" with another upbeat song would've greatly improved the quality here, and would've been the perfect place for it (after two ballads, and before the 'power' ballad). One example of where this sequencing is put to good use is on "Think of Laura," which, although it's a quiet ballad itself, it sits between the only two uptempo songs.



Also, like I said earlier, since "All Right" was the first single, it might've led people who were fans of happy 1980's pop/rock to believe the whole album was mostly like that. As such, they might've been disappointed upon hearing all the slow ballads. "No Time For Talk" would've been a way better choice, since it's kind of a midpoint of both styles.



Even with all the complaining I've seemed to have done, I'd still recommend this and give it 4 stars for everything good that IS on here.

highly enjoyable soft rock album

Christopher Cross' second album "Another Page" came out in January of 1983 after a 3+ year gap between this & his self-titled debut. His debut is a masterpiece & a key album in the history of soft rock & adult contemporary music. This follow up, despite the gap of time between, is very much a continuation of the same sound, so much so that it basically sounds as if it could have been recorded at the same sessions as his debut. Although there are fuzzy-sounding synths on "All Right" & "Deal 'Em Again", synths really aren't any more prominent here than they were before. Acoustic guitar is spotlighted more regularly here, but in general, the sound of the previous album, with its prominent piano & electric piano, is fully carried over. His first album was a massive commercial success, & a massive artistic success as well, so, it`s not surprising that he continued to use the same style. As with the first album, this was produced by Michael Omartian, & apart from one co-write, everything's again written by Cross alone. Michael McDonald & Don Henley both contribute vocals again, & this time Carl Wilson & Art Garfunkel both appear as well. This album did quickly go gold, but it wasn't even close to the blockbuster the previous album was. However, the quality of the album is indeed high. He does go extremely heavy on romantic ballads here, but there's no denying Cross had a real knack for them. "Talking In My Sleep", "Nature of the Game", "Long World", & the ode to a murdered friend "Think of Laura" are tender, wonderfully melodic, tastefully executed ballads that are built upon Cross' acoustic guitar parts, & of course, Cross' gentle, sighing vocals are ideal for this material. The melancholy 6+ minute "Baby Says No" is another great ballad that's easy to get lost in. "What Am I Supposed To Believe" is a duet with Cross & Karla Bonoff, both great vocalists, & the track demonstrates how incredibly similar they sound to each other vocally. However, both this song, as well as the album closing "Words of Wisdom", though not without enjoyable tunefulness, both go overboard & slip over into sappiness. He does deliver a couple of upbeat, feel-good tunes--"Deal `Em Again" is infectiously catchy & fun, & although "All Right" is lyrically slight and very sugary, you can't deny its catchiness. The album-opening "drifting apart" song "No Time For Talk", though a tad over-synthed, is packed with hooks including an ultra-catchy chorus. Overall, if you're a big soft rock fan and/ or love his debut, this is a safe buy. The ballad-heaviness might scare some away, but it's okay since a handful of them are so good. It's not a dramatic step down in overall quality from his debut, & there are lots of terrific tracks that easily live up to the debut's high standard.



(P.S. The default volume of the standard CD release is shockingly low, so be ready to turn the volume up.)

perfect album

This album is one of my favourite ever. The Omartian's production is perfect in sound and of course musicians, Jay Graydon, Don Henley, Michael McDonald,and...Toto's,the lovely and missed Jeffrey Porcaro, Mike, and Luke. Ladies and Gentelman, "Words of Wisdom" is one of the most beautiful ballads in history of music, and made me cry a lot of times, thanks ever to Chris for one song like that.



I've knew Christopher in Madrid in '88 and he autographiaded my another paige album.