'Dream Into Action', it's not.

If you liked that articular album, 'Cross The Line' is going to leave you quite flat. The Prisoner and Everlasting Love are certainly decent enough. But the rest of the album leaves me wondering what the hell happened. The fun-loving energy of 'Dream Into Action' just seems to be missing on this album, only to be replaced by WAY too many slow and boring songs that seem more appropriate on an elevator music station. Of course, some people might like this. But it is not my cup of tea.

A satisfying piece of work

Cross That Line--released in 1989--is Howard Jones' fourth full-length album. It is comprised of ten compositions. The material is in a pop musical direction. All in all, I think that the songwriting is worthy, the musicianship is tight, and the sound quality is crisp. Some of the songs contain brass instrumentation and female background vocals. Also, the album sports only minimal guitar playing. Jones does well with the singing. An instrumental is supplied, "Out of Thin Air," along with two epics--"Guardians of the Breath" and the airy "Those Who Move Clouds." The melancholic, atmospheric "Guardians of the Breath" exhibits attractive bass guitar playing and industrious vocals from Jones. My favorite tracks are "The Prisoner," "Last Supper," and "Out of Thin Air." "The Prisoner" is a lively tune that displays an engaging, smeary-sounding keyboard melody, nice singing from Jones, and smooth harmony vocals. "Last Supper" is a pleasing ballad with poignant vocals from Jones on the refrain. The pretty "Out of Thin Air" consists solely of piano work from Jones. Other enjoyable pieces are "Everlasting Love" and "Powerhouse." The spirited "Everlasting Love" has a charming intro and a catchy, unforgettable chorus, while "Powerhouse" is a fun, perky cut that features female backing vocals that are interesting and velvety. As for the CD booklet, it includes the song lyrics and four photos of Jones; also, one of these photos is on the back of the CD jewel case. The disc is just over 48 minutes. Cross That Line is a good piece of work.

The last essential HoJo

Howard had some good songs here, but the album still feels a bit monothematic at points. Not as much variety of sound as his previous albums. "Powerhouse" is the only real 'mover', whereas his previous albums had at least a few 'movers'. "Everlasting love", "The Prisoner", "Last supper" and "Cross that line" were all great songs making good use of synths and other instruments too, but the whole album is still a bit slow. Still worth acquiring.