Every Turn of the World is the third studio album by Christopher Cross, recorded and released in 1985. The album has a harder rocking sound, lacking the pop ballads that dominated the sound of Cross's previous albums. The album peaked at No. 127 on the Billboard 200, while the single "Charm the Snake" peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, the only single to chart from the album. Three other singles, the title track, "That Girl", "Love Is Love (In Any Language)", were also released. Eventually, Every Turn of the World became the final album to be released on Warner Bros. Records before Cross signed to Reprise Records for his succeeding album, Back of My Mind. It also became the final album by Cross to chart in the Billboard 200.
Contents
Reception
Billboard described Every Turn of the World as continuing Christopher Cross’s established blend of rhythmic pop songs and ballads, noting that many of the tracks were co-written with lyricists John Bettis and Will Jennings, adding greater lyrical depth. The review was critical of the lead single “Charm the Snake”, but identified the title track as a strong candidate for follow-up single release. While the album was viewed as less impactful than Cross’s debut, Billboard acknowledged that his previous release still produced successful singles, including “All Right” and “Think of Laura.”
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted that following the commercial decline of Another Page, which was dominated by ballads, Christopher Cross adopted a more rock-oriented sound on Every Turn of the World. He highlighted the absence of Los Angeles session musicians and backing vocals from prominent Southern California pop singers, with Cross instead using a SynthAxe and producer Michael Omartian contributing keyboards alongside a rhythm section. The album featured mostly up-tempo tracks with "save-the-world" lyrical themes. Ruhlmann wrote that the change in direction "didn't work," citing the commercial underperformance of the lead single, "Charm the Snake", and the loss of Cross's core adult contemporary audience. He added that although songs like "Love Found a Home" were more in line with Cross’s earlier work, they were largely overlooked, and the album was ultimately a commercial failure.
Personnel
Christopher Cross – vocals, guitars, SynthAxe
Michael Omartian – keyboards, synthesizers, horn arrangements
Marcus Ryle – synthesizer programming
Joe Chemay – bass guitar
John Robinson – drums
Paulinho da Costa – congas (1)
Gary Herbig – saxophones, sax solo (7, 10)
Kim Hutchcroft – saxophones
Chuck Findley – trumpet
Jerry Hey – trumpet
Gary Grant – trumpet
Alexandra Brown – backing vocals
Lynn Davis – backing vocals
Khalig Glover – backing vocals
Portia Griffin – backing vocals
Richard Marx – backing vocals
Vesta Williams – backing vocals
Production
Producer – Michael Omartian
Engineer and Mixing – John Guess
Assistant Engineer – Mark Linett
Second Engineers – Tom Fouce, Laura Livingston, and James Wofford.
Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc (Hollywood, CA)
Production Coordination – James Wofford
Art Direction and Design – Jen McManus and Laura LiPuma
Logo Design – Margo Chase
Photography – Steve Sakai
Linguistics Advisor – John Accomando