Cross That Line

1989's CROSS THAT LINE continues Howard Jones' streak of satisfying commercial pop albums. Throughout the '80s, Jones made the sort of pop singles that were catchy and slick enough for Top 40 radio but had enough musical meat that fans of more challenging fare didn't reach for the dial when they came one. George Michael may have gotten more press, but Howard Jones was arguably more consistent and certainly less pretentious. CROSS THAT LINE contains one of Jones' best singles, the intoxicatingly giddy "Everlasting Love," and nine other pop gems. Slightly more adventurous than his earlier albums, the record includes experiments like the jazz-tinged seven-and-a-half minute "Guardians of the Breath" and the almost ambient "Those Who Move Clouds" among more traditional fare like "The Prisoner."