Song #509: "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross

Date: Oct 17, 1981
Weeks: 3

 

Oh, this is where the pop culture phrase "caught between the Moon and New York City" comes from? I didn't know. Seems like the song should have been titled that. The title "Arthur's Theme" tells me this is from the 1981 movie Arthur, and "Best That You Can Do" tells me nothing. What a terribly generic subtitle that is. So this song winds up as "that song from that movie". But the phrase "Caught Between the Moon and New York City" is so ridiculous, even if you've never heard it before you would guess it was a song. It would stand out.

I can't say that I've heard this song before. Maybe I have, but it never penetrated into the part of my brain that remembers things. It's really soft and unobtrusive, and the instrumentation is thin. I've noticed that for a time in the late 70s and very early 80s, there were several songs in this thin style, using plenty of instruments but not making a lot of sound with them. Billy Joel used this style to great effect on parts of songs like Movin' Out and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". But when the whole song stays thin, it doesn't really capture your attention.

I didn't expect to like this song. It's soft, it's slow, its sound is thin, it's from a movie I've never seen, and I haven't heard anyone exclaim the greatness of Christopher Cross as a singer. Also, it won the Oscar for Best Song over "The First Time It Happens" from The Great Muppet Caper, and Dudley Moore should never beat Miss Piggy at anything.

Despite all that, I kind of like it.

I don't know why. Maybe it's the nice sentiment expressed by the lyrics. Maybe it's just a pleasant sound with a classic pop song structure. Maybe I'm a sucker for a song that knows how to use a sax well, I don't know. Ultimately, it's just plain nice.

I do wonder if the performance could be better, though. Christopher Cross's voice strains sometimes, and while that early 80s thin sound isn't bad, I'm not sure it's the right fit for this song.

Now, usually I'll be the first to go looking for the punk rock remake (there's a punk rock remake of everything, especially in the YouTube era. See?) . But in this case, I wonder if it would be better to strip it down. Make it thinner. Here's the song played on just a piano, and I think it's actually more poignant and classy stripped down like that.

As for vocals, I think they should have picked a singer with a more impressive range. I could make a list of singers past and present who might have fit the bill, but I'd have a hard time proving any of them could do the song justice unless they had recorded a performance. So here's a performance of the song by Shirley Bassey, who may not be the best, but is an improvement over Christopher Cross.

My Verdict: Like it. Except for the instruments. And the vocals. Otherwise, it's pretty good.