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"Arthur’s Theme" - Christopher Cross

Printed From: Top 40 Music on CD
Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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URL: https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3857
Printed Date: 04 July 2025 at 2:29pm
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Topic: "Arthur’s Theme" - Christopher Cross

Posted By: Todd Ireland
Subject: "Arthur’s Theme" - Christopher Cross
Date Posted: 11 July 2008 at 10:03am

The actual and printed commercial 45 run time for Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is 3:53. (These timings come courtesy of abagon.) I only post this info because database CD appearances of this song run from 3:47-3:53.

Replies:

Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 03 January 2014 at 1:45pm

The first CD appearance that I have for "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is on the import Ride Like The Wind The Best Of (1992). It sounds shrill and grating on this disc, plus the top half of the waveform is severely truncated at -6 dB in both channels. Surprisingly bad, unfortunately. There's a digital clone on Cema's Greatest Hits Of The 80's Vol. 1 Turbo Mania (1994; 1.364 dB louder)

Infinitely better is on Razor & Tie's 2-CD Forever '80s (1994). In addition to sounding far better than Ride, the tail of the fade extends out farther than on Ride. The same analog transfer is used for:

Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 14 1980-1982 (1995; differently EQ'd digital clone)
Time-Life's Body Talk Vol. 3 Moonlit Nights 1996; differently EQ'd digital clone)
Time Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 31 Movie Hits Of The '80s (1996; differently EQ'd digital clone)
Time-Life's Another Lost Decade At The Movies (2005; differently EQ'd digital clone)

There's another analog transfer on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Lost In Love (1994), which is also good, but has a slightly shorter tail than Forever '80s. The same analog transfer is used for:

JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll #1 Radio Hits 1980-1984 (1996)
Warner Special Products' 2-CD Touched By Love (1997)

One more that didn't fit into the above categories - Time-Life's 2-CD Classic Soft Rock Vol. 1 Summer Breeze (2006), which also sounds good.

My pick: Razor & Tie's 2-CD Forever '80s (1994)

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Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 04 January 2014 at 9:00pm

crapfromthepast wrote:

...the top half of the waveform is severely truncated at -6 dB in both channels. Surprisingly bad, unfortunately.

I apologize in advance for deviating a bit from the topic of this thread, especially when it involves a technical issue with audio, but can anyone explain what causes one half of a waveform to be clipped at a certain point while the other half has completely normal-looking peaks and valleys? I've come across several tracks like this on CD over the years and have never understood how this happens or whether it negatively impacts the dynamic range or sound quality.

Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 04 January 2014 at 10:42pm

Good question, Todd.

According to some posters on the Steve Hoffman forum, it's a problem with the analog-to-digital converter. I don't really know the specifics beyond that.

I've encountered a few of these as well. Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 1, a few tracks on some of Rhino's DIY discs, and a few others that I can't recall off the top of my head.

In my experience, it's got the same negative effects as clipping on both sides of the waveform, but to a lesser degree since it's only one side. The Priority and Rhino discs sound OK. This one Christopher Cross track just sounds particularly bad, and it's probably caused by more than just the waveform asymmetry.

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