Customer Reviews

Working With Fire & Steel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Highly and richly melodic, hook laden, catchy synth riffs and drums and guitar is only a sample of ways to describe this 1983 release from China Crisis. Crisis never received much air play statewise on regular top 40; it reached more of a main staple or cult new wave group status for college stations or pre-alternative album stations. Make no mistake, vocals are very Euro sounding though lead singer sang in English. There are slight resemblances to early Depeche Mode, Heaven 17, Oingo Boingo, Wang Chung yet China Crisis still had their own distinct sound or quality (more warmth than pizzaz).More dance oriented material for the early club goers of the 80's(but certainly no disco music). Track like When the Piper Calls is reminiscent Depeche Mode while the song Hanna Hanna has a Wang Chung feel before Wang Chung made it big ! There are a few tracks such as Here Comes A Raincloud with it's slow tempo and melancholy drum programmed-synth sound that can still convey a haunting-somber atmosphere with a violin sounding backdrop.Another treasure of a track is the smooth flowing Wishful Thinking with it's mid-tempo feel, calming vocals and wailing background sax work and acoustic/electric guitar ! This is a must have for any music collecting afficionados with an eclectic taste and a streak of nostalgia in them !...After 20 years one of the very few and best pop albums that has aged well...

"Winters here in a snow white haze, fires burning brightly in the night" ooooooh the hair at the nape of my neck stands-the album is awesome and creates an ambience like no other. Original-and unlike today's music the songs here are subtle with the power to move.

First time I heard this album was one summer and I was at the rooftop back home in the tropics. Believe me some places get more exposed to music because we get Europe and America's best. Anyway, a friend of mine brought over his boom box and started playing wishful thinking....

Ahhh.... Good old days.

One of my most listened-to records of all time. Every song is amazing; often utilizing trumpets, flutes, and oboes (to beautiful emotional effects). This record received no airplay (even in the 80's), I couldn't find it on CD until now.

This is China Crisis moving beyond the sparse synth-pop of "Difficult Shapes & Passive Rythyms" (which I also highly recommend) into a many-layered "complexification" of sounds and images. It resonated with me instantly when I first heard it in 1983, and can still do so today. There are pioneering uses of synthesizers into pop music here that offer the listener an avenue into something *very* different than the top-40 stuff going on at the time.

Interestingly, unlike another similar seminal work in the same period, "New Gold Dream" by Simple Minds, at times the album is tinged by the band's politics (as they're English, the message is subtle but clearly anti-Thatcher). But any political message is subsumed by the use of melody that, like "New Gold Dream", paints a beautiful picture and sends you somewhere else for a moment. In other words, the lyrics and music work hand in hand, not distracting from each other. It's not as subdued as the Simple Minds album, but still works.

The title track is actually the hardest hitting, musically and lyrically of the lot, and I can grow tired of it. But "When the Piper Calls", "Wishful Thinking" and "Soul Awakening" are better examples of what the album is trying to do. For the most part, the album's individual pieces work extremely well on their own, though perhaps a little less so together, hence me giving it only 4/5 stars. Better to be a little stingy!

It's too bad that this album was largely neglected in the U.S. when it was released. Perhaps that explains the difficulty in getting a non-import (i.e. cheaper) version as some of the other reviewers have noted. In Canada, it developed considerable success, though not quite to UK levels (where the band is from). Thanks for reading.

he 2nd China Crisis album gets my vote as their best simply because if you love oboe in a pop rock setting, this album is rife with pleasure! Add some excellent fretless bass to the traditional China Crisis wimpy, melodic introspection and you're left wanting more when this album ends. The title cut is sprightly electropop with synth bass and "Hanna Hanna" features strong brass mated with an extremely muscular fretless bassline. I also favor the wistful, almost ambient tunes like "Here Come A Raincloud" and "Soul Awakening." One can also group their big hit "Wishful Thinking" with the last two, but it manages the neat trick of sounding passionately effete - again, with excellent oboe contributing to the arrangement. "Gates of Door to Door" counterpoints staccato rhythms with expressive Gary Barnacle flute! More, please! There are so many high points of playing and arrangement here I was let down when they worked with Walter Becker afterward. If you are familiar with that period of the band, this sounds less like Steely Dan, and Garry Daly isn't altering his phrasing to sound more like Donald Fagen, to better effect.

During my early years of 80's New Wave collecting I constantly stumbled (at that is the word) over China Crisis, usually attached to either the tracks "Wishful Thinking" or "Black Man Ray". Both were fine tracks, but did not seem to represent the special attention the group received from many far more knowledgeable new wave collectors. It was an extended remix of "With Fire And Steel" that finally caught my ear and spent a good summer in constant rotation. Its minimalist rhythm backed by some incredibly distinct vocal delivery hooked me from the start. Slowly more songs seeped into my collection and playlists and each played upon the others strengths and weaknesses. When the smoke cleared, I was able to appreciate nearly all of the works China Crisis had produced, even "Diary of a Hollow Horse".

Like Talk Talk's later works, their sound can be very subtle and works best when approached with some patience. "Wishful Thinking", although it was their "hit" it's rigid rhythms and pop-inspired lyrics do not do their other works justice. Even though it may be contested, I found it is possibly the weakest track on this disc. But, if you enjoy that style best, I would also recommend the single "Arizona Sky" over "Wishful Thinking".

Other albums to try:
Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms
Flaunt the Imperfection

When China Crisis stick to downtempo ambient music, they're virtually peerless. "Here Comes a Raincloud," "Wishful Thinking," and "Soul Awakening" are as haunting as anything Brian Eno ever dreamed of. But when they try to write upbeat commercial hits, the results are inconsistent. "Tragedy and Mystery" and "When The Piper Calls" have wonderful hooks but the rest of the pop numbers on this album come across as limp and insipid, like b-sides from a gutless Wang Chung. This record is worth getting if you think of it as a 5 song EP rather than a full length (and if you program your CD player accordingly). Amazon's $25.00 asking price is ludicrously exorbitant since near-mint used copies are always floating around ebay in the $5.00-$10.00 range.

I bought this recording years ago in a local record store on a whim (my greatest musical treasures happened like that). After so many listenings the cassette tape is so worn and frazzled that it's sound quality is nil-I was beginning to think that I would never be able to hear this truly magnificent music again in all it's splendor. But, lo, and behold, here it is! Buy this CD, even if you've never heard a note of it. This truly is a perfect record, one that easily could be among the top 100 best albums of all time. Don't buy the "greatest hits" set- this is far better, a perfect set of songs to fall in love with.

One of the best albums of the 80s! Not synth-pop, not New Wave, but hints of each with excellent melodies and musicianship. Catchy tunes every one! All those boring, sound-the-same bands, should be forced to listen to this CD until they come up with something original and enjoyable.