China

China Crisis Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis doesn't lie; true to its title, the album gathers China Crisis' brightest moments. While the exclusion of "The Highest High" is an oversight, this is one of the most accurate and thorough summaries of a band's career. Uniting elements of synth pop, jazz, progressive rock, and new wave, China Crisis sound like nobody else. The jittery "Working With Fire and Steel" unveils the group's early infatuation with sprightly electronics. "Working With Fire and Steel" is actually one of the few songs on China Crisis Collection that received U.S. airplay; its chipper, naïve keyboards must've wooed radio programmers hooked on early-'80s video games. China Crisis' music became increasingly sophisticated with each LP as the band explored slower tempos and more soulful melodies…

China Crisis Collection: The Very Best of China Crisis doesn't lie; true to its title, the album gathers China Crisis' brightest moments. While the exclusion of "The Highest High" is an oversight, this is one of the most accurate and thorough summaries of a band's career. Uniting elements of synth pop, jazz, progressive rock, and new wave, China Crisis sound like nobody else.

Digitally remastered and expanded three CD edition of the Liverpool band's 1983 album. The bonus CDs includes non-album tracks, remixes, radio sessions and more.
China Crisis main men Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon were great songwriters searching for that one song that would make a difference. "Working with Fire and Steel" was that song. Although they had hits before, and they would have hits after, no other song defined China Crisis' essence more. With its percolating beat, Daly's hiccupping vocals, and a smashing chorus, it was the perfect modern pop song. With that said, there was also so much more to China Crisis than that one song. This, their sophomore album, features songs cut from the same cloth as "…Fire and Steel," including "Animals in Jungles" and "Hanna Hanna," but also reveals a band with deeper meaning and ambitious ideas…

Digitally remastered and expanded three CD edition of the Liverpool band's 1983 album. The bonus CDs includes non-album tracks, remixes, radio sessions and more.
China Crisis main men Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon were great songwriters searching for that one song that would make a difference. "Working with Fire and Steel" was that song. Although they had hits before, and they would have hits after, no other song defined China Crisis' essence more. With its percolating beat, Daly's hiccupping vocals, and a smashing chorus, it was the perfect modern pop song. With that said, there was also so much more to China Crisis than that one song. This, their sophomore album, features songs cut from the same cloth as "…Fire and Steel," including "Animals in Jungles" and "Hanna Hanna," but also reveals a band with deeper meaning and ambitious ideas…

This two-disc deluxe version was produced with the full cooperation of that band. The set contains many bonus tracks, BBC Sessions as well as demos.
China Crisis underwent a complete change in sound for their third album, completely ditching the heavy dub rhythms and challenging arrangements of 1982's Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain and 1983's Working with Fire and Steel (Possible Pop Songs, Vol. 2) with an altogether smoother and less aggressive sound. That doesn't equal a commercial capitulation, however; if anything, the choice of Walter Becker (of the then-unfashionable Steely Dan) as producer was a more commercially daring maneuver than anything the group had previously attempted…

Reunited with producer Walter Becker, China Crisis made perhaps their most Steely Dan-like album with Diary of a Hollow Horse. Pristinely recorded and brimming with jazzy sophistication, it includes some of the U.K. quintet's best-ever material, including "Sweet Charity in Adoration," a satisfying, complex pop song of the first order that features a lovely flute cameo from sessionman Jim Horn. Yet beyond the FM perfection lurk a few surprises. The group also teamed with producer Mike Thorne (Soft Cell) for a trio of cuts that are among the most simple and direct pop songs in the their catalog. In particular, "St. Saviour Square" and "All My Prayers" have straightforward rhythms and melodies that connect instantly, drawing passionate performances from singer Gary Daly and offering a nice contrast to the more subtle surroundings…

This two-disc deluxe version was produced with the full cooperation of that band. The set contains many bonus tracks, BBC Sessions as well as demos.
China Crisis underwent a complete change in sound for their third album, completely ditching the heavy dub rhythms and challenging arrangements of 1982's Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain and 1983's Working with Fire and Steel (Possible Pop Songs, Vol. 2) with an altogether smoother and less aggressive sound. That doesn't equal a commercial capitulation, however; if anything, the choice of Walter Becker (of the then-unfashionable Steely Dan) as producer was a more commercially daring maneuver than anything the group had previously attempted…

Reunited with producer Walter Becker, China Crisis made perhaps their most Steely Dan-like album with Diary of a Hollow Horse. Pristinely recorded and brimming with jazzy sophistication, it includes some of the U.K. quintet's best-ever material, including "Sweet Charity in Adoration," a satisfying, complex pop song of the first order that features a lovely flute cameo from sessionman Jim Horn. Yet beyond the FM perfection lurk a few surprises. The group also teamed with producer Mike Thorne (Soft Cell) for a trio of cuts that are among the most simple and direct pop songs in the their catalog. In particular, "St. Saviour Square" and "All My Prayers" have straightforward rhythms and melodies that connect instantly, drawing passionate performances from singer Gary Daly and offering a nice contrast to the more subtle surroundings…