China Crisis - Working with Fire and Steel Possible Pop Songs Volume Two

China Crisis was one of those '80s bands I knew of, but had never heard. To me they were just another early English alternative new wave band that never really caught on in North America. That first blush of European new wave synth pop seemed short lived and was quickly assimilated into what would become the sound of the '80s.

Fast forward four decades and a couple of years for good measure, I was flipping through the discount bin and there was a very nice looking copy of  Working with Fire and Steel - Possible Pop Songs Volume Two and my curiosity was piqued. Oh, for the record (not this one) there was no "volume one" but it was the band's second album I'd find out later.

After a bath and a clean shirt (I replaced the insert) the album was ready. I seated myself on the centre cushion on the couch and had the lyric sheet ready to follow along. I felt very much like the guy on the chair in those old Maxell adverts. I would buy boxes of XLIIS tapes and when I got a new album I'd tape it on the first play. Well, I'm all out of those, but have a few tapes still floating around and yes, I do still make the occasional mix tape but don't have many places to play them.

Regardless, I'm just trying to say I was seated comfortably (was about to be) and had the volume cranked, to a comfortable level. I dropped the needle and rushed back to my seat trying to beat the opening to "Working with Fire and Steel" and my first impression was sort of what I expected but different. I sat with the lyric sheet reading along as each song played just allowing myself to sit and be engulfed. I'd move to my uncomfortable chair for subsequent plays as I hunted and pecked the letters to capture my meanderambling thoughts. Oh, if you're reading any of this you probably can guess I've been in my chair for a bit and my cozy initial play is finished.

It was definitely that early romantic new wave with new wave and synthesizer overtones. It was right in the ball park with Simple Minds, OMD and New Musik. I'd lump Depeche Mode in there too, except they were always a bit darker where as China Crisis seemed to be more upbeat and optimistic. Heck "Hanna Hanna"  had an eerily similar lyrical cadence to Talking Heads' "Take Me To The River."

Despite the tendency to lean into new technology China Crisis worked to combine fretless bass, saxophones, trumpets and my favourite accent on a couple of tracks: oboe. The results were often spectacular.

I had hoped this would be good, I just didn't expect it to be this good. Most of the songs are paced quite comfortably in a mid tempo groove, although there are moments where the band delved into the atmospheric, and one of my favourites was the closing track to side one, "Here Come a Raincloud" that featured a haunting oboe and The Breck Road String Ensemble. I mean it is beautiful, and the meshing of the synthesizers and strings is so good. Flipping the album over "Wishful Thinking" is another standout track, again featuring an oboe and fretless bass and this time, emulator strings, which work on the song. I hesitate to go down a track by track rabbit hole as I enjoyed this, immensely enjoyed this as a listening experience.

The credits on the album while generous also tended to omit any surnames. So it was off to the internet to fill in the blanks. You gotta love the internet.

The band was centred primarily on Garry and Eddie who seemed to trade lead vocals and whose voices tended to mesh so well it was hard to pull tell apart. Garry (Gary Daly) played synths and Eddie (Eddie Lundon) played guitar and synths. The band was rounded out with

• Gazza (Gary "Gazza" Johnson) - bass and fretless bass
• Kevin (Kevin Wilkinson) - drums 

The Supporting Cast:

• Steve (Steve Levy) - oboe, saxophone
• Roddy (Roddy Lorimer) - trumpet
• Anthony (Anthony Thistlethwaite) - tenor saxophone

What I found interesting is that both Garry and Eddie were only 21 at the time, and this was their second album and had been together since 1979. The level of maturity in the writing is astounding to me now, although at the time I'm sure I felt that at 21 I was bordering on being an old, albeit immature, soul. I'm sure they felt the same.

The album was produced by Mike Howlett whose list of production credits is legendary. He helped shape early new wave. From Martha and the Muffins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) the Thompson Twin and A Flock of Seagulls the guy put his DNA into a genre. Heck, he even produced The Alarm's Strength in '85. 

This was a wonderful surprise. I think I'll go back to the couch and give this one more spin before putting it away.