China Crisis • Working with Fire and Steel
Virgin Records V2286
33-RPM LP
Subtitled Possible Pop Songs Volume Two, Working with Fire and Steel is the second studio album released by UK new wave group China Crisis. Originally released in 1983, Working with Fire and Steel consists of ten tracks including four singles. Among these singles were Tragedy and Mystery, the title track, and Hanna Hanna. The fourth single (the third to be released form the album), Wishful Thinking, became the group’s highest charting single in the UK, and their only top 10 single in that country.
The music is somewhat light and “poppy” in nature; very accessible and easy to like. The sound quality on this album is pretty good too, with a very warm—but not over blown—bass, a sound that is perhaps somewhat typical of the era. Although the imaging is a little flat, this is definitely a record from the time before the loudness wars sucked the dynamic range out of our music. Give it a try!