Die Chinesische Mauer is Michael Cretu's third solo album, released in 1985. The literal English translation of the title is "The Chinese Wall", or as it is better known, "The Great Wall of China". Like his previous album Legionäre, this had German lyrics, was sung by Michael and was co-produced by Armand Volker. The album was separately with English lyrics and a different track listing under the name "The Invisible Man". Several of the tracks on "The Invisible Man" were edited slightly and therefore last for a different length than the German versions on Die Chinesische Mauer and sides 1 and 2 were swapped for a more commercial track-listing. The song Samurai was released as a single and became a hit in Europe (#1 Greece, #2 Switzerland, #4 Italy, #4 Sweden, #12 Germany), but its success was mostly with the English version. In 1986, after the success of the single "Gambit", the English version of the album was re-released on LP to feature this song, but with the track "Carte Blanche" removed due to groove space. This edition featured a whole new cover and package design by Mike Schmidt at Ink Studios, whom at this point had designed nearly all of the artwork and design for Cretu and related productions. The album was recorded entirely at Cretu's then-studio "Data Alpha Studio" alongside recording The Long Play by Sandra. The studio resided in the basement of Sandra and Cretu's home.

Die Chinesische Mauer
Studio album by Michael Cretu
Released	1985
Recorded	1984
Studio	Data Alpha Studio
Genre	Synth Pop
Length	35:04
Label	Virgin
Producer	Michael Cretu, Armand Volker
Michael Cretu chronology
Legionäre (1983) Die Chinesische Mauer (1985) Belle Epoque (1988)
The Invisible Man
English titled release. CD releases and some LP editions have a silver strip.

Die Chinesische Mauer (German Edition)

1. "Intro" - 2:28
2. "Mikado" - 3:17
3. "Coda" - 0:59
4. "Amazonen" - 5:19
5. "Die Chinesische Mauer" - 5:01
6. "Samurai" - 5:22
7. "Carte Blanche" - 3:56
8. "Schwarzer Engel" - 5:18
9. "Zinnsoldat" - 3:24

The Invisible Man (English Edition)

1. "Samurai (Did You Ever Dream)" - 5:13
2. "Carte Blanche (Ride on with the Breeze)" - 3:24
3. "Silver Water" - 4:42
4. "Your Favorite Toy" - 3:26
5. "Intro" (Cretu, Cretu) - 2:27
6. "Mikado" (Cretu, Cretu) - 3:14
7. "Coda" (Cretu, Cretu) - 0:59
8. "Heavy Traffic" - 4:57
9. "The Invisible Man" - 5:01

The Invisible Man (1986 LP Reissue)

1. "Gambit" - 4:35
2. "Saumurai (Did You Ever Dream)" - 5:13
3. "Silver Water" - 4:40
4. "Your Favorite Toy" - 3:24
5. "Intro" - 2:28
6. "Mikado" - 3:13
7. "Coda" - 0:59
8. "Heavy Traffic" - 4:54
9. "The Invisible Man" - 5:01

Singles Released

• Samurai (German & English 7"/12") 1985
• Carte Blanche (German 7") 1985
• Schwarzer Engel (German 7"/12") 1984
• Silver Water (English 7"/12") 1985
• Die Chinesische Mauer (German 7"/12") 1985
• Gambit (English 7"/12") 1986

Personnel

• Mats Bjorklund – guitar
• Peter Cornelius – guitar
• Curt Cress – percussion, drums
• Michael Crétu – keyboards, vocals, producer, electric drums, drum programming
• Christian Felke – saxophone
• Mike Schmidt – artwork
• Armand Volker – producer

Charts

References

External links

• Die Chinesische Mauer at Discogs (list of releases)