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Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two is the second studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band China Crisis, released on 31 October 1983 by Virgin Records.

Working with Fire and Steel
Studio album by China Crisis
Released	31 October 1983 (1983-10-31)[1]
Studio	Amazon Studios, Liverpool and The Manor Studio, Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire
Genre	Synth-pop new wave
Length	40:23
Label	Virgin
Producer	Mike Howlett
China Crisis chronology
Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain (1982) Working with Fire and Steel (1983) Flaunt the Imperfection (1985)
Singles from Working with Fire and Steel
"Tragedy and Mystery" Released: 6 May 1983 "Working with Fire and Steel" Released: 3 October 1983 "Wishful Thinking" Released: 3 January 1984 "Hanna Hanna" Released: 27 February 1984
Alternative cover
CD cover

The album spent 16 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 20 in February 1984.[2] It includes the song "Wishful Thinking", which was a Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart.[3]

Content and recording

The songs "Wishful Thinking" and "Here Come a Raincloud" (then called "Watching the Rainclouds") were premiered on a BBC John Peel session in January 1983, along with "A Golden Handshake for Every Daughter",[4] which was not included on the album but released as the b-side of the single "Tragedy and Mystery" in May. The album was recorded at Amazon Studios, Liverpool and The Manor Studio, Oxfordshire in 1983. Some of the songs had been written around the same time as the songs on the bands debut studio album, Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain (1982).[5] The band also recorded the song "It's Never Too Late" during the sessions for the album, but it was dropped from the tracklisting for having a similar arrangement to "Wishful Thinking" and was later released on a limited edition 12" single of "Black Man Ray".[6]

Single releases

"Tragedy and Mystery" was released as a single in May 1983 with "A Golden Handshake for Every Daughter" as the B-side, peaking at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart.[7] The title track "Working with Fire and Steel" was released as a single a few weeks before the album in October 1983 with two non-album instrumentals, "Dockland" and "Forever I and I", on the B-side, reaching No. 48 in the UK.[7] "Wishful Thinking" was released in December and became the bands first and only Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 9 in January 1984.[7] The fourth and final single "Hanna Hanna" was released in March 1984 with a live version of "African and White" as the B-side, reaching No. 44.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Stephen Schnee described the album as "chock full of intelligent, well-written pop songs" where "even the softer moments...are full of life and excitement". The reviewer noted that the band moved away from their early synthpop-style to more ambitious ideas with "Producer Mike Howlett added much to the sonic blend, allowing the melodies to shine while toughening up the band's sound... Apart from their own matured sound on this release, there are traces of rock, pop, and jazz floating between the lines."[8]

Track listing

In 2017 the album was re-released as a 3 CD 'Super Deluxe' edition by Caroline Records. This 37 track set included rare extended versions, demos plus John Peel and Kid Jensen radio sessions. Many of these tracks appeared on CD for the first time however, there were some strange omissions and additions. The track "Some People I Know to Lead Fantastic Lives" was originally on the album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun To Entertain yet that same album version is included as well as the extended mix. There is no extended version of "Wishful Thinking" yet the very same album version appears twice.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two liner notes.[9]

China Crisis

• Gary Daly — vocals; synthesizer; grand piano; E-mu Emulator; tape
• Eddie Lundon — acoustic and electric guitars; synthesizer; E-mu Emulator; vocals
• Gary "Gazza" Johnson — bass guitar; fretless bass; bass harmonica
• Kevin Wilkinson — drums; percussion

Additional musicians

• Steve Levy — saxophone (tracks 1–3); oboe (tracks 5–7)
• Graeme Levy — voice (Russian dialect) (track 1)
• Roddy Lorimer — trumpet (tracks 2 & 3)
• Anthony Thistlethwaite — tenor saxophone (tracks 2 & 3)
• Jane Lancaster — vocals (tracks 5 & 9)
• Robert Pollard — synthesiser (track 7)
• Luke Tunney — flugelhorn (track 7)
• Gary Barnacle — flute (track 9)
• The Breck Road String Ensemble — strings (track 5)

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

External links

• Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two at Discogs (list of releases)

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