"They composed some subtle masterpieces during the 80's, and were just one of a number of brilliant bands that were on the edge of the radar screen like so many others playing second fiddle to the smash hit stars such as Duran Duran, Wham! and Madonna." ~inthe00s.com
China Crisis attracts because its simplicity defies easy explanation. For me, one of them thar' metaphysical fellers, the more I spun my wheels, the more I got stuck in the mud. Over time, I came to own their five main releases from the 1980s, less reluctantly each time. The personal appeal - something with feeling light and airy - is apropos for the confident time period, and for one aspiring to "openness".
This new(?) C.C. song was just revealed to me by poking around on the largely defunct MySpace - "Watching Over Burning Fields." As an instrumental, it stands on its own, is solemn, not quite sentimental, evocative of the era's mood maybe a layer or two beneath the surface. Like the rest of the best of New Wave, it came from the U.K.
C.C. isn't even one of my top ten favorite bands, it's their light and airy uniqueness and RELATIVE obscurity that makes me want to know more. (Don't worry, I'm not a frigg'n hipster.) Ambitious name, had heard of them before, why not. I don't want to make them into something they're not or come off like they've moved me into thinking they're the best "quieter" band ever. What I like is that they didn't run around with hubris after their successes but rather continued enjoying making music. In fact, my entire fascination of late with C.C. is about curiosity - background on them has been hard to find. They have been quite a puzzle: first, why their musical style?
At first, I did not care for their blend (I hate to say it, but "elevator muzak" from a different age is what I was thinking), but now my happy realization is that what typifies all I've seen to date on them is subtle yet powerful. From there, why the name? There is a certain starkness they create.
The purport/tenor of their name & music: Is it their interest in the unknown, other hemisphere? Is it political? Sociological? What influenced this?
Finally, now that they've grown on me (kind of like the kid in class or person you never thought you would end up liking, but did), what is thematic to them?
Is there any unity of theme among their covers?
Among their songs?
I see them pair the perspective of large and looming artifacts of the new age with atmospheric music on Fire and Steel, as well as tension of scaled simplicity against the vulnerability of wide-open landscapes. In addition, clear evidence of theme is seen on the album art for 'Shapes', of Minimalist/Modernist nature. "Minimalism argued that extreme simplicity could capture all of the sublime representation needed in art," says that ubiquitous online encyclopedia, and I celebrate in a realization that this whole thing takes flight from these uniting structures.
Found this trivia page recently: http://web.archive.org/web/20090804143406/http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/3059/trivia.htm
Take a look! This guy is obviously a huge fan by the amount of memorabilia he collected.
All in all, I feel they were just of the mind to make music, I've seen written up as borrowing from blues, reggae, among other styles and, of course, new romanticism/new wave. They rejected "African and White" being interpreted as a political statement; others say this was blatantly political. Finally, a different review concluded layering was their strength and trademark: flute over trombone over keyboards among other innovations. Since there is little info on this subject, I wanted to offer some general thoughts of my own. I hope this doesn't come across as a bunch of haughty b.s. from a dabbler in symbolism; but you don't just reduce art to equations. However, there is an analytical process, you get some subjectivity, discussion and scrutiny, and finally some general conclusions - temporary or enduring, which can aid our appreciation.
My favorite C.C songs:
10.Red Letter Day
9.Blue Sea
8.Good Again
7.No More Blue Horizons
6.Wishful Thinking
5.African and White
4.Watching over Burning Fields
3.Arizona Sky
2.Here Come a Raincloud
1.Soul Awakening
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