Disco de China Crisis: “Scrap Book, Vol. 1: Live at the Dominion Theatre”

Forget those other recent "Best of" compilations and "Acoustic" CDs...This is the album we have been waiting for! A must have for any China Crisis Fan! I've never heard any of these live versions before and they are just superb! Even if you have most or all of their albums, this live material is truly unique! And I am glad that tracks like "Bigger the punch I'm feeling", "Seven sports for all", Highest High, and "Tragedy and mystery" made it; aside from the more popular "Wishful thinking", "You did cut me" and "Black man ray".

Just one complaint,...why are the "introductory comments" for a song always placed at the end of the PREVIOUS track? Thus, if you don't play the songs in sequence, the comments will not be in order. Shouldn't they have been placed at the start of the song instead. Oh well...

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

The title "Scrapbook 1" might lead you to believe this is just another collection of previously released material - as if there weren't already enough. But don't let the title fool you. This is fresh, never before released live material from a concert performed during the band's peak. It primarily features songs from "Flaunt the Imperfection" plus a few classics from their earlier albums.

The performance is excellent, and so is the recording quality - this is no fuzzy sounding bootleg. Hearing this CD makes me wish I had been able to see them back then. The live arrangements of these old familiar songs brings them to life in new and unexpected ways. Even tracks that I found a bit flat on the original studio recordings are exciting in this performance. I admit I didn't really expect much from this CD when I ordered it, but I must now place it among my favorites.

I just hope there is a "Scrapbook 2" in the works.

If you like China Crisis even just a little bit, don't miss this CD. Snag it up before it disappears into obscurity. You won't be disappointed.

My very first China Crisis live CD. First time I heard this CD was back when I was in the Philippines...1987? Who knows. Anyways, I am glad this came out in CD format. I think China Crisis was promoting their Flaunt the Imperfection album when they did this concert. Most of the songs are from that album. This is a RARE live album because they played as a full set group with bells and whistles, not like the Acoustically Yours CD where they sounded...well acoustic.

This is a recommended CD for anyone who is into China Crisis. One thing to note though, on the song "You Did Cut Me" they made a bit of a booboo on the last part of the song. Gary sounded a bit offkey as if he was trying to find the right note where band's key/chord was. Very noticeable but hey it's live and nobody's perfect. Another little issue I have is that they played the songs REALLY REALLY fast.

Buy this CD. You won't be disappointed.