''Flaunt the Imperfection'' is the third studio album by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

new wave group

China Crisis China Crisis are an English new wave and synth-pop band. They were formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of lead vocalist and keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon. Initially a politically charged post-pu ...

, released in 1985. The album was produced by

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

co-founder

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

, who is credited as an official member of China Crisis on the record sleeve. Becker apparently requested to meet with the band after hearing their song "Papua" from their 1983 album '' Working with Fire and Steel''. He was subsequently signed on as producer to begin work on the album with the assistance of

Phill Brown Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Brown. Career Brow ...

, sound engineer with

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. The album is the most successful by the band, peaking at No. 9 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and staying for 22 weeks. The singles "

Black Man Ray "Black Man Ray" is a song by English new wave band China Crisis. Released as the first single from their third studio album ''Flaunt the Imperfection'' (1985), it is one of the band's most successful singles. It spent 13 weeks on the UK Singles Ch ...

" and "

King in a Catholic Style "King in a Catholic Style" is a song by English new wave band China Crisis. It was released as the second single from their third studio album ''Flaunt the Imperfection'' (1985), and reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart The UK Singles ...

" both reached the Top 20 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Critical reception

In his review, Stewart Mason of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

notes that "the group's songwriting is much improved,

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

the failed instrumental experiments and tiresome dance workouts that occasionally marred their earlier albums replaced with a newfound melodic sophistication and lyrical acuity."

Track listing

All tracks written by Garry Daly, Gary Johnson and Eddie Lundon. #"The Highest High" – 4:16 #"Strength of Character" – 2:50 #"You Did Cut Me" – 4:18 #"

" – 3:39 #"Wall of God" – 5:32 #"Gift of Freedom" – 4:38 #"

" – 4:32 #"Bigger the Punch I'm Feeling" – 4:21 #"The World Spins, I'm Part of It" – 4:12 #"Blue Sea" – 4:46

Personnel

*Garry Daly –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

*Eddie Lundon –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals *

– synthesizer, percussion *Gary "Gazza" Johnson – bass, programming *

Kevin Wilkinson Kevin Michael Wilkinson (11 June 1958 – 17 July 1999) was an English drummer, who was based in Baydon, Wiltshire, England. Career Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, he is credited as a former official member of se ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

;Additional personnel *

Tim Renwick Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single ...

- all guitar solos *

Steve Gregory Stephen 'Steve' Gregory (born 1945) is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute. Biography and career Gregory was born in London. At St. Paul's School he learned guit ...

- saxophone *

Nick Magnus Nick Magnus (born 1 February 1955 in Emsworth, Hampshire, England) is a British keyboard player, songwriter, composer, arranger, engineer and producer. He is from the progressive school of keyboard players, mostly associated with instrumental a ...

- grand piano, synthesizer, programming *Tim Sanders - tenor and soprano saxophone *Simon Clarke - alto and baritone saxophone, flute *

Roddy Lorimer Roddy Lorimer (born 19 May 1953) is a Scottish musician who plays trumpet and flugelhorn. He has performed with a wide array of artists, including Blur, Gene, the Rolling Stones, Draco Rosa, the Who, the Style Council, Eric Clapton, Suede, ...

- trumpet, flugelhorn *Pete Thoms - trombone *

Colin Campsie Colin Campsie (born 1957) is a British singer and songwriter. He was a member of the 1980s pop bands the Quick and Giant Steps. Biography Campsie originally formed the soft rock/funk group Grand Hotel along with long time collaborator Ge ...

- backing vocals *Ginny Clee - backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

1985 albums China Crisis albums Virgin Records albums Albums produced by Walter Becker {{Newwave-album-stub