Released at the end of 1981, ‘China Girl’ established VAN STEPHENSON as a solo artist in his own right, with the hit single ‘You’ve Got A Good Love Coming’ entering the Top 100. Due to complicated ownership issues, the album has remained hard to find on CD, with limited brief re-issues appearing in the US (1999) and Japan (2014). Originally songwriters becoming producers, Bob Montgomery & Jeff Silbar provided to “China Girl” a warm, melodic Mid-Westcoast sound, with some late ’70s / early ’80s AOR feel.
Finally, the definitive version of the album here – a Deluxe 2CD Edition – featuring the original LP plus 4 unreleased demos on Disc One, and an amazing 15 unreleased tracks from the same 1980-81 songwriting period on Disc Two.
The songs are all cultivated from Van’s unreleased archives and feature songs written by him alone plus other songs co-written with his ‘China Girl’ writing partners Sam Lorber, Jeff Silbar, Austin Roberts and Dave Robbins.
To complete the ”China Girl [2CD Deluxe Edition remastered]” package, new artwork from French graphic artist Arnaud Leger has been specially commissioned, plus the audio for both discs has been carefully remastered by acclaimed producer JK Northrup.
There’s many gems here such as the radio-friendly “Looks Like A Loser”, the atmospheric “Looks Like A Loser”, the awesome title track (with some Eagles on it), the dynamic “Lion In The Night” or the WestCoast AOR midtempo “I Would If I Could”.
Van Stephenson’s voice is really smooth, just check his incredible performance on the exquisitely orchestrated “New York, Hold Her Tight”. It still gives me chills on my spine after repeated listens.
Pure early ’80s FM ready songs. Highly Recommended.
Disc One: ‘China Girl’
01. You’ve Got A Good Love Coming 2:55
02. Looks Like A Loser 3:20
03. Seeing Is Believing 3:26
04. China Girl 4:18
05. Weekend Warrior 3:52
06. I Would If I Could 3:02
07. Tonight The Love’s On Me 3:44
08. Hotter In The Night 3:28
09. New York, Hold Her Tight 3:52
10. Lion In The Night 3:07
11. I Would If I Could (Original Demo) 3:31
12. New York, Hold Her Tight (Original Demo) 3:55
13. Lion In The Night (Guitar & Vocal Gospel Version) 2:48
14. New York, Hold Her Tight (Acoustic Version) 3:52
Disc Two: The 80-81 Sessions
01. Burning The Midnight Love 02:15
02. Kiss Your Heartache Goodbye (Rock Mix) 03:10
03. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (Full Demo) 03:27
04. I Don’t Want To Know 02:51
05. The Night Is Saying Yes (Full Demo) 03:23
06. Still Falling 03:59
07. As Long As I’m With You 02:56
08. When You’re In Love 02:53
09. With Love To Spare (Full Demo) 02:52
10. Is She In Love 02:31
11. Come Out, Come Out Where Ever You Are 02:48
12. Marlena 03:55
13. Don’t Give In (Gospel Version) 02:38
14. Kiss Your Heartache Goodbye (AOR Mix) 03:15
15. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 02:13
Van Stephenson – China Girl 2023 Deluxe Edition 2 CD, MP3+FLAC, CD-Rip
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