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[China Band Picture]

Artist: China

(click on Artist's name above to return to artist's main page)

China Homepage

CD Title: Sign in the Sky

China Sign in the Sky Album Cover

 

Category: AOR/Hard Rock

Year: 1989

Label: Vertigo (Germany)

Catalog Number: 842 247-2

Personnel

Patrick Mason vocals
Freddy Laurence guitar
Claudio Matteo guitar
Brian Kofmehl bass
John Dommen drums

Tracks

1.  The Great Wall  1:45
2.  Dead Lights  4:40
3.  Animal Victim  4:00
4.  In the Middle of the Night  4:22
5.  Won't Give It Up  4:29
6.  Sign in the Sky  5:44
7.  Don't Ever Say Goodbye  3:47
8.  Broken Dream  0:49
9.  Second Chance  5:04
10.  Bitter Cold  4:07
11.  Take Your Time  3:51
12.  Harder Than Hell  4:03
13.  So Long  5:03
  
Total Running Time:  51:44

If you see any errors or omissions in the CD information shown above, either in the musician credits or song listings (cover song credits, live tracks, etc.), please post them in the corrections section of the Heavy Harmonies forum/message board.

The music discographies on this site are works in progress. If you notice that a particular China CD release or compilation is missing from the list above, please submit that CD using the CD submission page. The ultimate goal is to make the discographies here at Heavy Harmonies as complete as possible. Even if it is an obscure greatest-hits or live compilation CD, we want to add it to the site. Please only submit official CD releases; no bootlegs or cassette-only or LP-only releases.

EPs and CD-singles from China are also welcome to be added, as long as they are at least 4 songs in length.




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Existing comments about this CD

From: kim Date: February 24, 2001 at 4:12
Heavy melodic rock with great harmonies.

From: Date: April 26, 2001 at 17:24
Great band of Hard rock, this album and go all the way are fantastic, vocal powefull and more harmonies, high recommend

From: Rene Date: April 26, 2001 at 17:27
great band of Hard rock, this album and the third album 'go all the way ' are fantastic, vocal powerfull and more harmonies, high recommend!! Im sorry , i forget of my name.

From: kari k Date: April 30, 2001 at 7:37
'in the middle of the night' is dedicated to R. , forever in love . 1990

From: NCrawler Date: July 21, 2001 at 7:22
This is one of the albums that made me start listening to hard rock music and guess what?? i never stopped. Top Album even when i used to live in Baghdad!!

From: GIORGOS Date: March 8, 2002 at 11:34
I've only listened to that 'In the middle of the Night' , randomly found in an old tape. Very catchy song . I want to buy the album , but very hard to find it I guess.

From: jens Date: July 19, 2002 at 23:32
i remember coercing a friend to buy the vinyl record, even though he didn't own a record player. this and scorpion's savage amusement. i never since stopped having a weak spot for this album. it is melodic hard rock at its very very best, no weaknesses, even if all other china cd's more or less suck. highly reccommended!

From: Ivo-Bulgaria Date: March 2, 2003 at 19:54
Great album.Songs like In the middle of the night,So long and second chance make me feel alive.Talented musicians unfortunately unknown for the big audience.Today they give Grammy to sick bands like Linking park...

From: XLNT Date: November 26, 2003 at 16:37
Straight classic hard rock the way it should be played with plenty of big harmonies and a solid rhythm section. I love the way they kick of “Dead Lights”. John Dommen sure knows how to work those drums. Everybody is raving about “In the middle of the night” here, and yes it is a good track with more of an AOR sound to it, but the rest of the album is just as solid. And for all you ballad lovers, “So Long” is an absolute gem.

From: BRM Date: April 6, 2004 at 19:04
Singer sounds a lot like Ken tamplin (Shout), GREAT STUFF. Highly Recommended.

From: Erik Date: February 5, 2005 at 4:29
Whata a talented band ! Melodic rock at its best. I wont give it up is such a great song. Not a real weak moment to be found here. Switzerland at its very very best. Highly recommanded !!

From: OREN-ISRAEL Date: March 2, 2005 at 7:39
fantastic hard melodic swiss rock n'roll!!!! the title song is killing!! so as IN THE MIDLLE OF THE NIGHT!!!! where are they all gone?....

From: Geoff Date: March 8, 2005 at 4:01
The debut was great, but this is just awesome, and a god reason why China are one of my favourite bands ever. A new vocalist, and once again he's good. 'Dead Lights' and 'Animal Victim' are good hard rockers, 'In the Middle of the Night' is a wonderful ballad (and the ballads shine on this disc!), 'Won't Give It Up' is radio-directed awesome commercial hard rock, 'Sign in the Sky' is the 2nd, and even better ballad - awesome track, 'Don't Ever Say Goodbye' is again essential melodic hard rock, '

From: Geoff Date: March 8, 2005 at 4:02
'Second Chance' is without doubt one of the best melodic hard rock songs I have ever heard. That riff!! Perfect excecution of melodic hard rock and an album highlight. 'Bitter Cold' is good, 'Take Your Time' is more great commercial hard rock and 'Harder Than Hell' is also solid, but it then comes down to the show-stopper; 'So Long'. The final, stunning and best ballad. This is the reason I first confessed my love for this band, and is still a huge reason today. Brilliant song, brilliant album!

From: Erik Date: March 8, 2005 at 4:09
Amen to that Geoff. One of my top 10 bands ever.

From: z4roxx Date: March 8, 2005 at 10:02
Geoff/Erik,I suppose you love China?!!???...ehehehe!I add myself to that love!!Wonderful band and one of the best of ever!

From: Erik Date: May 2, 2005 at 11:20
Today i also got( together with T'Bell and First Shot) thru www.hangloose-records.de , this beauty. What can i say that hasnot been sais about this release and band before. CHINA IS ONE OF THE BEST EVER. Period. Brilliant !

From: chinafanargentina Date: August 11, 2005 at 11:21
just want to say that in my categories of greatest singers ...are terry brock , lou gramm , frontline singer ( i cant remember now) , steve overland ...but this guy ..who doesnt appear here , PATRICK MASON , is the best singer i ve ever heard in my life...AND HE hadn´t appeares in any album!!! since sign in the sky !!! pleeasee this singer is killer...no one can ..be higher than this exelent vocalist...of course other china albums are great...and eric michesl would have been the best replacement

From: ArnoldLancelot Date: September 5, 2005 at 10:19
Melodic hard Rock in one of its best pages so far... Producction it's not as shining as the songwriting but enough polished though. Big choruses complete the keys present here and there making great balance with the amazing guitars. Purple heart comes to mind when you listen them, and also some glamish hints from song to song but fairly consistent all along the 13 tracks. Truly recommended even for pure aor lovers.

From: TIM (2) Date: October 29, 2005 at 14:24
As an AOR fan I really lost interest in CHINA after their first album. This one's okay, but is just hard rock by numbers IMO. 'In the Middle of the Night' is by a mile the standout track, but 'Second Chance' is also excellent. The first album was sensational with so many commercial tunes, but this is nowhere near as special. 6/10.

From: Erik Date: October 30, 2005 at 7:39
Tim(2) it shows you are an AOR fan. The fact you call this hardrock by the numbers says it all... Rediculous comment IMO. Cause you like AOR you dont have to dish on brilliant melodic hardrock releases. Cause thats what this is. Three superb releases by this Swiss band topb band. Trust me people doesnot come much better, melodic hradrockwise, then this. Sheer class !!

From: TIM (2) Date: October 30, 2005 at 8:04
Erik, I do actually love a lot of Melodic Hard Rock. Gotthard are a much more consistent band than China ever were - even though the debut was magnificent. 2 or 3 great tunes does not make a great album IMO.

From: Erik Date: October 30, 2005 at 10:34
Tim comparing China with Gotthard ? Cause they are from Switzerland and mak(d)e melodic rock music. And Gotthard consistent ? Anyways i get your point. You think there are only 2 or 3 good songs on this album. Yeah then this is mediocre stuff for you yes.

From: TIM (2) Date: October 30, 2005 at 13:23
Sorry Erik, but I just never saw the fuss over this disc. I would never sell it as I love tracks 4 & 9 too much, but the debut was more to my tastes & was full of tracks like these. Maybe Gotthard weren't a good comparitor, but I'd say the new Jaded Heart album is similar in style to this but is better IMO. I know most people disagree with me, & I do LOVE that debut album - is one of my all-time favourite CD's.

From: Mediaab Date: December 18, 2005 at 18:52
Awesome disc, and I agree, with a fantastic lead singer!!! In the middle of the night, freakin' good song, and many others are good too. I think this is a very good band from Switzerland, great musicians and production too!

From: Chad Date: December 22, 2005 at 23:50
Damn. It took me awhile to track this one down but it is a fine album. If you like your AOR, you will covet this one. All the tunes are enjoyable. Standouts are Dead Lights, Sign in the Sky and Harder than Hell. Not a bad song on this one.

From: metalmaniac777 Date: March 2, 2006 at 13:49
Don't crawl to China and back to get your hands on this CD, 'cause it ain't THAT good, but it's worth grabbing if you come across it. Seems some folks would have you believe it'd be worth signing your firstborn over to Satan if that's what it took to get this CD, but truth is, it's pretty standard melodic HR with the usual guitars/hooks/choruses/vocals/etc. It's not bad, but other bands have done it better. There are some decent songs on here, but nothing that makes me reach for it very often.

From: Erik Date: March 3, 2006 at 9:58
Do crawl back to China if you have 2. Cause it really is a superb release. Check out ncrawler, zvroxx, mediaab and Geoff's comments. If you call this standard then you have no clue what you are talking about. Anyway not worth spending too much fuss over a comment like that. Brilliant album. Nuff said.

From: Mustaine_TW Date: November 7, 2006 at 8:23
I got another CHINA cd and it's also called 'Sign In The Sky' but the cover is different with this one, and it contains the song from 1st to 3rd albums, just like a 'best of..' cd. Does anyone know whether this CD is official release or not?

From: z4roxx Date: November 8, 2006 at 11:32
The cover art in the site is the original second release.I am certain you have a best of who has the same title but a different artwork cover.Check if the label is”Spectrum rec.”,if it’s so you have their best of that it’s rarer than this official release BTW.

From: Xenon Date: March 7, 2007 at 8:20
I have the original vinyl-record with the same cover artwork as shown above and the same tracklist. I bought it a vew days after official relesae date. So the one you can see here is defenitely the original one, released in Europe. But the singer on this one is Patrick Mason, NOT Eric St. Michaels !!! But doesn't matter. Is still the best one they've made!

From: Dr. Feelgood Date: March 21, 2008 at 15:34
Brilliant hard rock on display here. The first two tracks 'Dead Lights' and 'Animal Victim' set the tone for the absolute gems that follow. 'In The Middle Of The Night' is a stellar melodic rocker and my favourite on the album, 'Won't Give It Up' is great, 'Sign In The Sky' is an awesome slower song, 'Don't Ever Say Goodbye' just defines how commercial hard rock should be done, and 'Second Chance' is another wonderful rocker, and 'Harder Than Hell' is brilliant. The other tracks are good, too. A

From: Dr. Feelgood Date: March 21, 2008 at 15:41
...Awesome album. 9/10.

From: rick kerch vzla Date: July 18, 2008 at 21:35
To describe this album is simple...AMAZING!!!... no filler songs here,no doubt about it.Of course 'In The Middle Of The Night' is the 'song' of the album but check out jewells such as 'Sign In The Sky' (a hymn)'Dead Lights','Animal Victim' & 'So Long'(great ballad).I haven't heard any other albums from this lot but surely if i have the chance to buy another one,i'll do it.An straight to your face 95/100

From: Bax Date: September 21, 2008 at 6:44
Cheers everybody! I've read a lot these days about this great, indeed, great band/combo, which mostly felt more like a blueprint project of a Melodic Hard Rock/AOR. I bought 'SITS' as my first release (of the band) in 1992 - I LOVED it from the start!!! Patrick 'Mason' Mahassen is a real gem of a rock singer (at last when it comes to this studio record) but he started as guitarist (!) in KROKUS (another more AC/DC-esque band from Switzerland) back in 1983 (but guess what: NO OTHER offical release so far and owards!)... For this special release, please do check out these REAL 'Classics': Track 2-9 (it's all that, baby!), track 11 and of course track 13 (So Long)!!! So let it be - SO LONG! Bax

From: chalometal Date: October 1, 2008 at 10:58
SO LONG ! ONE OF THE BEST BALLADS I HEARD IN MY LIFE ,THIS SONG ROCK MY BODY !.

From: Locoaor Date: August 2, 2013 at 22:51
KILLER : 4.In the Middle of the Night 4:22

From: Ydol eM Date: October 16, 2014 at 16:41
Some albums are special for a man e.g. when they helped surmount some life obstacles or people have some precious memories connected with the songs. This is just a case of this album for me. I'd love it anyway because it has a unique atmosphere and some songs are really outstanding (e.g. 'Won't give it up...'). Very good hard aor rock somewhere halfway between Foreigner and No Sweat (IMO). 85/100.

From: andi Date: September 17, 2016 at 18:19
Das einzige Wahre China Album!!!!

From: andi Date: September 17, 2016 at 18:23
Ydol eM@ There's nothing similar to No Sweat and nothing to Foreigner...it's an own China style Album!!!


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