Song · Japan
“Visions of China” by Japan
From the album Tin Drum (1981)
“Visions of China” by Japan appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2003. It was first released in 1981 on the album Tin Drum. Its best result is #1501 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,212 alternative song of all time.
Japan pulled "Visions of China" off Tin Drum in October 1981 as the album's second single, ahead of the record itself, and it got as far as number 32 in Britain. David Sylvian wrote the words and shares the music credit with drummer Steve Jansen, and the credits read like a well-stocked curio shop: Mick Karn on fretless bass, flute and suona, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian on keyboards and tapes, Sylvian on guitar as well, Simon House on violin, and Yuka Fujii's voice alongside Sylvian's.
The single was the album cut, untouched. Flip the seven-inch and you found a remix of "Taking Islands in Africa", the Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto song that closed Gentlemen Take Polaroids; the 12-inch carried "Swing" instead. Sounds later ranked it 87th among the top 100 songs of all time.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1501 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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