Hi Tobias,
thank you veru much for your post and your efforts to make the forum busy!
For the 1st subject (All Summer/China Girl): yes, you are right, the solos are pretty similar, I believe it is because both CR and SRV play Strats in the same tuning and in the same key here. Just a coincidence Ithink, but who knows... It is quite normal for Chris to learn from SRV, I assume, just like he learned from Ry Cooder or Joe Walsh.I do believe Stevie was also a living hero for Chris those days.
For the 2nd issue - you are right again, the passage in the middle of live version of Soft Top ("...I'm singing - soft top and a hard shoulder...") before the guitar solo is quite similar to the bridge part of It's All Gone ("...sail on, there's nothing for you here now...") after the main verses. I got long since pretty used to the fact that Chris often cites himsel in a way. E.g., This Kind of Love from 1994 tour is almost just a copy of the old song Joys of Chritmas with the new words. And both Joys of Christmas and Kind of Love cite Joe Walsh's Life's Been Good!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXWvKDSwvls
To tell something new, I have just found a good website where you can check exact UK chart results for Chris's major singles and albums:
http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/chris%20rea/
It is very comprehensible and gives more or less precise date of a single's or album's release.
For instance, I was pretty amazed to learn that Nothing to Fear and Tell Me There's a Heaven were so high-charted singles, just like such hit uptempos as Julia or Auberge.
Thanks a lot once again and best regards
Andrey