Simple Minds - Live In The City Of Light (1987)

EU Import

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by the 2012 remastered edition CD. Disc two previously featured during "Thinking Out of the Box Set Week" (March 8 - 14, 2020)

From the band's website:

Live In The City Of Light is the first (double LP / CD) live album by Simple Minds. It was released in May 1987 to document their successful worldwide Once Upon a Time tour, and charted at No. 1 in the UK. The album spawned one chart single release, a live version of “Promised You a Miracle”.

The album was recorded mostly at Le Zénith, Paris in August 1986, with one track recorded in October 1986 in Sydney, Australia. (Although the album was not recorded there, the inside of the gatefold sleeve features a photograph of a concert from the 1986 tour which took place in a square in Locarno, Switzerland). It features the band’s 1986 touring lineup, which included second vocalist Robin Clark and percussionist Sue Hadjopoulos. Lisa Germano (at the time, a John Mellencamp band member who would perform on Simple Minds’ next studio single, Belfast Child), contributed studio-overdubbed violin on “Someone Somewhere in Summertime” and former Simple Minds member Derek Forbes contributed (uncredited) bass guitar overdubs.

The single mentioned above, a live version of Promised You A Miracle, didn't chart in the US, but placed a respectable #19 on the UK chart.

Press of the time:

Billboard, July 25, 1987, p. 23

• Billboard: "packs a larger punch than more manicured studio versions"
• Rolling Stone: "lively, if a bit predictable"
• RPM: "should create intense anticipation of their follow-up"
• Smash Hits (6 out of 10): "faithfully reproduces a typical performance"

"Lively, if a bit predictable" pretty much mirrors my thoughts, but there's a bit of truth to all the above blurbs.

Remastering is good, but the liner note booklet is fairly light on content consisting mainly of photos of band members not taken in Paris and a few concert pics. In other words, no 5,000 word essay from rock journalist/fanboy. Disappointing.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #96
• CashBox: #114
• Rolling Stone: #36

Tracks:

Disc 1: the better of the two discs - my problem here is the sequencing. If you start off with a great tune like Ghostdancing, I would think you need to ratchet it up a notch on the second tune, but the band opts to kill momentum with Big Sleep. Don't get me wrong, Big Sleep is a decent enough tune, but just not second on the playlist. (According to the band's website, Big Sleep was actually 7th on the playlist at these concerts, which would make more sense to me.) Love the live versions of Waterfront (which should have kicked off the album), Someone Somewhere In Summertime, Oh Jungleland and Alive And Kicking. Lot of energy, lot of focus. Promised You A Miracle is a touch too fast for my tastes but still worth your time.

Disc 2 (recycled from previous post): Of the 7 tracks here, my favorites are Don't You Forget About Me, Once Upon A Time, and the medley of Love Song/Sun City/Dance To The Music. I've been to many shows where the band trots out the Sly Stone warhorse Dance To The Music as a way to introduce the band, so there's nothing new there, but I like the way the medley flows and they get their jabs in at apartheid, so I dig that, too. Tracks 3 & 4 - lackluster versions of Book Of Brilliant Things followed by East At Easter are unfortunate show killers.

As mentioned above about the LP gatefold sleeve, this ad features the photograph taken
at another show from the same tour in a square in Locarno, Switzerland.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm not a huge fan of live rock albums, but I bought these pre-recorded cassettes on the cheap from a resale shop in summer 1988. They then spent a lot of time in my car's deck that summer. Faithful readers of this blog may remember that I usually refer to the summer of 1988 as the Lost Summer of Mark (those not familiar with the personal particulars of that long, hot summer can click here for further info). For some reason, my memory is thinking this album soundtracked a visit that summer to Lake Tawakoni State Park.

The girl I dated that summer lent me a Simple Minds concert tee, similar to the one pictured below. As of this writing, that was the softest shirt I've ever worn so I wore it as often as I could before the inevitable break-up. I dig the graphics, too.

I went to a Ticketmaster box office to get tickets to the band's Dallas stop on the tour on which this album was recorded (April 9, 1986 - Bronco Bowl with The Call opening). Being an unemployed college student living on the generosity of my parents, however, I just didn't have the funds to afford the ducats and walked away empty-handed. (This was back when you had to actually go to a Ticketmaster location simply to see what the ticket prices were. We've come a long way, baby.) Epilogue: a Home Depot now occupies the lot where Bronco Bowl once stood.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Acoustic (2016)
Glittering Prize (1992)
Real Life (1991)
Live In The City Of Light, Volume Two (1987)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Deluxe Box Set
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - Live In The City Of Light, Volume Two (1987)

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX SET WEEK (MARCH 8 - 14, 2020)*
*In which I've lost/misplaced/can't find/never had one or more CDs in a multi-disc set.

Disc 2 of a 2 CD set (which I previously owned on cassettes).

From the band's website:

Live In The City Of Light is the first (double LP / CD) live album by Simple Minds. It was released in May 1987 to document their successful worldwide Once Upon a Time tour, and charted at No. 1 in the UK. The album spawned one chart single release, a live version of “Promised You a Miracle”.

The album was recorded mostly at Le Zénith, Paris in August 1986, with one track recorded in October 1986 in Sydney, Australia. (Although the album was not recorded there, the inside of the gatefold sleeve features a photograph of a concert from the 1986 tour which took place in a square in Locarno, Switzerland). It features the band’s 1986 touring lineup, which included second vocalist Robin Clark and percussionist Sue Hadjopoulos. Lisa Germano (at the time, a John Mellencamp band member who would perform on Simple Minds’ next studio single, Belfast Child), contributed studio-overdubbed violin on “Someone Somewhere in Summertime” and former Simple Minds member Derek Forbes contributed (uncredited) bass guitar overdubs.

I'm not a huge fan of live rock albums, but I bought the pre-recorded cassettes on the cheap from a resale shop in summer 1988. They spent a lot of time in my car's deck that summer, so I didn't hesitate when I saw this CD sitting in a bin at another resale shop many years later (I'm detecting a resale shop trend). I didn't even look at the disc beyond the title because I already knew what was on the CD - it's the two albums on one disc, right?

It was not. In this case, two albums = two CDs. So I was stuck with only Volume 2 of this set. Live and learn. I shouldn't complain - after all, it's still 41½ minutes of music. But I'm a big, pouty baby, so I cross my arms, stomp my feet, and don't often listen to this disc on principle.

Billboard, July 11, 1987, p. 64

While I agree that the record packs a punch, radio did not, in fact, move on it. Despite the video being in "medium rotation" on MTV that summer, said single didn't sniff the Hot 100. Not that you asked, but Promised You A Miracle is track 4 on CD 1, so it won't get a sniff in this post, either.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #96

Tracks: Of the 7 tracks here, my favorites are Don't You Forget About Me, Once Upon A Time, and the medley of Love Song/Sun City/Dance To The Music. I've been to many shows where the band trots out the Sly Stone warhorse Dance To The Music as a way to introduce the band, so there's nothing new there, but I like the way the medley flows and they get their jabs in at apartheid, so I dig that, too. Tracks 3 & 4 - lackluster versions of Book Of Brilliant Things followed by East At Easter are unfortunate show killers.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I've got a couple, but I'm going to save them for when I eventually post about the complete CD set. Yes, I've purchased this set yet again, both discs this time.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Acoustic (2016)
Glittering Prize (1992)
Real Life (1991)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Deluxe Box Set
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - Sparkle in the Rain (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

In which Jim Kerr and his band begin to leave behind the subtle atmospheric arrangements of New Gold Dream and move towards a raw, arena rock sound. It's different, sure, but I can like this version of Simple Minds just as much as the older versions, right? I've long maintained that if this album had been released a year later following the #1 soundtrack tune Don't You (Forget About Me), it would have been huge, much like Once Upon A Time. It's all timing.

I've often confessed to not being much of a lyrics guy, and I have no idea what Kerr is singing about, but I continue to be attracted to the lyrical imagery coupled with the pseudo-Christian iconographic art direction of Malcolm Garrett's Assorted iMaGes.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★★★): "Simple Minds continue to dazzle and impress with their sixth (and best) album."
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "Biggest sound on the block, bar none."
• Other reviews here

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #64
• CashBox: #81
• Rolling Stone: #36

Tracks: The album is front-loaded and I'll confess to listening to side one much more than side two. My top picks are Up On the Catwalk, Speed Your Love To Me, Waterfront, and The Kick Inside Of Me. Second tier goodness includes Book of Brilliant Things, White Hot Day, and Shake Off The Ghosts. The filler tracks are the cover of Street Hassle and C Moon Cry Like A Baby.

A blister pack is NOT a longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My good friend Jim (who introduced me to so much good music) had joined the Navy in the summer of 1983, but we corresponded every so often via snail mail. In these letters, he continued to suggest albums I might like. He mentioned this one, I heard the opening track and bought the LP without hearing anything else. It was the spring of my senior year in high school and there was so much going on and so much good music to hear that this fantastic album quickly got lost in the shuffle, sadly.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Acoustic (2016)
Glittering Prize (1992)
Real Life (1991)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Deluxe Box Set
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84): Deluxe Box Set

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD, later replaced by this 6 disc 2016 Deluxe Box Set (because I obviously needed 12 different versions of Promised You A Miracle).

Two booklets are included: one deals more with the band themselves (bios, discography, etc.) while the second is about the album itself is by far the better or the two. The photos are large and brilliant but the font is so small I had to read both with a magnifying glass. There's nothing new in the books (old info in new interviews is as close as we get to new info) and the editing is poor - we can't be bothered with things like spaces or capitalization rules. And there's an inexplicable homophobic insult and record label putdowns. But, like I said, the pics and graphics are nice.

And, yes, I listened to and/or watched all six discs today in order because I'm dedicated.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "at its most inspired, the music lives up to its contents' lofty spiritual themes"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "has charms to suck you into deep, private reveries"
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "A very musical record, if we're allowed to say that."
• Robert Christgau (C+): "Auteur Jim Kerr is Bowie sans stance, Ferry sans pop, Morrison sans rock and roll. He says simple, I say empty and we both go home."
• Trouser Press: "nine leisurely cuts swathed in a hyper-romantic approach."
• Record Mirror: "an aural feast"

For other reviews, click here.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #69
• CashBox: #86
• Rolling Stone: #32

---

ORIGINAL RELEASE (REMASTERED)
9 tracks, 46 minutes

My thoughts on this album from 2011 are available here. I can't believe I didn't write more about track 5, Somebody Up There Likes You.  You know how you'll sometimes buy an album for one song and it turns out that's the only good song on the whole album? I've had the opposite experience with this album: I bought it for Promised You A Miracle and found several songs better than that one.

---

EXTENDED VERSIONS
12 tracks, 72 minutes

Because if a little bit is good, more must be better.

1. Promised You A Miracle [Extended] (from Promised You A Miracle 12″ single) 4:50
2. Seeing Out The Angel [Instrumental Remix] (from Promised You A Miracle 12″ single) 6:36
3. Promised You A Miracle [US Remix] (from Promised You A Miracle American 12″ single) 6:05 ✔
4. Promised You A Miracle [US Dub] (from Promised You A Miracle American 12″ single)* 5:26
5. Promised You A Miracle [US Special Extended Remix] (from Promised You A Miracle American Promo 12″ single)* 6:20
6. Glittering Prize [Club Mix] (from Glittering Prize 12″ single) 4:58
7. Glittering Prize [Extended Theme] (from Glittering Prize 12″ single) 4:58
8. Someone Somewhere In Summertime [Extended] (from Someone Somewhere In Summertime 12″ single) 6:06 ✔
9. New Gold Dream [German 12″ Remix] (from German CD issue of album. Later released on 12″ singles and X5.) 6:53 ✔
10. King Is White And In The Crowd [Instrumental] (unedited and restored mix originally released with a Touch Tape magazine)* 8:46
11. New Gold Dream [German 12″ Remix With Drums] (from X5 compilation) 6:56 ✔
12. In Every Heaven (from X5 compilation) 4:25

*First time on CD.
✔ my preferred tracks

---

EDITS and B-SIDES
7 tracks, 32 minutes

Yeah, there were b-sides on the previous disc, but let's not nitpick.

1. Promised You A Miracle [Edit] (from Promised You A Miracle 7″ single) 4:03
2. Theme For Great Cities (from Promised You A Miracle 7″ single) 5:51 ✔
3. Glittering Prize [Edit] (from Glittering Prize 7″ single) 4:02
4. Glittering Prize [Theme] (from Glittering Prize 7″ single)* 4:06
5. Someone Somewhere In Summertime [Edit] (from Someone Somewhere In Summertime Promo 7″ single)* 4:00 ✔
6. Soundtrack For Every Heaven (from Someone Somewhere In Summertime 12″ single) 4:56
7. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) [7″ Mix] (from New Gold Dream Italian 7″ single) 4:46 ✔

*First time on CD.
✔ my preferred tracks

---

RADIO SESSIONS
10 tracks, 53 minutes

Some of these tracks were from previous albums, but were recorded for British radio shows in 1982 so here ya go.

1. Promised You A Miracle [David Jensen Session] 4:24
2. In Trance As Mission [David Jensen Session] 4:34
3. King Is White and In The Crowd [David Jensen Session] (from Someone Somewhere In Summertime 12″ single) 5:20
4. Promised You A Miracle [John Peel Session]* 4:41
5. Love Song [John Peel Session]* 5:49
6. Sons And Fascination [John Peel Session]* 6:43
7. King Is White And In The Crowd [John Peel Session]* 6:05 
8. Someone Somewhere In Summertime [David Jensen Session] 5:09 
9. Glittering Prize [David Jensen Session] 4:21
10. Hunter And The Hunted [David Jensen Session] 5:49

*First time on CD.

---

ALTERNATIVE MIXES, ROUGHS AND DEMOS
10 tracks, 56 minutes

Given my dislike for demo tracks you'd think I'd want to skip this disc, but (except for the final track) it turns out to be one my favorite discs of the set. Go figure.

1. Someone Somewhere In Summertime [Full Duration] 5:47 ✔
2. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel [Full Duration Instrumental] 4:42 ✔
3. Promised You A Miracle [Remix For Album: Long] 4:55 ✔
4. Big Sleep [Instrumental] 5:15
5. In Every Heaven [Full Duration] 5:40
6. Somebody Up There Likes You [Full Duration Instrumental] 5:18 ✔✔
7. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) [Full Duration] 7:03 ✔
8. Hunter And The Hunted [Alternative Take] 5:17
9. King Is White And In The Crowd [Monitor Mix]  7:16
10. In Every Heaven [Early Version] 4:37

All tracks previously unreleased.
✔ my preferred tracks

---

5.1 MIX AND VIDEOS (DVD)

I don't have a 5.1 sound system (I'm currently using this), but let's give this DVD the requisite spin anyway.

1. Someone Somewhere In Summertime
2. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel
3. Promised You A Miracle
4. Big Sleep
5. Somebody Up There Likes You
6. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
7. Glittering Prize 
8. Hunter And The Hunted
9. King Is White And In The Crowd
10. In Every Heaven
    (above tracks are 5.1 Mixes)


11. Promised You A Miracle [Promo Video]
12. Glittering Prize [Promo Video]
13. Promised You A Miracle [Top Of The Pops] First time commercially released.
14. Glittering Prize [Top Of The Pops] First time commercially released.

---

Classic Rock, July 2016, p. 97

Q: Is the box set worth the bother?
A: Yes, but just so.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: see previous post

Previously revisited for the blog:
Acoustic (2016)
Glittering Prize (1992)
Real Life (1991)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - Acoustic (2016)

NEW MUSIC WEEK 2016 (NOVEMBER 14-20, 2016)

German Import

So what happens when an eighties post-punk turned New Wave turned arena rock band scales back their sound? Let's find out. First off, these tracks aren't acoustic so I call shenanigans on the album title (Mojo magazine labeled this "the least unplugged Unplugged album ever"). However, there's more acoustic than electric guitar and the synths are mixed way down so there's that. But let's be honest, what would Simple Minds be without synth pads and production effects? You can tell that time has taken a toll on Jim Kerr's voice, but to his credit, he's still singing the songs in the same keys. Not surprisingly, the band picks songs from their heyday; don't expect cuts from 2014's Big Music (which is a great album, FWIW). KT Tunstall duets on Promised You A Miracle and guess what chicken butt? It ends up sounding exactly like a KT Tunstall song. Other than that, it's exactly what you'd expect from such a venture.

Metacritic currently has this new release listed at 59, a rating I can endorse. Not bad, but leaves you scrambling for the originals.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

1. The American from Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)
2. Promised You A Miracle from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
3. Glittering Prize from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
4. See the Lights from Real Life (1991)
5. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
6. Someone Somewhere in Summertime from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
7. Waterfront from Sparkle In The Rain (1984)
8. Sanctify Yourself from Once Upon a Time (1985)
9. Chelsea Girl from Life In A Day (1979)
10. Alive And Kicking from Once Upon A Time (1985)
11. Don't You (Forget About Me) from The Breakfast Club soundtrack (1985)
12. Long Black Train (Richard Hawley cover)

Tracks that work: 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12
Not quite: 2, 3, 6
Tracks to be skipped: 7 (but you could have guessed this bombastic masterpiece wouldn't translate well to this sort of setting, no?), 9

Songs I wished had been on the album: Love Song, All The Things She Said, Belfast Child, Up On The Catwalk, Speed Your Love To Me, Let There Be Love. Some of these were released on the 15 track vinyl version of the release to which I cry, "Vinyl only bonus tracks?? WTF???" as I pull out what little hair I have left. What's with the anti-CD bias I'm picking up lately??

Say it ain't so.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Glittering Prize (1992)
Real Life (1991)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - Real Life (1991)

Note: the CD I listened to was not the 2002/2003 reissue.

I pretty much gave up on Simple Minds after the disappointing (to me) Street Fighting Years album in 1989. But I saw this in a used bin a few years ago and figured why not? While it's not on par with their early/mid '80s oeuvre, there's still plenty to like about this one. Sure, the band places more emphasis on atmosphere than melody, but that's what drew me to them in the first place. Simply put, if I had known this was an attempt at a return to form for the band, I probably wouldn't have let them slip away like I did. This thing is hit-or-miss, but I really like the tracks that hit.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "Maybe not as immediately accessible as other works, but still a positive effort."
• Rolling Stone (★★½): "sketches passing for songs, gorgeous flesh without much spine."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #74

Tracks:  My favorite track is the uplifting Stand By Love. I can only describe it as "bombastic Celtic gospel R&B" and as strange as that sounds, it works perfectly for me. I like the released singles (Real Life, See the Lights, Let There Be Love, and Stand By Love) and those 4 songs are included in the first 5 tracks of the album. Later, the band seems to steal from its earlier material, cheating listeners in the process. Let the Children Speak rips off, errrr, I mean pays homage to Theme For Great Cities while Traveling Man seems to share backing tracks with Waterfront. Don't get me wrong, I like those songs, but come on. In other words, the first half of the album is much stronger than the last half. I usually skip African Skies, Banging On The Door, and Rivers Of Ice.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Glittering Prize (1992)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

Simple Minds - Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)

UK Import

Note: this release was originally obtained as a 2 LP gift in the early '80s, later replaced by the 2002 remastered CD.  From wikipedia:

Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call were two separate albums. Both assembled from the same sessions and released at the same time and, in some instances, sold as a double-LP set. The two releases are variously categorised as a double album, two single albums or a single album and an extended play. The CD version contains all the tracks once split onto two LPs, with their respective track running orders preserved. [for more on this ill-advised album release plan, click here]

The album(s) where Simple Minds found their groove and began to focus on what they wanted to sound like. While not the group's best release, these songs led to an impressive three album run from 1982-85 for Jim Kerr and the boys.  The biggest difference between this music and what followed is the production.  It is very heavy and muddled compared to New Gold Dream, but for some reason I really like the sound of everything, particularly the way the guitar plays off the keyboard.  Lyrically, I have no idea what's going on (e.g., "babies cannot manage crocodiles"), but the word choice just fits the musical imagery.  No liner notes to speak of; unforgivable in a remaster release.  Virgin Records should understand that at the very least I need lyrics.

Smash Hits, September 3, 1981, p. 25

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  From Sons and Fascination (tracks 1-8), my top picks are In Trance As Mission, 70 Cities As Love Brings The Fall, and Love Song.  The weakest track is This Earth That You Walk Upon.  From the Sister Feelings Call tracks (9-15), I like Theme For Great Cities, The American, and Sound In 70 Cities.  Skip track 13, League Of Nations.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I didn't listen to these albums much when I was in high school, but this CD has since become my "go-to" music that I pull off the shelf whenever I'm feeling nostalgic for those days.  That usually means that this CD provides the accompaniment while I leaf through my old high school yearbooks and send out the occasional text message to classmates.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Glittering Prize (1992)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)

Simple Minds - Once Upon a Time (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD. My CD edition is the original release, not one the later reissues.

After hitting #1 with Don't You (Forget About Me), from the soundtrack of the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds finally got mainstream US radio to notice them. I learned of Simple Minds a few years earlier with their New Gold Dream album, but the music here is much more guitar-oriented rock-pop than the synth-pop of the New Gold Dream era. I credit the change to producers Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams) and Jimmy Iovine (U2), because I always thought the band wrote good songs. This is a rawer sound and probably the band's best overall album. The band's hardcore fans were probably disappointed in the new direction and accused the band of selling-out, but I liked both the old sound and the new sound, so it was all good with me. It has always been a mystery to me why A&M didn't stick Don't You (Forget About Me) somewhere on this album.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (7 out of 10): "grand but not great"
• CashBox: "Each and every track here has something substantial to offer"
• Billboard: "Strong production by Iovine and Clearmountain stresses the sweep of the arrangements without dulling the urgency of vocalist Jim Kerr."
• Stereo Review: "one of the best power -rock albums since Billy Idol's 'Rebel Yell.'"
• Rolling Stone: "the most potent and focused set of songs Simple Minds has delivered yet."
• Musician: "balance between gospel fervor and art-rock elegance."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #10 (Mar 1, 1986)
• Billboard Pop CD: #18
• Rolling Stone: #5

Tracks: Half of the 8 tracks were released as singles: Alive and Kicking (#3), Sanctify Yourself (#14), All the Things She Said (#28), and Ghost Dancing. I like all those plus the title track and Oh Jungleland. That only leaves two tracks to skip: I Wish You Were Here and Come A Long Way.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was released in October of '85 and I immediately purchased my LP. Around that time, I was playing the lead in a production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat so this always reminds me of that fall and those rehearsals/performances. In a typical college mindset, even though rehearsals were about a 1/2 mile away, I still drove. 46-year-old me is giving 19-year-old me a big eyeroll.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Glittering Prize (1992)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)

NUMBERS WEEK (MARCH 14-20, 2011)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP (gold vinyl with purple swirls!), later replaced by a CD.

Even though they wouldn't hit it big for a few more years, Simple Minds put out some of their best work in this 1982 release. This album was my first exposure to the band. Before they became an all-out pop/rock band, they were a moody British synth group, producing lush, layered songs and dance tracks (think of a more popish Roxy Music). This may border on blasphemy, but I think U2 totally ripped off this album when they recorded The Unforgettable Fire.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "at its most inspired, the music lives up to its contents' lofty spiritual themes"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "has charms to suck you into deep, private reveries"
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "A very musical record, if we're allowed to say that."
• Robert Christgau (C+): "Auteur Jim Kerr is Bowie sans stance, Ferry sans pop, Morrison sans rock and roll. He says simple, I say empty and we both go home."
• Trouser Press: "nine leisurely cuts swathed in a hyper-romantic approach."
• Record Mirror: "an aural feast"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #69
• CashBox: #86
• Rolling Stone: #32

Tracks: I was first grabbed my the album's single, Promised You A Miracle, but my favorite cut on the album quickly became the instrumental Someone Up There Likes You. I recently heard the fantastic title track used at the beginning of the horrible 2009 movie, The Informers. While the movie was bad, the opening montage and the use of New Gold Dream was perfect. Don't waste your time on the movie, but I'm sure you can find the opening credits on YouTube. Other good songs are Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel, Someone Somewhere In Summertime, and Hunter And The Hunted, which has an amazing solo from Herbie Hancock (how he got on this album is anyone's guess, but his work totally fits). I don't care much for Big Sleep or King Is White And In The Crowd.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm pretty sure I bought my LP copy at a Sound Warehouse record store in Austin during a trip there in March of 1983. My friends Jim and Scott went to see Simple Minds in concert in Houston (The Call opened) around this time and brought me a concert shirt (sleeveless, of course). I wish I had kept that shirt. Not that it would still fit me, but just for sentimental reasons.

Simple Minds - Glittering Prize (1992)

A greatest hits CD covering the years 1981-92. I was a fan in the '80s and missed two separate opportunities to see the group live. As often happens, I bought this greatest hits package to replace the LP's and cassette tapes I had in high school and college but then later purchased the full albums on CD. As a result, I've got multiple recordings of most of these songs. As a compilation, it's very good and, although my preference calls for chronological order, well-sequenced.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I'll focus on the few songs that I've only heard on this CD. Unfortunately, the group didn't put their early single, The American, on this disc; they understandably stuck with the more commercial music. I really like what they've done with a traditional Irish melody and turned it into a political song with Belfast Child. Also, Stand By Love and See The Lights sound just like all their mid-'80s radio hits; I guess by their 1991 release that sound wasn't popular anymore. Surprisingly, this disc doesn't contain the almost obligatory one new song that appeared on most greatest hits compilations at the time.

Singles Chart	Year	UK	US
Alive And Kicking	1985	7	3
See The Lights	1991	20	40
Promised You A Miracle	1982	13	-
Sanctify Yourself	1986	10	14
Belfast Child	1989	1	-
Stand By Love	1991	13	-
Up On The Catwalk	1984	27	-
Let There Be Love	1991	6	-
All The Things She Said	1986	9	28
Someone, Somewhere In Summertime	1982	36	-
Waterfront	1983	13	-

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: this reminds me of the spring of 1993. I was married, but this was before children. We were in our first house which had a large living area which had been converted from a garage. I had my stereo in there and listened to this CD while sunlight poured into that room during spring break.