Simple Minds | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Best known in the U.S. for their 1985 number one hit "Dont You (Forget About Me)" from the film The Breakfast Club, Scotlands Simple Minds evolved from a post-punk art rock band influenced by Roxy Music into a grand, epic-sounding pop band along the lines of U2. The band grew out of a Glasgow punk group called Johnny and the Self-Abusers, which featured guitarist Charlie Burchill and lead singer Jim Kerr. The inaugural 1978 lineup of Simple Minds featured a rhythm section of Tony Donald on bass and Brian McGee on drums, plus keyboardist Mick McNeil; Donald was soon replaced by Derek Forbes. Their early albums leaped from one style to another, with Life in a Day consisting mostly of dense, arty pop songs; critical acclaim followed the darker, more experimental art rock of Reel to Real Cacophony and the Euro-disco of Empires and Dance. The group began a transition to a more accessible pop style with the albums Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call, originally issued together and subsequently split up. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) became their first chart album in the U.S., and the tour-shy McGee quit owing to the groups burgeoning popularity, eventually being replaced by Mel Gaynor. Following the Steve Lillywhite-produced Sparkle in the Rain, Jim Kerr married Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde (the two groups had toured together). After Bryan Ferry rejected the opportunity to sing "Dont You (Forget About Me)," Simple Minds almost did so as well; Kerr was dissatisfied with the songs lyrics, which he regarded as formulaic. His change of heart gave Simple Minds their only American chart-topper, and the song later became an international hit as well; however, Kerrs feelings about the song remained ambivalent, and it did not appear on the follow-up album, Once Upon a Time. The album went gold and reached the U.S. Top Ten in spite of criticism for its bombastic, over the top approach. A live album and the uncompromisingly political Street Fighting Years squandered Simple Minds commercial momentum, however. By the time the group returned to more personal themes and its straightforward, anthemic rock on 1991s Real Life, personnel changes and audience loss left the groups future viability in doubt. They werent totally deterred, however. Kerr and Burchill trudged on, releasing Good News from the Next World in 1995, while the single "Shes a River" received moderate airplay. A short tour of North America soon followed, but Simple Minds direction also quickly faded. They needed a break to clarify their own personal stance in music. Derek Forbes returned for 1998s Néapolis, but that, too, wasnt strong enough to sustain Simple Minds newfound creativity. Their famed pop songs had diluted a bit; however, the new millennium proved poignant. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill signed to Eagle Records in early 2001 and constructed their first covers album, Neon Lights, later that fall, paying tribute to Patti Smith, Neil Young, David Bowie, and others. In summer 2002, Kerr and Burchill issued Cry, Simple Minds first batch of new material since 1995s Good News from the Next World. Our Secrets Are the Same, an album that was intended for release in 2000, saw official release in 2003. An extensive reissue program and live recordings followed. Black & White, a new studio album, appeared in 2005, and the charting Graffiti Soul (which saw the return of original drummer Mel Gaynor to the fold) arrived in 2009. Simple Minds accepted a spot at Londons iTunes Festival that year and issued a digital EP of their performance. After a global tour, Simple Minds returned with Big Music in 2014, an album that included two songs co-written with Chvrches Iain Cook. A stripped-down set called Acoustic arrived in late 2016, featuring acoustic reworkings of many of the bands hits. In 2018, the band released its 18th studio long-player, Walk Between Worlds. Co-produced by the band with Andy Wright and Gavin Goldberg (both of whom had worked on Big Music), the album contained two distinct "sides": The first half revisited the glassy guitars and new wave dance grooves of the post-punk era that signified the bands earliest records, while the second explored more cinematic sounds reflected best in the title track and "Barrowland Star," which were both completely orchestrated at Abbey Road. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 38 Title: Life in a Day Released: 1979-05-05 Tracks: 10 Duration: 43:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Someone (03:43) 2 Life in a Day (04:06) 3 Sad Affair (02:46) 4 All for You (02:52) 5 Pleasantly Disturbed (08:01) 6 No Cure (03:34) 7 Chelsea Girl (04:35) 8 Wasteland (03:46) 9 Destiny (03:39) 10 Murder Story (06:19) |
| Life in a Day : Allmusic album Review : Simple Minds astonishingly rapid ascent from humble and derivative post-punk to platinum and transcendent art pop is just as remarkable as the descent that followed it. More remarkable is the fact that a fair portion of the bands fans have such a strict discographical line in the sand drawn -- right at the chart-crashing masterpiece that is New Gold Dream -- where both sides overlap but dont dare cross. While fans of the bands earlier work essentially drop off with that record (and choose to live in blissful denial that the band existed after that), those on the other end are more or less oblivious to whats on the other side. So whats on that other, earlier side? Five studio albums released within the span of three years. Five studio albums that range from safe to bold, from impenetrable to accessible, from strange to puzzling, and from good to pee-your-pants phenomenal. Life in a Day, the first of the five records released during this fascinating pre-fame period of Simple Minds career, is easily the least of the first five. On their debut, they seem to run with a template based on the jittery bounce of Roxy Musics "Virginia Plain" and the keyboard-accentuated lunatic punch of Magazine, a band that had released their own debut a year prior to Life in a Day. (Simple Minds would later release an album with the same title, Real Life. Coincidence?) Despite the growing pains, this is a skilled and assured assemblage of guitar-heavy post-punk, with Jim Kerrs over-caffeinated yelp taking the lead role. The arrangements are full, direct, and sharply executed. The high points: the teeter-tottering title track and the J. Geils Band-like swagger (honestly!) of "Someone." The low point: "Pleasantly Disturbed," an epic Velvet Underground-inspired limp that lasts eight very long minutes. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 38 Title: Real to Real Cacophony Released: 1979-11-11 Tracks: 12 Duration: 41:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Real to Real (02:50) 2 Naked Eye (02:22) 3 Citizen (Dance of Youth) (02:53) 4 Carnival (Shelter in a Suitcase) (02:51) 5 Factory (04:15) 6 Cacophony (01:41) 7 Veldt (03:35) 8 Premonition (05:29) 9 Changeling (04:11) 10 Film Theme (02:26) 11 Calling Your Name (05:06) 12 Scar (03:33) |
| Real to Real Cacophony : Allmusic album Review : To the delight of some open-minded post-punk fans -- fans who also had space for the relatively new, untraditional likes of Devo, Kraftwerk, and Eno in their record collections -- the relative simple-mindedness of Life in a Day was blown to bits and left for dead on the pub floor by Real to Real Cacophony, the wide-eyed carnival-like follow-up released only seven months after its predecessor. The artistic leap from Life in a Day to Real to Real has to be one of the most mesmerizing ones imaginable, an improvement that is even more impressive when the short time between release dates is considered. Its where Simple Minds ventured beyond the ability to mimic their influences and began to manipulate them, mercilessly pushing them around and shaping them into funny objects the way a child transforms a chunk of Play-Doh from an indefinable chunk of nothing into a definable chunk of something. Aside from a mercifully brief lapse into aimless murmuring and doodling that occurs during the middle of the record, Real to Real Cacophony is rife with countless bizarre joys. It knocks you on your back with pretentious artsy-fartsiness as instantly as New Gold Dream dazzles with its art pop pleasures, but its challenging melodicism through jerky time signatures and an endless supply of varied sounds and textures keeps you coming back for more. "Real to Real," a sinister rewrite of Kraftwerks "Radio-Activity," is a good, quick point of reference. Guitars are employed less frequently and are replaced by burbling electronics and further use of keyboard shadings, though the absolute high point of the bands early years, "Changeling," benefits from plangent, angular jabs. The record is certainly as much of an achievement as New Gold Dream -- an achievement thats on a plane with other 1979 post-punk landmarks like Metal Box, 154, Entertainment, and Unknown Pleasures. No kidding. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 38 Title: Empires and Dance Released: 1980-09-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 45:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Travel (04:02) 2 Today I Died Again (04:38) 3 Celebrate (05:09) 4 This Fear of Gods (07:05) 5 Capital City (06:15) 6 Constantinople Line (04:40) 7 Twist/Run/Repulsion (04:32) 8 Thirty Frames a Second (05:03) 9 Kant-Kino (01:53) 10 Room (02:28) |
| Empires and Dance : Allmusic album Review : Hardly content with fumbling around with the same sound, Simple Minds shifted gears once again for album number three, Empires and Dance. The "dance" aspect of the title needs to be emphasized, but its apparent that the groups globetrotting and simmering political tensions in Britain affected their material in more ways than one. One gets the idea that Simple Minds did some clubbing and also experienced some disparate views of the world. The opening "I Travel" is the most assaultive song in the bands catalog, sounding like a Giorgio Moroder production for Roxy Music. Think "I Feel Love" crossed with "Editions of You," only faster; gurgling electronics, a hyperkinetic 4/4 beat, and careening guitars zip by as Jim Kerr delivers elliptical lyrics about unstable world affairs with his throaty yelping (this was still before he developed that predilection for foghorn bombast). The remainder of the album repeals the blitzkrieg frenetics of the beginning and hones in on skeletal arrangements that focus on thick basslines and the loping rhythms that they help frame. The hopping/skipping "Celebrate" isnt much more than a series of handclaps, a light drum stomp, some intermittent bass notes, and some non-intrusive synth effects. It goes absolutely nowhere, yet its more effective and infectious than most verse-chorus-verse pop songs. The seven minutes of "This Fear of Gods," which boast another dense rhythm abetted by trebly atmospheric elements (distant guitars, percolating electronics, sickly wind instruments), come off like an excellent 12" dub, rather than an original mix. Just as bracing, the paranoiac disco of "Thirty Frames a Second" should have been played regularly at every club in 1980 and should live on as a post-punk dance classic. Its a true shock that this record was released with reluctance. The band coerced an unimpressed Arista into pressing a minimal amount of copies for release (fans still had trouble locating copies), but thankfully Virgin reissued it in 1982. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 38 Title: Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call Released: 1981-09-14 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:08:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 In Trance as Mission (06:53) 2 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 3 70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall (04:49) 4 Boys From Brazil (05:30) 5 Love Song (05:03) 6 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 7 Sons and Fascination (05:22) 8 Seeing Out the Angel (06:11) 9 Theme for Great Cities (05:51) 10 The American (03:36) 11 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 12 Wonderful in Young Life (05:20) 13 Careful in Career (05:08) |
| Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call : Allmusic album Review : For their fourth album in three years, Simple Minds signed on with Virgin and enlisted Gongs Steve Hillage as producer. The sessions continued the groups impressive run of high-quality output, but there are instances where ambition gets the best of them. Though their work with Hillage hardly spawned anything on a plane with the two albums that preceded it and the one that followed it, its still a substantial piece of the Simple Minds puzzle. Bridging the art disco of Empires and Dance with the pop masterpiece New Gold Dream, the album falters when the band seems to be reaching a bit too far for their own good. The other stumbling block is Hillages production: Where the basslines of Empires and Dance snapped and tugged and where the drums hit with brisk smacks and thick thumps, the echo-gauze of the production work here diminishes the impact of the bands greatest asset and makes everything sound bigger and busier than necessary. (The massive qualities of New Gold Dream sound much more natural and less forced in comparison.) The record isnt without moments of brilliance, like the exquisitely detailed "70 Cities As Love Brings the Fall" (a great balance between grand melodies and bizarre noise), the insistently snaking "In Trance As Mission," and "Sweat in Bullet," which has sparkling keyboard parts and crafty guitar interplay. Aside from these moments, the mind tends to wander and wonder if the band was trying to do too much. Upon its release, Sons and Fascination was issued for a limited time with a bonus LP, the scattered Sister Feelings Call, which includes a great pre-Sons and Fascination A-side ("The American"). When Virgin issued Sons and Fascination on CD in 1985, the majority of Sister Feelings Call was tacked to the end. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 38 Title: Themes for Great Cities: Definitive Collection 79–81 Released: 1981-11-01 Tracks: 9 Duration: 42:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Travel (04:01) 2 Celebrate (05:09) 3 In Trance as Mission (06:49) 4 Thirty Frames a Second (05:00) 5 Premonition (05:28) 6 Sweat in Bullet (03:00) 7 Love Song (edit) (03:52) 8 The American (03:36) 9 Theme for Great Cities (05:49) |
 | Album: 6 of 38 Title: Celebration Released: 1982 Tracks: 10 Duration: 48:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Life in a Day (04:06) 2 Chelsea Girl (04:35) 3 Premonition (05:29) 4 Factory (04:15) 5 Calling Your Name (05:06) 6 I Travel (04:02) 7 Changeling (04:11) 8 Celebrate (05:09) 9 Thirty Frames a Second / Kant Kino (06:54) 10 Kaleidoscope (04:16) |
| Celebration : Allmusic album Review : Originally released in 1982 by Arista in the U.K. and reissued on CD by the Dutch Disky imprint in 2001, Celebration serviceably culls some of the better moments from Simple Minds first three albums: 1979s Life in a Day and Reel to Real Cacophony and 1980s Empires and Dance. Given the sadly neglected status of the bands early catalog -- meaning anything that was released prior to 1982s breakthrough New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) -- through the early 2000s, it is doubly unfortunate that a compilation like this remained out of print for an extended period of time. And though the studio albums remained in print in the U.K., Simple Minds early years hardly received the red carpet compilation treatment that their later works did. While nothing here came close to approaching the stadium-pleasing popularity of later smashes like "Dont You (Forget About Me)," "Alive and Kicking," or even "Promised You a Miracle," Celebration might provide a little shock to an initiated someone who snaps up a copy. Its a near-definite that plenty of people who own New Gold Dream and/or the Glittering Prize 81/92 compilation remain oblivious to the fact that Simple Minds released five albums that ranged from good to spectacular between 1979 and 1981, before New Gold Dream came along with its perfect balance of art and pop to connect with a mass audience. Not only was 1979-1981 a prolific period for the band, but it was a period that witnessed them blossoming from a decent guitar-based post-punk band to a far more rhythmic and experimental entity that gradually shed their influences while ambitiously building on them. And as the few brave souls who have remained devout Simple Minds fans from day one might tell you, Celebration has stood the test of time better than Glittering Prize track-for-track. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 38 Title: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) Released: 1982-09-13 Tracks: 9 Duration: 46:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 2 Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel (03:49) 3 Promised You a Miracle (04:27) 4 Big Sleep (05:00) 5 Somebody Up There Likes You (05:00) 6 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:39) 7 Glittering Prize (04:33) 8 Hunter and the Hunted (05:55) 9 King Is White and in the Crowd (07:02) |
| New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) : Allmusic album Review : One of Scotlands finest exports, Simple Minds deliver a strong synth-reared release on New Gold Dream. This album harks the darker side of the bands musicianship, and such material alludes to their forthcoming pop-stadium sound which hurled them into rock mainstream during the latter part of the 80s. They were still honing their artistic rowdiness, and Kerrs pursuing vocals were still hiding. But Simple Minds skill of tapping into internal emotion is profound on songs such as "Someone, Somewhere in Summertime" and the albums title track. But the dance-oriented tracks like "Promised You a Miracle" and "Glittering Prize" are lushly layered in deep electronic beats -- it was only a matter of time for Simple Minds to expound upon such musical creativity which made them a household favorite through the 1980s. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 38 Title: Sparkle in the Rain Released: 1983 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Up on the Catwalk (04:45) 2 Book of Brilliant Things (04:23) 3 Speed Your Love to Me (04:25) 4 Waterfront (04:50) 5 East at Easter (03:31) 6 Street Hassle (05:16) 7 White Hot Day (04:34) 8 “C” Moon Cry Like a Baby (04:21) 9 The Kick Inside of Me (04:49) 10 Shake Off the Ghosts (03:59) |
| Sparkle in the Rain : Allmusic album Review : In less than four years, Simple Minds produced and progressed like few other bands. They released six albums, including a pair of nervy post-punk classics in Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance, as well as the lavish "new pop" triumph New Gold Dream. Their audience expanded, and dates opening for the likes of U2 and the Police placed them in stadiums. The bands sound naturally became less subtle. For Sparkle in the Rain, they sought U2 producer Steve Lillywhite, whose approach helped shape their performances into a forceful, direct set of commercial rock designed to shake nosebleed seats. Despite frontman Jim Kerrs vaguest gesturing and most voluble bellowing to that point, the move worked. The pounding "Waterfront," hurtling "Speed Your Love to Me," and gleaming "Up on the Catwalk," the albums singles, all reached the Top 30 in the U.K., and by the end of the year, the band was headlining North American hockey arenas and amphitheaters. Apart from the brawling "The Kick Inside of Me," which contains one of Kerrs least tethered turns, none of the album cuts matches the urgency heard in the singles. Relatively restrained moments, such as the absurdly titled "C Moon Cry Like a Baby" ("Could this be something we dont understand," indeed), resemble stiff stabs at re-creating tense drama akin to the tail end of New Gold Dream. As successful as it was, Sparkle in the Rain merely poised Simple Minds for their biggest year, 1985, when they followed up with "(Dont You) Forget About Me" and "Alive and Kicking," singles that hit the Top Ten in the U.K. and the U.S. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 38 Title: Once Upon a Time Released: 1985-10-21 Tracks: 8 Duration: 40:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Once Upon a Time (05:45) 2 All the Things She Said (04:16) 3 Ghost Dancing (04:45) 4 Alive and Kicking (05:26) 5 Oh Jungleland (05:14) 6 I Wish You Were Here (04:42) 7 Sanctify Yourself (04:57) 8 Come a Long Way (05:07) |
| Once Upon a Time : Allmusic album Review : Riding the coattails of the John Hughes flick The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds finally broke into America with their theme song "Dont You Forget About Me," and their 1985 release Once Upon a Time captured the heart-wrenching excitement found in bands such as U2. They were now one of the biggest names in music, and Jim Kerrs thirsting vocals became the bands signature. Once Upon a Time, featuring producer Jimmy Iovine (U2, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen), showcased more of a guitar-driven sound. The bands heavy synth pop beats had relaxed a bit and Charlie Burchills charming playing style was most noticeable. Also enlisting the choir-like beauty of Robin Clark, Simple Minds popularity was expounded on songs such as "Alive & Kicking" and "Sanctify Yourself." This album was one of their best, most likely leading the pack in the bands album roster, because it exuded raw energy and solid composition not entirely captured on previous albums. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 38 Title: Live in the City of Light Released: 1987-05-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:22:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Ghostdancing (07:21) 2 Big Sleep (04:27) 3 Waterfront (05:21) 4 Promised You a Miracle (04:37) 5 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (05:59) 6 Oh Jungleland (06:35) 7 Alive and Kicking (06:26) 1 Dont You (Forget About Me) (06:38) 2 Once Upon a Time (06:05) 3 Book of Brilliant Things (04:53) 4 East at Easter (04:21) 5 Sanctify Yourself (07:05) 6 Love Song / Sun City / Dance to the Music (07:02) 7 New Gold Dream (05:29) |
| Live in the City of Light : Allmusic album Review : Recorded primarily at Le Zenith in Paris on the last date of a world tour in August 1986 and released as a stopgap to satiate fans while the group spent another two years crafting its studio follow-up to Once Upon a Time, Simple Minds double-album Live in the City of Light was a good summation of the bands rise to worldwide fame between 1982-1985. Except for the 1981 "Love Song" (paired in a medley with covers of Artists United Against Apartheids "Sun City" and Sly & the Family Stones "Dance to the Music") and the inevitable movie song hit "Dont You Forget About Me," all the selections came from New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), Sparkle in the Rain, and Once Upon a Time, and they were played in a heavily echoed, big-production style in keeping with Simple Minds status as stadium-fillers. There werent many subtleties, and Jim Kerr and company didnt make much effort to reach out to the crowd, assuming their adoration and simply basking in it. Kerr did encourage the audience to sing along on the "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" hook of "Dont You Forget About Me," but for the most part this was an album for the faithful who would respond to its familiar sounds without prompting. And in much of the world, they did. In the U.K., the album entered the charts at number one. In America, it was a different story. There, the recently established group could have used a new studio album and a hit single to consolidate the success of "Dont You Forget About Me" and Once Upon a Time rather than a pricey stock-taking effort like this, and the release broke their commercial momentum, especially because the next studio album, Street Fighting Years, didnt turn up until 1989. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 38 Title: Street Fighting Years Released: 1989-05-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:01:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Street Fighting Years (06:26) 2 Soul Crying Out (06:07) 3 Wall of Love (05:20) 4 This Is Your Land (06:22) 5 Take a Step Back (04:23) 6 Kick It In (06:11) 7 Let It All Come Down (04:56) 8 Mandela Day (05:45) 9 Belfast Child (06:41) 10 Biko (07:34) 11 When Spirits Rise (02:01) |
| Street Fighting Years : Allmusic album Review : Their first proper new release since the commercial breakthrough of Once Upon a Time (a live album intervened) and Simple Minds makes a decidedly, noncommercial follow-up. Street Fighting Years is a moody, dark affair. The music is yearning and most of the songs are politically charged lyrically. It was a move that could (and did) bring commercial failure. However, Street Fighting Years is an artistic and elegant album that might lack immediate choruses but draws in the listener. The title track takes some dramatic turns that give the gentle melody added thrust. "Take a Step Back" pulsates and "Wall of Love" rocks with conviction. Slower tracks like the brooding "Let It All Come Down" and a spirited run through the traditional "Belfast Child" are well done. Other noteworthy tracks include a version of the Peter Gabriel classic "Biko" and the soaring "Mandela Day." It might not have satisfied the bands newly won fans, but Street Fighting Years is an interesting, enjoyable album with some truly lovely moments. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 38 Title: Themes, Volume 1: March 79 – April 82 Released: 1990-09-24 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:28:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Travel (06:14) 2 Celebrate (05:03) 3 Film Theme (02:18) 1 The American (06:58) 2 League of Nations (04:58) 3 Sound in 70 Cities (05:02) 1 Love Song (05:04) 2 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 3 Life in a Day (04:07) 1 Sweat in Bullet (07:23) 2 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 3 League of Nations (06:14) 4 In Trance as Mission (07:18) 1 Promised You a Miracle (04:54) 2 Theme for Great Cities (05:54) 3 Seeing Out the Angel (06:31) |
 | Album: 13 of 38 Title: Themes, Volume 2: August 82 – April 85 Released: 1990-09-25 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:27:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Glittering Prize (club mix) (04:57) 2 New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) (German 12″ remix) (06:52) 3 Glittering Prize (04:57) 1 Someone Somewhere In Summertime (04:40) 2 King Is White and in the Crowd (05:19) 3 Soundtrack for Every Heaven (04:55) 1 Waterfront (extended) (05:53) 2 Hunter and the Hunted (live) (05:58) 3 “C” Moon Cry Like a Baby (04:21) 1 Speed Your Love to Me (extended mix) (07:22) 2 Speed Your Love to Me (04:05) 3 Bass Line (04:41) 1 Dont You (Forget About Me) (12″ mix) (06:33) 2 Upon the Catwalk (extended version) (07:36) 3 A Brass Band in African Chimes (09:22) |
 | Album: 14 of 38 Title: Themes, Volume 3: September 85 – June 87 Released: 1990-10-08 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:49:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Alive and Kicking (05:26) 2 Alive and Kicking (06:08) 3 Up on the Catwalk (05:49) 1 Sanctify Yourself (extended mix) (07:15) 2 Sanctify Yourself (dub) (06:12) 3 Love Song (live) (05:42) 4 Street Hassle (live) (07:24) 1 All the Things She Said (extended version) (05:12) 2 Promised You a Miracle (US remix) (06:04) 3 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (09:04) 1 Ghostdancing (12″) (06:59) 2 Ghostdancing (instrumental) (04:53) 3 Oh Jungleland (12″) (07:00) 4 Oh Jungleland (instrumental) (06:08) 1 Promised You a Miracle (04:54) 2 Book of Brilliant Things (04:53) 3 Glittering Prize (04:28) 4 Celebrate (05:43) |
 | Album: 15 of 38 Title: Themes, Volume 4: February 89 – May 90 Released: 1990-10-09 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:45:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Belfast Child (06:41) 2 Mandela Day (05:41) 3 Biko (07:34) 1 This Is Your Land (full length version) (06:18) 2 Saturday Girl (06:10) 3 Year of the Dragon (03:07) 1 Kick It In (06:11) 2 Waterfront (89 remix) (05:24) 3 Big Sleep (live) (06:39) 4 Kick It In (unauthorised mix) (07:05) 1 Sign o’ the Times (05:38) 2 Let It All Come Down (04:53) 3 Sign o’ the Times (CJ Mackintosh mix) (06:14) 4 Jerusalem (02:58) 1 Street Fighting Years (10:02) 2 Mandela Day (08:12) 3 Kick It In (06:44) |
 | Album: 16 of 38 Title: Real Life Released: 1991-04-15 Tracks: 13 Duration: 52:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Real Life (04:53) 2 See the Lights (04:22) 3 Let There Be Love (04:57) 4 Woman (04:40) 5 Stand by Love (04:04) 6 Let the Children Speak (04:16) 7 African Skies (04:52) 8 Ghostrider (03:21) 9 Instrumental Bridge to Banging on the Door (01:15) 10 Banging on the Door (04:23) 11 Travelling Man (03:34) 12 Rivers of Ice (03:30) 13 When Two Worlds Collide (04:01) |
| Real Life : Allmusic album Review : One prize Simple Minds will never win is for being the most consistent band in the world. Some of their albums have been strong (New Gold Dream, Sparkle in the Rain, and Once Upon a Time, to name a few), while others have been weak and disappointing. Real Life isnt terrible, but play it next to any of those aforementioned albums, and youre reminded how much less inspired their writing had become by the early 90s. Though some of the songs are decent (including the catchy "Stand By Love" and the haunting "Woman"), the majority of them arent very memorable. Only the most devoted Simple Minds fans will want this generally uneventful CD; more casual listeners would be much better off sticking to the bands mid-80s work. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 38 Title: Glittering Prize 81/92 Released: 1992-10-04 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:12:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Waterfront (04:50) 2 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (04:20) 3 Alive and Kicking (04:47) 4 Sanctify Yourself (03:57) 5 Love Song (edit) (03:52) 6 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 7 See the Lights (04:22) 8 Belfast Child (06:41) 9 The American (03:36) 10 All the Things She Said (04:16) 11 Promised You a Miracle (03:58) 12 Ghost Dancing (04:45) 13 Speed Your Love to Me (04:25) 14 Glittering Prize (04:00) 15 Let There Be Love (04:43) 16 Mandela Day (05:41) |
 | Album: 18 of 38 Title: Good News From the Next World Released: 1995-01-30 Tracks: 9 Duration: 48:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 She’s a River (05:31) 2 Night Music (05:23) 3 Hypnotised (05:53) 4 Great Leap Forward (05:35) 5 7 Deadly Sins (05:10) 6 And the Band Played On (05:32) 7 My Life (05:15) 8 Criminal World (05:02) 9 This Time (04:58) |
| Good News From the Next World : Allmusic album Review : Appearing after the commercial failure of The Real Life, Good News from the Next World managed to stir up some attention from both album and alternative rock stations. However, the record quickly faded and its easy to see why -- apart from the slick "Shes a River," there is no strong single material. Its well-produced and performed, yet Simple Minds songs just miss the mark. | ||
 | Album: 19 of 38 Title: The Promised Released: 1997-09-29 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:17:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Belfast Child (06:41) 2 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (04:20) 3 Alive and Kicking (04:47) 4 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 5 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:37) 6 Sanctify Yourself (04:00) 7 See the Lights (04:26) 8 Waterfront (04:50) 9 The American (03:36) 10 Shes a River (05:34) 11 Hypnotised (05:53) 12 Promised You a Miracle (03:58) 13 Speed Your Love to Me (04:25) 14 Glittering Prize (04:00) 15 Let There Be Love (04:43) 16 Mandela Day (05:41) |
 | Album: 20 of 38 Title: The Early Years 1977-1978 Released: 1998 Tracks: 13 Duration: 48:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 18-18 (02:09) 2 Tonight (02:34) 3 Little Bitch (02:52) 4 Pablo Picasso (03:33) 5 Subway Sex (03:16) 6 Lies (01:45) 7 Wasteland (03:29) 8 Act Of Love (04:16) 9 European Son (04:06) 10 Cocteau Twins (03:53) 11 Chelsea Girl (06:16) 12 Did You Ever ? (02:37) 13 Pleasantly Disturbed (08:10) |
 | Album: 21 of 38 Title: Néapolis Released: 1998-03-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 45:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Song for the Tribes (05:37) 2 Glitterball (04:55) 3 War Babies (05:03) 4 Tears of a Guy (04:48) 5 Superman v Supersoul (04:47) 6 Lightning (05:35) 7 If I Had Wings (04:43) 8 Killing Andy Warhol (05:16) 9 Androgyny (05:08) |
 | Album: 22 of 38 Title: Neon Lights Released: 2001-10-08 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Gloria (03:45) 2 The Man Who Sold the World (04:07) 3 Homosapien (04:20) 4 Dancing Barefoot (03:48) 5 Neon Lights (04:16) 6 Hello, I Love You (03:32) 7 Bring On the Dancing Horses (05:51) 8 The Needle & the Damage Done (04:15) 9 For Your Pleasure (04:08) 10 All Tomorrows Parties (03:33) 11 Being Boiled (03:51) 12 Love Will Tear Us Apart (04:48) |
| Neon Lights : Allmusic album Review : Simple Minds attempted to rectify their glory days as an act classic with signature hooks and dreamy lyrical stories on 1995s Good News From the Next World and 1997s Neapolis, but grunge and modern rock had overtaken the new pop generation and Simple Minds fans had moved beyond the beauty of it all. Still, frontman Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill continued on, and into the new millennium remained an ambitious pair determined to prolong their career on their own terms. Neon Lights, Simple Minds debut for Eagle Records and their first covers album, suggests that perhaps Kerr and Burchill are having a good laugh. This concept album boasts their own favorites -- cuts by David Bowie ("The Man Who Sold the World"), Neil Young ("The Needle & the Damage Done"), Kraftwerk ("Neon Lights"), the Doors ("Hello, I Love You"), and others -- and a confidence that Simple Minds attempt to pass off with some interesting tweaking. Patti Smiths "Dancing Barefoot" starts off with its usual acoustic brushing, but twangy licks are added and the dark haunt of the track itself switches tempo to be more fashionable without the ability to simply arrive like the original version. Echo and the Bunnymens "Bring on the Dancing Horses" bounces with typical new wave beats, while Burchills copycat riffs do little to carry one of the Bunnymens finest tracks. When Neon Lights could have closed, Simple Minds rendition of Joy Divisions "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is one of the albums shocking moments. Joy Division, like many of the other acts included on Neon Lights, should remain untreaded territory. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" swirls around early U2 licks (listeners always knew Simple Minds wanted to be like them) and a repetitive chorus, its no longer sacred. Its permeable and redundant, something so unfortunate for one of the most influential tracks to come from post-punk. Regardless if theyre paying tribute to some of their favorites, Simple Minds waltz on sacred ground on Neon Lights. The composition doesnt work and its a laughable effort, sadly. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 38 Title: The Best of Simple Minds Released: 2001-11-05 Tracks: 32 Duration: 2:28:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (04:20) 2 Promised You a Miracle (03:58) 3 Waterfront (04:50) 4 Alive and Kicking (05:26) 5 Glittering Prize (04:00) 6 All the Things She Said (04:16) 7 Sanctify Yourself (04:57) 8 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 9 Ghost Dancing (04:45) 10 Up on the Catwalk (04:06) 11 Speed Your Love to Me (04:05) 12 Theme for Great Cities (05:51) 13 Love Song (edit) (03:52) 14 The American (03:36) 15 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 16 Life in a Day (04:06) 17 I Travel (04:02) 1 Let There Be Love (05:16) 2 This Is Your Land (05:05) 3 Kick It In (04:22) 4 Let It All Come Down (03:41) 5 See the Lights (04:26) 6 Stand by Love (04:09) 7 Real Life (04:53) 8 She’s a River (04:32) 9 Hypnotised (04:46) 10 Glitterball (04:28) 11 War Babies (04:25) 12 Mandela Day (05:41) 13 Biko (07:34) 14 Belfast Child (06:41) 15 The Real Life (02:55) |
| The Best of Simple Minds : Allmusic album Review : Simple Minds, the Scottish group led by Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, has had a very different career in the U.S. from the one its enjoyed in its native U.K., and that leads to different estimations of this compilation. As far as Britain is concerned, it is a much-needed, comprehensive collection of the bands hit singles, no less than 26 of which placed in the charts between 1979 and 1998, including eight that hit the Top Ten. But Simple Minds stateside success was much more modest. The group is recalled as a phenomenon of the synth pop style of the mid-80s, when it went to number one with "Dont You (Forget About Me)" from the movie The Breakfast Club, then broke three Top 40 hits from its gold-selling 1985 album Once Upon a Time. Subsequent efforts were not nearly as popular, and by 1998 its most recent album, Néapolis, wasnt even given an American release. On U.S. terms, therefore, the two CDs and nearly two and a half hours of The Best of Simple Minds are much more than fans really need. If they give it a chance, however, they will hear a band that had much more to offer than its American chart-topper. The album is not in strict chronological order, but the first disc covers material from 1979 to 1986, much of it heavily produced music in which every possible hole is filled by keyboard sounds, big drums, and Kerrs echoey vocals declaiming portentously. The second disc, covering the years 1989 to 1998, leaves more space in the arrangements to make room for even more serious lyrical sentiments. Virgin probably counted on the 80s revival during the early 00s to justify this American release, and U.S. fans who know only Simple Minds few stateside hits will find much else to admire here. | ||
 | Album: 24 of 38 Title: Cry Released: 2002-04-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 47:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Cry (03:57) 2 Spaceface (03:53) 3 New Sunshine Morning (03:36) 4 One Step Closer (06:06) 5 Face in the Sun (03:57) 6 Disconnected (03:37) 7 Lazy Lately (04:02) 8 Sugar (03:13) 9 Sleeping Girl (04:11) 10 Cry Again (03:35) 11 Slave Nation (03:01) 12 The Floating World (04:23) |
| Cry : Allmusic album Review : No new ground is broken on Cry. In fact, Simple Minds reliance on glistening synthesizer textures, the bands most distinguishing characteristic when it broke in the mid-80s, becomes the only notable detail on the disc. With unmemorable material and the vocals of Jim Kerr showing little interpretive or technical advancement, each track hangs heavily on the keyboards, which become so dominant that some guitar parts merely imitate electronic effects; the tremolo strings on "Sleeping Girl" may as well come from a sample loop. To its credit, Simple Minds has a unique sound; no matter who among the many credited keyboardists is actually playing a given part, it cant be mistaken for the product of any other band (with the exception of the last track, Vince Clarkes "The Floating World," whose galloping rhythm nods obviously toward Erasure). But when sheen takes precedence over substance, and particularly when that sheen has gleamed for nearly 30 years, that says something about whats been missing from the hearts of Simple Minds. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 38 Title: Early Gold Released: 2003-06-30 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:09:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Life in a Day (04:06) 2 Chelsea Girl (04:35) 3 Changeling (04:11) 4 Factory (04:15) 5 Premonition (05:29) 6 I Travel (04:02) 7 Celebrate (05:09) 8 Thirty Frames a Second (05:03) 9 The American (03:36) 10 Love Song (05:03) 11 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 12 Promised You a Miracle (04:27) 13 Glittering Prize (04:33) 14 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 15 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:39) |
| Early Gold : Allmusic album Review : Go back to 1993 and try to imagine this: Radiohead releases their debut album in April, skips right over the Bends/OK Computer era, and puts out their second album, Kid A, in October. It sounds inconceivable, yes, but a parallel situation actually happened, albeit in another decade to another band -- a band that eventually went on to fill stadiums and mar its best material in those venues with bloated egos, lengthy guitar solos, a plague of late-80s midrange, and other disastrous forms. Like Radiohead, Simple Minds started with a respectable debut that was contemporary but not exactly exceptional. However, there were hardly any traces of that band left in the second album, Reel to Real Cacophony, which came only half a year later. By the end of 1982, the band had released another three albums (plus one EP) and swept up millions of fans along the way. This period of the band -- one hesitates to say phase, since each album seems like its own phase -- is best experienced on an album-by-album basis. The straight-ahead post-punk of Life in a Day, the fractured whims of Reel to Real, the sparse disco of Empires and Dance, the expansive, echo-laden prog-pop of Sons and Fascination, and the bands crowning achievement, New Gold Dream, are each worthy of complete immersion. If thats too much to dig into, Early Gold is a very concise alternate that cherry picks the singles from those albums. And since the choices for the singles were nearly faultless, this is a good introduction to the group prebombast. Consistently great and unpredictable at the same time, the Simple Minds heard here stands in stark contrast to what came after their snowballing success. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 38 Title: Silver Box Released: 2004-10-18 Tracks: 60 Duration: 5:18:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Life in a Day (live) (04:09) 2 Chelsea Girl (live) (05:08) 3 Here Comes the Fool (live) (04:45) 4 Changeling (session) (04:00) 5 Premonition (05:34) 6 Citizen (Dance of Youth) (session) (02:57) 7 Room (session) (04:22) 8 I Travel (demo) (03:49) 9 Celebrate (demo) (04:24) 10 Thirty Frames a Second (demo) (05:24) 11 Twist/Run/Repulsion (demo) (04:08) 12 Capital City (demo) (05:33) 13 New Warm Skin (demo) (04:19) 14 Constantinople Line (demo) (04:40) 15 Careful in Career (demo) (06:33) 1 The American (demo) (03:59) 2 Life in Oils (demo) (04:13) 3 Sweat in Bullet (demo) (04:28) 4 Love Song (demo) (04:59) 5 Promised You a Miracle (session) (04:25) 6 In Trance As Mission (session) (04:30) 7 Someone Somewhere In Summertime (session) (05:08) 8 Glittering Prize (session) (04:21) 9 Hunter and the Hunted (session) (05:48) 10 The Kick Inside of Me (session) (05:36) 11 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (live) (12:33) 12 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (rehearsal) (07:14) 1 Waterfront (10:34) 2 Ghostdancing (07:32) 3 Book of Brilliant Things (06:44) 4 Once Upon a Time (07:13) 5 All the Things She Said (05:28) 6 Alive and Kicking (07:24) 7 Sanctify Yourself (05:30) 8 Mandela Day (06:06) 9 Real Life (06:44) 10 See the Lights (05:29) 1 Travelling Man (05:18) 2 East at Easter (04:15) 3 Bangin’ on the Door (05:45) 4 Stand by Love (04:28) 5 Oh Jungleland (06:44) 6 King Is White and in the Crowd (04:17) 7 Big Sleep (05:18) 8 Let There Be Love (05:38) 9 Ghostrider (04:05) 10 Belfast Child (09:02) 11 She’s a River (06:11) 12 Up on the Catwalk (04:46) 13 Hypnotised (07:00) 1 Swimming Towards the Sun (04:32) 2 Jeweller to the Stars (03:27) 3 Space (04:15) 4 Death by Chocolate (03:35) 5 Waiting at the End of the World (03:25) 6 Neon Cowboys (03:51) 7 She Knows (04:07) 8 Hello (03:23) 9 Happy Is the Man (04:23) 10 Sleeping (04:30) |
 | Album: 27 of 38 Title: Black & White 050505 Released: 2005-09-12 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Stay Visible (05:19) 2 Home (04:23) 3 Stranger (04:08) 4 Different World (04:37) 5 Underneath the Ice (04:45) 6 The Jeweller, Part 2 (04:18) 7 A Life Shot in Black & White (03:35) 8 Kiss the Ground (04:06) 9 Dolphins (05:56) |
 | Album: 28 of 38 Title: Themes, Volumes 1-5: March 79 - September 92 Released: 2008 Tracks: 85 Duration: 8:17:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Travel (06:14) 2 Celebrate (05:03) 3 Film Theme (02:18) 1 The American (06:58) 2 League of Nations (04:58) 3 Sound in 70 Cities (05:02) 1 Love Song (05:04) 2 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 3 Life in a Day (04:07) 1 Sweat in Bullet (07:23) 2 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 3 League of Nations (06:14) 4 In Trance as Mission (07:18) 1 Promised You a Miracle (04:54) 2 Theme for Great Cities (05:54) 3 Seeing Out the Angel (06:31) 1 Glittering Prize (club mix) (04:57) 2 New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) (German 12″ remix) (06:52) 3 Glittering Prize (04:57) 1 Someone Somewhere In Summertime (04:40) 2 King Is White and in the Crowd (05:19) 3 Soundtrack for Every Heaven (04:55) 1 Waterfront (extended) (05:53) 2 Hunter and the Hunted (live) (05:58) 3 “C” Moon Cry Like a Baby (04:21) 1 Speed Your Love to Me (extended mix) (07:22) 2 Speed Your Love to Me (04:05) 3 Bass Line (04:41) 1 Dont You (Forget About Me) (12″ mix) (06:33) 2 Upon the Catwalk (extended version) (07:36) 3 A Brass Band in African Chimes (09:22) 1 Alive and Kicking (05:26) 2 Alive and Kicking (06:08) 3 Up on the Catwalk (05:49) 1 Sanctify Yourself (extended mix) (07:15) 2 Sanctify Yourself (dub) (06:12) 3 Love Song (live) (05:42) 4 Street Hassle (live) (07:24) 1 All the Things She Said (extended version) (05:12) 2 Promised You a Miracle (US remix) (06:04) 3 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (09:04) 1 Ghostdancing (12″) (06:59) 2 Ghostdancing (instrumental) (04:53) 3 Oh Jungleland (12″) (07:00) 4 Oh Jungleland (instrumental) (06:08) 1 Promised You a Miracle (04:54) 2 Book of Brilliant Things (04:53) 3 Glittering Prize (04:28) 4 Celebrate (05:43) 1 Belfast Child (06:41) 2 Mandela Day (05:41) 3 Biko (07:34) 1 This Is Your Land (full length version) (06:18) 2 Saturday Girl (06:10) 3 Year of the Dragon (03:07) 1 Kick It In (06:11) 2 Waterfront (89 remix) (05:24) 3 Big Sleep (live) (06:39) 4 Kick It In (unauthorised mix) (07:05) 1 Sign o’ the Times (05:38) 2 Let It All Come Down (04:53) 3 Sign o’ the Times (CJ Mackintosh mix) (06:14) 4 Jerusalem (02:58) 1 Street Fighting Years (10:02) 2 Mandela Day (08:12) 3 Kick It In (06:44) 1 Let There Be Love (extended mix) (08:16) 2 Goodnight (03:20) 3 Let There Be Love (7″ mix) (04:44) 4 Alive and Kicking (live) (03:51) 1 See the Lights (12″ version) (07:01) 2 Theme for Great Cities ’91 (extended version) (06:32) 3 Theme for Great Cities ’91 (edit) (04:42) 4 Soul Crying Out (08:04) 1 Stand by Love (04:09) 2 King Is White and in the Crowd (04:20) 3 Let There Be Love (live) (05:21) 1 Real Life (03:56) 2 See the Lights (live) (05:04) 3 Belfast Child (live) (09:15) 1 Love Song (extended remix) (05:05) 2 Love Song (live) (04:31) 3 Travelling Man (05:15) 4 Oh Jungleland (live) (06:39) 5 Alive and Kicking (live) (06:06) |
 | Album: 29 of 38 Title: Themes, Volume 5: March 91 – September 92 Released: 2008-06-23 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:46:19 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Let There Be Love (extended mix) (08:16) 2 Goodnight (03:20) 3 Let There Be Love (7″ mix) (04:44) 4 Alive and Kicking (live) (03:51) 1 See the Lights (12″ version) (07:01) 2 Theme for Great Cities ’91 (extended version) (06:32) 3 Theme for Great Cities ’91 (edit) (04:42) 4 Soul Crying Out (08:04) 1 Stand by Love (04:09) 2 King Is White and in the Crowd (04:20) 3 Let There Be Love (live) (05:21) 1 Real Life (03:56) 2 See the Lights (live) (05:04) 3 Belfast Child (live) (09:15) 1 Love Song (extended remix) (05:05) 2 Love Song (live) (04:31) 3 Travelling Man (05:15) 4 Oh Jungleland (live) (06:39) 5 Alive and Kicking (live) (06:06) |
 | Album: 30 of 38 Title: Graffiti Soul Released: 2009-05-25 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Moscow Underground (05:01) 2 Rockets (04:36) 3 Stars Will Lead the Way (03:26) 4 Light Travels (04:12) 5 Kiss and Fly (05:01) 6 Graffiti Soul (04:48) 7 Blood Type O (03:49) 8 This Is It (04:52) 9 Shadow and Light (02:50) 10 Rockin’ in the Free World (04:18) |
| Graffiti Soul : Allmusic album Review : Its easy to forget that during the era of Brat Pack movies and Live Aid, Glaswegian outfit Simple Minds was U2s biggest challenger for the globe-straddling stadium rock crown. But while Bono and co. went on to take over the world, the status of Jim Kerr and his ever-changing lineup has since been relegated to the kind of VH1 Remember the 80s nostalgia territory. They may have slipped under the radar since their last genuine hit, 1995s Good News from the Next World, but contrary to belief, the band hasnt just been sitting on the royalties from its iconic 80s anthems, but have continued to carve out a rather prolific, if largely unnoticed, recording career. Following 2005s return to form, Black & White -- their 15th studio album -- and their fifth 2000s effort, Graffiti Soul, they continue to rehabilitate their reputation, which was slightly sullied by their sometimes overwrought and pompous 90s efforts. Produced by longtime collaborator Jez Coad, and featuring original members Charlie Burchill and Mel Gaynor, alongside bassist Eddy Duffy, several of its ten tracks were written on the same kitchen table in Glasgow where Kerr penned most of their early material, giving the album a reassuring back-to-basics feel which echoes the glossy art rock of their early-80s prime. Full of their trademark crashing guitars, spacy synths, and Kerrs broodingly impassioned vocals, rousing lead single "Rockets," fist-pumping anthem "This Is It," and the slow-burning "Kiss and Fly" could all have appeared on the likes of Sparkle in the Rain and Once Upon a Time. But elsewhere, theres a slight Krautrock feel to the likes of opening track "Moscow Underground," a moody and low-key slice of throbbing, Eno-esque underground disco, the rumbling basslines and inspired use of dulcimers on "Blood Type O," and the mystical shimmering of the Bowie-influenced "Light Travels," all of which make it surprising that Berlin wasnt a stop-off point in the trans-European recording process. A faithful cover version of Neil Youngs "Rockin in the Free World" rounds up the proceedings, while a bonus edition featuring reworkings of songs by Massive Attack, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joan Armatrading provides an extra treat for their loyal fan base. But Graffiti Soul stands up on its own merits. Simple Minds may have been left in the dust by U2 a long time ago, but released just weeks apart from the aforementioneds disappointing No Line on the Horizon, its Simple Minds who surprisingly emerge victorious from this battle. | ||
 | Album: 31 of 38 Title: X5 Released: 2012-02-20 Tracks: 75 Duration: 5:58:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Someone (03:43) 2 Life in a Day (04:06) 3 Sad Affair (02:46) 4 All for You (02:52) 5 Pleasantly Disturbed (08:01) 6 No Cure (03:34) 7 Chelsea Girl (04:35) 8 Wasteland (03:46) 9 Destiny (03:39) 10 Murder Story (06:19) 11 Special View (04:17) 12 Garden of Hate (04:28) 1 Real to Real (02:50) 2 Naked Eye (02:22) 3 Citizen (Dance of Youth) (02:53) 4 Carnival (Shelter in a Suitcase) (02:51) 5 Factory (04:15) 6 Cacophony (01:41) 7 Veldt (03:35) 8 Premonition (05:29) 9 Changeling (04:11) 10 Film Theme (02:26) 11 Calling Your Name (05:06) 12 Scar (03:33) 13 Kaleidoscope (04:18) 14 Film Theme Dub (01:29) 15 Premonition (Live at Hurrah’s Cub, New York: 24/10/79) (05:43) 1 I Travel (04:02) 2 Today I Died Again (04:38) 3 Celebrate (05:09) 4 This Fear of Gods (07:05) 5 Capital City (06:15) 6 Constantinople Line (04:40) 7 Twist/Run/Repulsion (04:32) 8 Thirty Frames a Second (05:03) 9 Kant-Kino (01:53) 10 Room (02:28) 11 New Warm Skin (04:35) 12 I Travel (extended) (06:14) 13 Celebrate (extended) (06:47) 1 In Trance as Mission (06:53) 2 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 3 70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall (04:49) 4 Boys From Brazil (05:30) 5 Love Song (05:03) 6 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 7 Sons and Fascination (05:22) 8 Seeing Out the Angel (06:11) 9 Sweat in Bullet (07:23) 10 In Trance as Mission (07:15) 11 This Earth That You Walk Upon (instrumental) (05:26) 1 Theme for Great Cities (05:51) 2 The American (03:36) 3 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 4 Wonderful in Young Life (05:20) 5 League of Nations (04:56) 6 Careful in Career (05:08) 7 Sound in 70 Cities (05:04) 8 The American (extended) (07:03) 9 League of Nations (06:10) 1 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 2 Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel (03:49) 3 Promised You a Miracle (04:27) 4 Big Sleep (05:00) 5 Somebody Up There Likes You (05:00) 6 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:39) 7 Glittering Prize (04:33) 8 Hunter and the Hunted (05:55) 9 King Is White and in the Crowd (07:02) 10 Promised You a Miracle (extended) (04:51) 11 Glittering Prize (club mix) (04:58) 12 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (extended) (06:03) 13 Soundtrack for Every Heaven (04:58) 14 New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) (German 12″ remix) (07:01) 15 In Every Heaven (04:24) |
| X5 : Allmusic album Review : In 2003, Virgin reissued the Simple Minds catalog from Life in a Day (1979) through Good News from the Next World (1995). Less than a decade later, the label and the band put together this compact and inexpensive box set, which includes the first five Simple Minds albums, 1979-1982, in individual sleeves that reproduce the original album art. The 2003 versions were issued in jewel cases with no bonus tracks. The versions here add newly remastered bonus tracks -- an incomplete assortment of B-sides, live versions, and extended mixes -- that amount to over 90 minutes of extra material, some of which were re-circulated in 2008 through the massive Themes box/doorstop. Prior to their cross into the mainstream, Simple Minds were one of the most vital and creative acts of the post-punk era. Even if youre well aware of that fact, its astonishing to consider that these five albums, all radically different from one another, were released within a span of three-and-a-half years. | ||
 | Album: 32 of 38 Title: 5 Album Set Released: 2012-10-12 Tracks: 53 Duration: 4:32:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In Trance as Mission (06:53) 2 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 3 70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall (04:49) 4 Boys From Brazil (05:30) 5 Love Song (05:03) 6 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 7 Sons and Fascination (05:22) 8 Seeing Out the Angel (06:11) 9 Theme for Great Cities (05:51) 10 The American (03:51) 11 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 12 Wonderful in Young Life (05:20) 13 League of Nations (04:56) 14 Careful in Career (05:08) 15 Sound in 70 Cities (05:04) 1 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 2 Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel (03:49) 3 Promised You a Miracle (04:27) 4 Big Sleep (05:00) 5 Somebody Up There Likes You (05:00) 6 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:39) 7 Glittering Prize (04:33) 8 Hunter and the Hunted (05:55) 9 King Is White and in the Crowd (07:02) 1 Up on the Catwalk (04:46) 2 Book of Brilliant Things (04:22) 3 Speed Your Love to Me (04:25) 4 Waterfront (04:49) 5 East at Easter (03:33) 6 Street Hassle (05:15) 7 White Hot Day (04:34) 8 "C" Moon Cry Like a Baby (04:21) 9 The Kick Inside of Me (04:49) 10 Shake Off the Ghosts (03:59) 1 Once Upon a Time (05:45) 2 All the Things She Said (04:16) 3 Ghost Dancing (04:45) 4 Alive and Kicking (05:26) 5 Oh Jungleland (05:14) 6 I Wish You Were Here (04:42) 7 Sanctify Yourself (04:57) 8 Come a Long Way (05:07) 1 Street Fighting Years (06:26) 2 Soul Crying Out (06:07) 3 Wall of Love (05:20) 4 This Is Your Land (06:22) 5 Take a Step Back (04:22) 6 Kick It In (06:11) 7 Let It All Come Down (04:56) 8 Mandela Day (05:45) 9 Belfast Child (06:42) 10 Biko (07:34) 11 When Spirits Rise (02:01) |
 | Album: 33 of 38 Title: Celebrate Released: 2013-03-25 Tracks: 36 Duration: 2:30:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Life in a Day (04:06) 2 Chelsea Girl (03:59) 3 Changeling (03:30) 4 I Travel (03:09) 5 Celebrate (02:52) 6 The American (03:36) 7 Love Song (edit) (03:52) 8 Promised You a Miracle (03:58) 9 Glittering Prize (04:00) 10 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 11 Waterfront (04:50) 12 Speed Your Love to Me (04:05) 13 Up on the Catwalk (04:06) 14 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (04:20) 15 Alive and Kicking (04:47) 16 Sanctify Yourself (03:56) 17 All the Things She Said (04:16) 18 Ghost Dancing (04:45) 1 Belfast Child (05:13) 2 This Is Your Land (04:46) 3 Kick It In (04:22) 4 Let There Be Love (04:42) 5 See the Lights (03:54) 6 Stand by Love (04:09) 7 She’s a River (04:32) 8 Hypnotised (04:32) 9 Glitterball (04:28) 10 War Babies (04:16) 11 Space (05:28) 12 Cry (03:53) 13 Spaceface (03:51) 14 Home (04:22) 15 Rockets (03:25) 16 Stars Will Lead the Way (03:25) 17 Blood Diamonds (03:54) 18 Broken Glass Park (04:08) |
 | Album: 34 of 38 Title: Icon Released: 2013-05-14 Tracks: 11 Duration: 47:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (04:20) 2 Alive and Kicking (04:46) 3 Sanctify Yourself (03:56) 4 Promised You a Miracle (03:58) 5 Stand by Love (04:07) 6 All the Things She Said (04:17) 7 She’s a River (04:29) 8 Glittering Prize (03:59) 9 Belfast Child (05:14) 10 See the Lights (03:55) 11 Broken Glass Park (04:10) |
| Icon : Allmusic album Review : The 2013 Universal compilation Icon chronicles Simple Minds time as hitmakers, with a slight emphasis on songs that crossed over to America. Naturally, the whole thing kicks off with "Dont You (Forget About Me)" from The Breakfast Club, but there are other mid-80s hits -- "Alive and Kicking," "Sanctify Yourself," "All The Things She Said" -- and cuts from a new wave vintage ("Promised You a Miracle"). The groups most challenging material is deliberately absent and the result is a solid sampler of their most popular material. | ||
 | Album: 35 of 38 Title: Big Music Released: 2014-01-01 Tracks: 12 Duration: 51:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Blindfolded (05:23) 2 Midnight Walking (03:54) 3 Honest Town (04:46) 4 Big Music (04:12) 5 Human (03:42) 6 Blood Diamonds (04:21) 7 Let the Day Begin (05:10) 8 Concrete and Cherry Blossom (03:33) 9 Imagination (03:41) 10 Kill or Cure (04:12) 11 Broken Glass Park (04:41) 12 Spirited Away (04:08) |
| Big Music : Allmusic album Review : When Simple Minds released Black and White in 2005, it was obvious theyd been doing some creative soul searching in light of the success of bands clearly influenced by them, namely, the Killers and Manic Street Preachers. 2009s Graffiti Soul saw the return of drummer Mel Gaynor to the fold. He brought a familiar, tight, propulsive foundation to Charlie Burchills guitar playing and Andy Gillespies imaginative synths. Jim Kerrs alternately whispering and soaring vocals were still at the fore, but were showcased inside more economical songwriting, and Jez Coads production celebrated the bands pop identity. Big Music finds Simple Minds coming full circle -- going all the way back to 1979 for inspiration. Theyve rediscovered the urgent, keyboard-driven post-punk futurism of recordings such as Empires and Dance and Sons and Fascination. Rather than try to merely re-create them, theyve integrated them with the more guitar-centric classicism of New Gold Dream, Sparkle in the Rain, and Once Upon a Time. Three tracks here -- "Blindfolded," "Midnight Walking," and " Imagination" -- draw directly from Simple Minds circa 1982-1985. Big beats and drum programs, careening synth pop, and Burchills fat, edgy guitar frame Kerrs trademark clipped phrasing, which emotes even when hes whispering. "Honest Town," one of two tunes written with the Chvrches Iain Cook, is a gem. Its as stirring as "Someone Somewhere in Summertime," but with its house intro and trancey pulse fueling the moving narrative (Kerr taking his dying mother for a last drive around their town), it dives headlong into dance music. This isnt an isolated incident. The other Cook collab, "Blood Diamonds," uses SMs textured, synth-driven romanticism to blur vintage and modern dance pop. The quirky, fat kick drums and loops in the intro, and the choruses of "Kill or Cure" evoke glitch with four-on-the-floor basslines and synth pulses adorned with shimmering guitars in the verses. Despite the Cult-esque guitar riff in the intro, "Imagination" is a largely electro-driven rocker; it suggests Sons and Fascination more than it does anything else -- Gillespies multivalent keyboards are in accelerated swerve. "Concrete and Cherry Blossom" and "Broken Glass Park" are anthems laden with irresistible hooks and warm atmospherics. They revel in the cinematic drama of Kerrs voice. (The former contains the repetitive line "Im on the rooftop" which unmistakably and unabashedly echoes "Im on the catwalk....") The cover of the Calls "Let the Day Begin" substitutes enormous, zig -zagging synth vamps in place of the originals roaring guitars (though Burchill stings in the break alongside a bagpipe sample). This revisioning displays the songs continued appeal even when updated for the club floor. Ultimately, Big Music is certainly that. Here Simple Minds have finally come to terms with all the fragments of their musical identity, focused them in a complementary manner, and delivered a whole with an unapologetic pop savvy and flair. It is easily their most consistent offering since Once Upon a Time. | ||
 | Album: 36 of 38 Title: The Vinyl Collection (79, 84) Released: 2015-10-30 Tracks: 66 Duration: 5:00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Someone (03:43) 2 Life in a Day (04:06) 3 Sad Affair (02:46) 4 All for You (02:52) 5 Pleasantly Disturbed (08:01) 6 No Cure (03:34) 7 Chelsea Girl (04:35) 8 Wasteland (03:46) 9 Destiny (03:39) 10 Murder Story (06:19) 1 Real to Real (02:50) 2 Naked Eye (02:22) 3 Citizen (Dance of Youth) (02:53) 4 Carnival (Shelter in a Suitcase) (02:51) 5 Factory (04:15) 6 Cacophony (01:41) 7 Veldt (03:35) 8 Premonition (05:29) 9 Changeling (04:11) 10 Film Theme (02:26) 11 Calling Your Name (05:06) 12 Scar (03:33) 1 I Travel (04:02) 2 Today I Died Again (04:38) 3 Celebrate (05:09) 4 This Fear of Gods (07:05) 5 Capital City (06:15) 6 Constantinople Line (04:40) 7 Twist/Run/Repulsion (04:32) 8 Thirty Frames a Second (05:03) 9 Kant-Kino (01:53) 10 Room (02:28) 1 In Trance as Mission (06:53) 2 Sweat in Bullet (04:31) 3 70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall (04:49) 4 Boys From Brazil (05:30) 5 Love Song (05:03) 6 This Earth That You Walk Upon (05:27) 7 Sons and Fascination (05:22) 8 Seeing Out the Angel (06:11) 1 Theme for Great Cities (05:51) 2 The American (03:36) 3 20th Century Promised Land (04:55) 4 Wonderful in Young Life (05:20) 5 League of Nations (04:56) 6 Careful in Career (05:08) 7 Sound in 70 Cities (04:49) 1 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:37) 2 Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel (03:49) 3 Promised You a Miracle (04:27) 4 Big Sleep (05:00) 5 Somebody Up There Likes You (05:00) 6 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (05:39) 7 Glittering Prize (04:33) 8 Hunter and the Hunted (05:55) 9 King Is White and in the Crowd (07:02) 1 Up on the Catwalk (04:45) 2 Book of Brilliant Things (04:23) 3 Speed Your Love to Me (04:25) 4 Waterfront (04:50) 5 East at Easter (03:31) 6 Street Hassle (05:16) 7 White Hot Day (04:34) 8 “C” Moon Cry Like a Baby (04:21) 9 The Kick Inside of Me (04:49) 10 Shake Off the Ghosts (03:59) |
 | Album: 37 of 38 Title: Acoustic Released: 2016-11-11 Tracks: 12 Duration: 58:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The American (04:30) 2 Promised You a Miracle (04:35) 3 Glittering Prize (04:07) 4 See the Lights (04:58) 5 New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (04:58) 6 Someone Somewhere in Summertime (04:40) 7 Waterfront (05:16) 8 Sanctify Yourself (04:59) 9 Chelsea Girl (04:28) 10 Alive and Kicking (05:53) 11 Don’t You (Forget About Me) (05:16) 12 Long Black Train (04:36) |
| Acoustic : Allmusic album Review : An unplugged retelling of many of the bands best-known songs, Simple Minds Acoustic is an enjoyable if not particularly organic set. Employing the criteria used during the heyday of MTV Unplugged, the veteran Scots do indeed reimagine their catalog using acoustic instruments, though the amount of manipulation via effects and creative mixing makes for something a bit different. The resulting album is a sort of hybrid of stripped-down arrangements with just enough rock sweetening to reach the back seats. In the case of monster hits like "Alive and Kicking" and "Dont You (Forget About Me)," this approach feels a bit underwhelming and bland. While these renditions arent necessarily bad, it does seem like Simple Minds missed out on an opportunity to dramatically shake up their repertoire in any number of possible directions, but instead settled for simply swapping out the electric guitars and synths with acoustic guitar and piano. The whole point of doing acoustic versions is usually to lay bare the material, deconstructing it down to its roots, but for the most part, Acoustic feels a bit too polished and adjusted. | ||
 | Album: 38 of 38 Title: Walk Between Worlds Released: 2018-02-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 55:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Magic (04:35) 2 Summer (04:57) 3 Utopia (04:15) 4 The Signal and the Noise (05:19) 5 In Dreams (04:16) 6 Barrowland Star (06:25) 7 Walk Between Worlds (05:13) 8 Sense of Discovery (06:27) 1 Silent Kiss (04:58) 2 Angel Underneath My Skin (03:44) 3 Dirty Old Town (live) (04:54) |
| Walk Between Worlds : Allmusic album Review : After a decade-and-a-half of faltering and making records by trial and error, Simple Minds regained their sanity and rediscovered the anthemic, synth-drenched Euro dance-rock sound that made them a chart staple during the early 80s. Oddly, they wandered off the path with the lazy Acoustic two years later. Walk Between Worlds finds them on much surer footing, regaining much of the energy that infused their great run of albums between 1979s Real to Real Cacophony and 1985s Once Upon a Time. Vocalist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill are the lone surviving original members, but they re-enlisted drummer Mel Gaynor, bassist Ged Grimes, and vocalist Sarah Brown from Big Music, and employed a host of backing singers. As a whole, Walk Between Worlds careens from strength to strength, even if it is drenched in nostalgia. While many bands who emerged during the post-punk and synth pop eras have unsuccessfully attempted the same feat (the most notable being U2, who failed so miserably in rediscovering their root identity on Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience), Simple Minds are not only able to remember who they were, but they execute it almost without a hitch. They waste no time in bringing out the big beats to let the listener know, too. Set opener "Magic" would have been right at home as a single between Sons and Fascination and New Gold Dream. Gated synths and thundering live drums propelled by a throbbing bassline and Burchills Edge-esque guitar atmospherics build a sonic wall behind Kerr as he alternately croons, shouts, and occasionally whispers dramatically. The whomping guitar, bass, and drum thud in "Summer" is over the top. Kerr counters the barely restrained attack by alternately brooding and snarling until the bridge, where his softer emotions emerge through the mix. Other than Burchills crunchier-than-normal guitar in "The Signal and the Noise," the synth- and drum-laden anthem would have been a welcome entry on Empires and Dance. "The Barrow and the Star" is the albums hinge track musically and lyrically. Kerrs words are conflicted between recalling poignant memories, and an elusive (i.e., hopeless) wish for the opportunity to begin again. Buoyed by a string section and a full backing chorus, its stirring and moving in the same way as "Dont You Forget About Me" without sounding remotely like it. Contrast this with "Sense of Discovery," where the protagonist relates hope as it emerges from seemingly aimless waiting and gritty, mettle-testing faith. The lyrics are threaded through a midtempo ballad that erupts into a full-blown rock crescendo during the guitar break, elevating the entire proceeding amid swirling synths and strident vocal interplay between Kerr, Brown, and the backing chorus. A reading of Ewan MacColls eternal "Dirty Old Town" closes the set, with Kerr and Brown in duet as it is remade in the Glaswegian rockers likeness. Walk Between Worlds offers further proof that Simple Minds can flaunt what they are because they finally understand just who they are. | ||