― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Thursday, 12 June 2003 12:29 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:31 (twenty years ago) link
― frenchbloke, Thursday, 12 June 2003 13:53 (twenty years ago) link
* This may not be true, but I can't prove that it's untrue either.
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:22 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:25 (twenty years ago) link
Definitely one of the best in my book, though choosing between it and Empires and Dance is nearly impossible.
― Andy K (Andy K), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:26 (twenty years ago) link
― Sean Thomas (sgthomas), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:30 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:36 (twenty years ago) link
― Andy K (Andy K), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:40 (twenty years ago) link
What in tarnation?
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 13 June 2003 00:42 (twenty years ago) link
TS: Miccio's Bono-dancing or Paul Stanley's foxy-dancing!
― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 13 June 2003 01:57 (twenty years ago) link
― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Friday, 13 June 2003 02:09 (twenty years ago) link
Andy and Ned have summed it up quite well. Most of the ideas are still present - disco punk (albeit more "30 Frames A Second" than "I Travel", crazy synths, sound collage, weird lyrics - but whereas on Empires & Dance the band focus that down to a relatively consistent thematic approach, Reel To Real is more all over the place. On the one hand, there's more "proper" punkish songs like "Citizen", "Changeling" and "Calling Your Name" (all of which put me in mind of a funkier, glammier Joy Division), and on the other there's quite a few weird but really engaging instrumentals and just totally fucked-up stuff like "Naked Eye" and "Carnival", both of which sound like the backing music for a circus organised by violently pathological schizophrenics. Also Kerr sounds like he's flipping out the entire time, whereas on E&D he sounds much more abstracted/distant.
In many ways I like the "idea" of Empires & Dance a bit more - the collision of dub, disco and punk, basically - but Reel To Real Cacophony has more killer cuts eg. the wonderful "Premonition". I love some of the really outthere stuff on E&D like "This Fear of Gods" but I'm always vaguely disappointed that there aren't more uptempo numbers like "I Travel".
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 13 June 2003 02:57 (twenty years ago) link
Listening to the old albums this week has been a great but disorienting experience: as a kid, I always blamed SM's downfall on Jim Kerr and his pseudo-evangelical sub-Bono turn, but what's struck me is that even in the good days he was *always* a ham -- maybe more cryptic and less puffed-up, but the Euro affectations on E&D ("hey waiter, I'm first class") now seem like they're cut from the same cloth.
Which leads me to conclude that what really changed was the *music* -- and for some reason, that had never occurred to me before. Maybe because they were often so trance-y and grandiose on the good stuff, it was easy to miss the tight propulsiveness behind it... whereas "Alive and Kicking" is just shapeless, there's no rhythmic backbone holding it together at all. I seem to recall that the bass player defected to Propaganda's touring band between Sparkle and Once Upon A Time, which in retrospect makes a lot of sense (on both sides of the equation -- Propaganda had a lot of the same grandeur, but always with an eye on the dancefloor).
― Sean Thomas (sgthomas), Friday, 13 June 2003 03:45 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 June 2003 04:17 (twenty years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 13 June 2003 05:41 (twenty years ago) link
Is that the Kibble Palace in on the back of the sleeve to Celebration?
They could perhaps win the prize for quickest dive from heroes to arse in rock. Street Fighting Years is terrible.
I watched them for a bit at Glastonbury in '95 and it was quite funny; Jim Kerr was leaping around as if he was in front of an audience of 50,000 adoring fans, and in fact there were about 500 bored crusties.
― Keith Watson (kmw), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 11 June 2004 10:11 (nineteen years ago) link
1. Life in a Day (Burchill/Kerr) - 4:06 2. Chelsea Girl (Burchill/Kerr) - 4:34 3. Premonition (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 5:29 4. Factory (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 4:15 5. Calling Your Name (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 5:07 6. I Travel (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 4:02 7. Changeling (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 4:13 8. Celebrate (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 5:10 9. Thirty Frames a Second (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 6:54 10. Kaleidoscope (Kerr/Simple Minds) - 4:17
― Mark, Friday, 11 June 2004 12:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 11 June 2004 12:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 11 June 2004 13:31 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 11 June 2004 13:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― M Specktor, Friday, 11 June 2004 14:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 12 June 2004 00:18 (nineteen years ago) link
(Though I love both "Changeling" and "30 Frames..")
You're right, however. The earlier records are stranger, and appealingly so.
― M Specktor, Saturday, 12 June 2004 00:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 12 June 2004 00:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stacey Pollen (Andy K), Saturday, 12 June 2004 00:55 (nineteen years ago) link
Wait that reminds me I must propose to Dan. Oh wait there's a problem there...
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:08 (nineteen years ago) link
I'd probably have more posts than you if it weren't for Tim.
― Stacey Pollen (Andy K), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stacey Pollen (Andy K), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:19 (nineteen years ago) link
Tracer your euphamisms flow so naturally.
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stacey Pollen (Andy K), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:21 (nineteen years ago) link
I know that! HMPH. I'll spare my jokes on other people!
(Baby still coming along okay?)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:30 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 12 June 2004 01:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 03:11 (nineteen years ago) link
I cannae stand anything post-NGD. Altho, Futurama used "Dont you forget about me" to great (and sniffly) effect on one episode.
― Trayce (trayce), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 03:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 03:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 05:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― dave q (listerine), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 05:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 05:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 12:40 (nineteen years ago) link
I loved New Gold Dream and Sparkle in the Rain but I remember seeing a Simple Minds concert in 84 and thinking Jim K was the corniest audience-pumper this side of Bono. "GIVE ME YOUR HONDS!"
― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 12:54 (nineteen years ago) link
What a shame he took that walk with Bono on the beach and decided to become U3.
Is their cover of "Sign 'O' The Times" the worst cover version ever?
― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 12:59 (nineteen years ago) link
OTM
― $V£N! (blueski), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:14 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:14 (nineteen years ago) link
did Kerr actually sing 'now he's doin' horse, it's June'? i can't remember
― $V£N! (blueski), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:15 (nineteen years ago) link
I saw them in 84 too and it's funny how quickly they ditched all their old material in pursuit of that stadium-appropriate sound. The whole set was Sparkle In The Rain/New Gold Dream stuff apart from 'The American' which I suppose was the one really bombastic song from the older albums.
― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 14:01 (nineteen years ago) link
That's on the Celebration compilation but where did they cull that song from? I've never heard it. Is it some lost b-side, and did they put it on the first Themes compilation?
I've never weighed on this thread, to my amazement. Classic up until New Gold Dream. I love how in "Twist/Run/Repulsion" the French girl's reciting an excerpt of Nevsky Prospect by Gogol.
― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 15:12 (nineteen years ago) link
Yes, a wonderful song that shows how expressive and expansive they could be when they didn't have to freight everything with "importance".
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 12 February 2021 19:35 (three years ago) link
I am in fact listening to the new one to kick off October 21, Day of Riches
it's kind of bad sure but also much more enjoyable than expected, will def get 'surprisingly good later work' kudos
― imago, Friday, 21 October 2022 08:29 (one year ago) link
the songs are nothing special but it is notably well produced and has a good sound, v bright and vigorous
― imago, Friday, 21 October 2022 08:42 (one year ago) link
It's their best album since Scary Monsters.
Just finished Graeme Thompson's book about the early Minds (stopping wisely after 'Once Upon A Time') it is definitely worth any fan's investigation.
― MaresNest, Friday, 21 October 2022 10:48 (one year ago) link
It's alriiiight
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 21 October 2022 11:08 (one year ago) link
Album that is, not book
The last TFF keeps coming to mind and I'd say they're on par
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 21 October 2022 11:09 (one year ago) link
Definitely some likable stuff on here, the mastering is absurdly bad though. Celtic fiddly bits of 'Solstice Kiss' not welcome
― PaulTMA, Friday, 21 October 2022 11:39 (one year ago) link
Solstice Kiss was the best song
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 21 October 2022 12:28 (one year ago) link
Yeah, possibly, although the title's use in the lyrics is hilariously clunky, you can imagine these old codgers trying to think of inspiration and coming up with this
― imago, Friday, 21 October 2022 12:54 (one year ago) link
Next album: Ash Wednesday Hug
― imago, Friday, 21 October 2022 12:55 (one year ago) link
Simple Minds Superfans Can Invest In A New Gold Dream: Songwriting + Sound Recording Royalties For 1977-1981 Material Now Up For Sale
As of last weekend, someone was selling the royalty rights to an early career batch of 107 songs by Simple Minds. Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, the current members of Simple Minds Tours Ltd. sold their catalog to their current label, BMG. These are the sorts of big money deals where rock stars of as certain age take a cash out and at least in this case, they didn’t sell to one of the upstart music IP firms like Hipgnosis. And they are becoming very commonplace.Given the list of songs, and the points in time where past members exited the band, I’m suspecting that these rights being auctioned are from original drummer Brian McGee’s shares in the band. His time ended in 1981 as he was taken to the limit in his years playing drums, and yes, driving the band all over Europe in vans since he was the one with a driver’s license. If it were Derek Forbes, it would include material from “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]” and “Sparkle In The Rain.” McNeill only left after “Street Fighting Years.” So it has to be McGee.
Given the list of songs, and the points in time where past members exited the band, I’m suspecting that these rights being auctioned are from original drummer Brian McGee’s shares in the band. His time ended in 1981 as he was taken to the limit in his years playing drums, and yes, driving the band all over Europe in vans since he was the one with a driver’s license. If it were Derek Forbes, it would include material from “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]” and “Sparkle In The Rain.” McNeill only left after “Street Fighting Years.” So it has to be McGee.
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 26 April 2023 06:34 (one year ago) link