The Simple Minds thread

Started by revolt, October 03, 2008, 16:19:29

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revolt

By popular demand... or maybe not.   :)

If you take a look at

http://www.myspace.com/simplemindscom


you'll be able to listen to 4 Simple Minds songs, from different eras of the band's history:

"Don't You Forget About Me" (their most famous (non self-penned) song)

"Dolphins" (from 2005's "Black and White 050505")

"Up On the Catwalk" (the great opener to 1984's "Sparkle in the rain")

and

"The American" (a good song - though there are better there - from 1981's "Sister Feelings Call").

All of these songs are different and all of them good. Maybe it's just a temporary and lucky thing, but it is not very usual for myspace sites of mainstream groups to have such a strong choice of available songs. Although, if I were to one to choose them, it would even be better, of course ( :-D ).

revolt

Since "Dolphins" seems to be unlistenable at myspace (a technical problem?), here is a You Tube link, in case anyone's interested:


http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=yee_KeQrXaM


Maybe not the most memorable at first, but a classy ballad, for me. Which reminds me that maybe I should try and check the rest of the "Black and White" album...

revolt

Here are 2 more songs from Simple Minds' latest album, "Black and White 050505":

Stay Visible / Home

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=pab4N4vtcv8#18



"Stay Visible" is a really good song, with an almost epic and haunting feel. "Home" is somewhat less impressive, but it still sports some good guitar work from Charlie Burchill. Indeed, one of the things that stands out in these 2005 songs is that the guitar sound is much more suggestive than it used to be in the 90s (or in 2002's weak "Cry" album)... It's a lot less mainstreamish, as if Burchill has been recovering some of the spirit of the first half of the 80s.

revolt

Here is an unofficial video for "Underneath the Ice", the other good song from the "Black and White" album:

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=lnkD_2R4feA#18



Unfortunately the edgier guitar sound found on the live songs I posted here earlier is not to be found on the album, where a more polished and slick approach is favoured. That means, for instance, that the studio version of "Home" becomes bland, and since the songwriting in general is far from strong, in the end there's not much difference between this and the previous uninspired albums. All in all, there's just 3 really good songs on the album (3 out of 9)...

japanesebaby

i have to admit i hadn't even heard their last album.  :oops:
i heard 'home' and wasn't at all impressed and since their late 90s/early 2000s releases had also been disappointment to me, i sort of forgot about the whole thing... perhaps not quite fairly.

about their later releases, i never got the silver box set either:
http://idealcopy.american-data.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MU-SIMPL-SILVE-01
although it might be worth because of all the old stuff in there.
although i did buy the 2 dvd box set, 'seen the lights. a visual history' when it was released in 2003:

http://idealcopy.american-data.net//Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MU-SIMPL-SEENT-01&Category_Code=MUSimpleMinds

mostly because it has the newcastle '82 performance - which is really a great watch!  it's worth buying for that alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Vtzj9EnB0&ftm=18

that, plus the '79 old grey whistle test.
perhaps i should check the new stuff too...


Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

revolt

Quote from: japanesebaby on October 15, 2008, 21:16:32
i have to admit i hadn't even heard their last album.  :oops:
i heard 'home' and wasn't at all impressed and since their late 90s/early 2000s releases had also been disappointment to me, i sort of forgot about the whole thing... perhaps not quite fairly.


Ha, well, there's no need to blush for something like that... I hadn't checked the album myself until very recently, it was really these posts here that inspired me to give it a try. But as i said, it's really only 3 good songs out of 9, so I don't think I can recommend it as a good buy.



Quote from: japanesebaby on October 15, 2008, 21:16:32
i did buy the 2 dvd box set, 'seen the lights. a visual history' when it was released in 2003:

http://idealcopy.american-data.net//Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MU-SIMPL-SEENT-01&Category_Code=MUSimpleMinds

mostly because it has the newcastle '82 performance - which is really a great watch!  it's worth buying for that alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Vtzj9EnB0&ftm=18

that, plus the '79 old grey whistle test.

I remember seeing that on the shops some time ago. I think I'll probably get it on my next chance, then...