u/w versus simple minds
 

Have just been listening again to Simple Minds' album "Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call", produced by the legendary Steve Hillage and released in 1981 just prior to the band becoming mainstream, which I bought all those years ago. For me personally, there are defo similarities with elements of u/w - tracks 5-8 ("Love Song", "This Earth that you Walk Upon", "Sons and Fascination", "Seeing Out the Angel") in particular have a similar vibe to the recently released proto-dubnobass tracks.

I used to have a copy of the late lamented Sounds newspaper, featuring an article and interview with Simple Minds at the time of the albums' release. They cited 1970's German electronica as one of their major influences (where have I heard that before??).

Some of you may pick holes in my thesis i.e. 1980's music = 1980's music. However, early Simple Minds is characterised by rythm/bass driven tracks, linear structure rather than the traditional "verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle bit, chorus", and very random/esoteric lyrics.

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

i loved simple minds pre the breakfast club or whatever that film was called.
fixtures at any self respecting bowie/futurist night in the early 80's.
loved "i travel" and "celebrate".
"love song" was a big ibiza/acid tune also...oh... and "...great cities"
it was when they were competing with u2 to try and be the biggest band in america it all started to go wrong don'tcha think?

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

it was weeks of U2 or weeks of the Cure or weeks with the Simple Minds in the radio during the 80's. The new records were hyped.. But this was only the commercial New Wave shit. Just like now, for the better music you had to go to the little clubs.
And little Jimmy Kerr one day became so famous he woke up and though he was something like a Jezus and preached on stage like he invented the world. Succes was over fast.
Street Hassle played live is still a brilliant song tho.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcNLQ1KFoeE
Ohyeah They still owe me 65 guilders, Live in the city of lights is the worst official live album I ever bought, really a waste of money.

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

love this video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yVNf-V...eature=related

.........and do you think rick and karl would do this?


http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUdS_...eature=related

then

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yZs_l9...eature=related

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

wow, i only heard the post soundtrack Simple Minds but have just checked out I Travel. holy shit, i need to get some of this stuff asap. what's the best thing to get if i want all the good early SM stuff?

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

what he says and.....
the first two albums they did were more new wave/punky,both produced by john leckie.the only reallly good track imo is "changeling" which was a bowie/blitz/futurist fav.
best albums are "empires and dance" "sons of fascination" and "new gold dream"."new gold dream" was their first hit l.p and had their first hit singles on it,unfortunately it was downhill after that.along with u2 and someother new wavers it all got a bit stadium rock but they became big in europe and the usa so i suppose they were happy.
like loads of bands they started out challenging and ended up a bit blandand most people that dislike them don't know their early years.
they didn't even write their biggest hit "don't you forget about me" i think?
must admit i do like some of their tracks around "the waterfront" period also.

Re: u/w versus simple minds
 

my god, Simple Minds, were, at their peak one of the best bands around, their early stuff which was revisited by some of the pioneers of the Balearic sound was awesome,

in fact simple minds were more electronica than when U2 were all mixed up...

i remember seeing the minds at about 87 when they were into freeing Mandela.... perhaps past their best doing stadium hits, but they sold out Wembley - the stadium not the arena either!!

anyways, just get anything including New Gold Dream and before, imo...

NGD is one of my fav albums but certainly the stuff before this is well worth checking out

TFGC's was and still is a great track...