Big Music Deluxe Edition Simple Minds

• 1 Blindfolded 05:22
• 2 Midnight Walking 03:53
• 3 Honest Town 04:44
• 4 Big Music 04:12
• 5 Human 03:41
• 6 Blood Diamonds 04:20
• 7 Let The Day Begin 05:08
• 8 Concrete And Cherry Blossom 03:31
• 9 Imagination 03:41
• 10 Kill Or Cure 04:12
• 11 Broken Glass Park 04:39
• 12 Spirited Away 04:08
• 13 Swimming Towards The Sun 05:16
• 14 Bittersweet 03:58
• 15 Liaison 04:34
• 16 Riders On The Storm 03:46
• 17 Dancing Barefoot 04:02
• 18 Blindfolded (Reprise) 04:23
• Total Runtime 01:17:30

Info for Big Music Deluxe Edition

Mit ihrem Album „Big Music“ knüpfen die Simple Minds an ihre Erfolge in den Anfangsjahren an. Alive and kicking, also putzmunter, ist wohl die beste Beschreibung für das, was auf der neuen CD passiert. Die Presse überschlägt sich vor Begeisterung und prophezeit, dass jegliche Entfremdung, die es in den letzten anderthalb Jahrzehnten zwischen den Simple Minds und ihren Fans gegeben haben könnte, nun überwunden sei.

Der neue Longplayer „Big Music“ hat ihre Keimzelle im Vorgängeralbum. Bei den Aufnahmen dazu waren die Simple Minds dermaßen im Flow, dass sie mehr Ideen hatten, als auf ein Album passen. In der Zwischenzeit sind diese Ideen zu Songs im Hier und Jetzt gereift und huldigen zeitgleich dem Spirit ihrer Gründungsjahre.

„Blindfolded“ war der erste Song, der zu Werbezwecken als Video-Teaser veröffentlicht wurde. Aufs Beste werden darin Art Rock und Synth Pop vereint. „Honest Town2 ist eine moderne Zeitreise in die 80er Jahre. „Blood Diamonds“ und „Broken Glass Park“ kommen als neue Versionen, und auch das The-Call-Cover „Let The Day Begin“ ist auf „Big Music“ vertreten.

„Big Music“ von den Simple Minds erweckt den Eindruck, als sei die Band in den fünf Jahren Funkstille in sich gegangen, um jetzt mit einem Paukenschlag wiederzukommen. Sie haben in der tiefsten Vergangenheit gegraben und schließen an sie an. Im Ergebnis klingt das Album jedoch eindeutig nach 2014 und zukunftsfähig. Nach über 36 Jahren im Musikbusiness muss ihnen das erst mal jemand nachmachen.

„… hymnische Melodien, Kerrs unaufgeregte Vocals sowie geschickt geschichtete Gitarren-Sounds, gewaltige Klangkathedralen mit himmelhohen Hallwänden und schwindelerregenden Delays.“ (stereoplay)

Jim Kerr, vocals
Charlie Burchill, guitar, keyboard, programming
Mel Gaynor, drums
Andy Gillespie, keyboard, backing vocals
Ged Grimes, bass
Sarah Brown, backing vocals
Clinton Outten, backing vocals

Produced by Gavin Goldberg, Steve Osborne, Owen Parker, Simple Minds, Andy Wright

Simple Minds
Best known in the U.S. for their 1985 number one hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)" from the film The Breakfast Club, Scotland's 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 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 "Don't You (Forget About Me)," Simple Minds almost did so as well; Kerr was dissatisfied with the song's 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, Kerr's feelings about the song remained ambivalent, and it did not appear on the follow-up album, Once Upon a Time. This 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 1991's Real Life, personnel changes and audience loss left the group's future viability in doubt. But they weren't totally deterred, however. Kerr and Burchill trudged on, releasing Good News From the Next World in 1995 while the single "She's 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 1998's Néapolis, but that, too, wasn't 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 1995's 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 and White, a new studio album, appeared in 2005, and the charting Grafitti Soul in 2009 (which saw the return of original drummer Mel Gaynor to the fold). Simple Minds accepted a spot at London's 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' Ian Cook.

This album contains no booklet.