Now, as you may know, I was never a huge fan of "synth pop" or electronica and, as the eighties progressed, I was left somewhat cold by a lot of the music that was all around. I quite liked the deep, dark density of post punk, and early Simple Minds were fine exponents of that genre. This album, however, was the one that saw them consolidate the transition between post punk dourness and synth pop's haughty grandeur.
It was a musical journey which would end up with the group being seen as "stadium rockers". They were not there yet, though, and this offering is a fine example of catchy and invigorating cleverly-crafted synth pop, like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark had delivered on Architecture And Morality. Both groups were emerging from post punk's darkness into a bright, sharp synth-powered new dawn. I didn't go for this stuff much at the time, but I have come to appreciate it more over the subsequent years. I still prefer my blues rock or dub reggae though but I have given a chance to a sound that was everywhere in 1982. As 1982 albums went - and ones associated with the new romantic thing (whether correctly or not) - it was a really good one, one with something about it that stood out from the others.
Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) has singer Jim Kerr doing his best early eighties sonorous, haughty vocal over a crashing keyboard riffs and synth drum backing. There is a nice rumbling bass line in there too, but it is those keyboard breaks and synth drums that stick in the mind, making the track somewhat tinny. This was a "big" song, though, and showed that the band had a definite grandeur about them. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel has a very Talking Heads-esque vibe about it and is bassier than the previous track, with a slow dignity to its beat.
The album's big hit was the instantly catchy and very 1982 strains of Promised You A Miracle. Unsurprisingly synth-driven, it transports me back to 1982-83 in a moment of pure nostalgia, even if the music was not my favourite at the time. Check out that lovely rubbery bass that appears every now and again too and those oh-so-early eighties drum rolls near the end. The bass drum also takes a thumping battering throughout the whole album. Another delicious serving of bassy beauty can be found on the darkly attractive Big Sleep. I love the vibe on this track but, as I always did, I find that haughty vocal very odd. They all did it back then, though. It was a perplexing trend.
Somebody Up There Likes You is an appealing bit of spacey and bassy electronic ambient instrumental. It is a prime example of keyboards, synth drums and rubbery bass being the three kings back then. Despite the lack of electric guitars and "proper" drums, I like it. New Gold Dream (81 82 83 84) is an upbeat piece of anthemic pop as indeed is the album's other hit, the equally rousing Glittering Prize. I have to say that this is a great song, with another killer bass line and just something very grand and uplifting about it. It displayed the first signs of hands waving in the air stadium fare in its "shine a light on me" refrain. Hunter And The Hunted follows the formula of the rest of the album. It has a great bass and keyboard break in the middle.
The oddly titled King Is White And In The Crowd is a brooding, lengthy and once more Talking Heads-inspired number with a slight funky feel to it and some beguiling keyboard parts in the middle.
By the end of the album, I have probably had my fill of Simple Minds for a while, but I can still happily say that I enjoyed it a lot, and it stands as easily one of the best of its genre. Yes, it was a long way from The Clash, The Jam, The Rolling Stones, roots reggae or Bruce Springsteen and much of the other stuff that I was listening to in 1982 but it has a unique, inventive appeal. For a while I can do without electric guitars - just.
