Rediscovered albums

[Sits]

I recently remembered an album I'd had on cassette in the 80s, and forgotten.

I found it on Aussie iTunes for $10.99 so gave it a go, and have loved it. It sounds fresh and has a 'feel' and sound spanning the whole record. I particularly enjoy the tight drum sound and (Mick Karn-influenced, surely) fretless bass. They're a band I think went all stadium from not long after this so I would regard it, with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight, as their peak:

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84

If you don't know it and get a chance, give it a listen. If you've got it, dig it out. I think it's stood the test of time and is not typical 80s - indeed the two big hits (Promised You a Miracle and Glittering Prize) stand out as a bit glossy compared to the rest of the album.

What albums did you lose, then find again?

(And for that matter what do you think of New Gold Dream?)

[sw2borshch]

Rediscovered albums

I've always hated Simple Minds but I've heard enough people on here praise NGD that I got a lad at work to do me a copy of it, that's currently sat in my in-tray next to my PC.

[Sits]

Rediscovered albums

sw2boro wrote:

I've always hated Simple Minds but I've heard enough people on here praise NGD that I got a lad at work to do me a copy of it, that's currently sat in my in-tray next to my PC.

That's a good start - I hated Waterfront, Mandela Day etc. but love NGD if that's a pointer?

[Lucia Lanigan]

Rediscovered albums

There was a very excitable thread about this two years ago (almost to the day). Good innit.

[evilC]

Rediscovered albums

Basically, Simple Minds from 'Real To Real Cacophony' to 'New Gold Dream' were excellent. Simple Minds from 'Sparkle In The Rain' onwards were increasingly dire.

There seems to have been an increase in interest in them recently. 'I Travel', 'This Fear Of Gods' and 'Theme For Great Cities' remain among my favourite tracks ever.

[historyman]

Rediscovered albums

Lucia Lanigan wrote:

There was a very excitable thread about this two years ago (almost to the day). Good innit.

Heh I remember starting that thread and I was very excited because I'd just bought a new amp and was enjoying top notch sound for the first time in a little while.

To test the amp out I put on NGD and the sounds and atmosphere that I heard coming out of the speakers totally blew me away. It still does.

[WOM]

Rediscovered albums

Every few years I rediscover Tears for Fears' The Hurting. Solid from end to end if you can overlook the 'vocal stylings', which I can.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Rediscovered albums

evilC wrote:

'Theme For Great Cities' remains among my favourite tracks ever.

Mr. Kerr never sounded better.

[Sits]

Rediscovered albums

Lucia Lanigan wrote:

There was a very excitable thread about this two years ago (almost to the day). Good innit.

Quite right, I should have done a bit of archive checking.

Still, this thread's really about rediscovered music so hopefully has a bit of a fizzle left in it.

[Sits]

Rediscovered albums

This one came up on the iPod last night. Never sounded better.

Big Country - The Crossing

The Storm

[dalliance]

Rediscovered albums

I found the singles and the title track on NGD to be excellent, the rest of the album not so sure.

While we are on great albums of the early 1980s, I've often thought that OMD's Architecture & Morality was probably the best thing released in that era. I'm not sure that OMD are remembered as seriously as they should be, perhaps they get lumped in with the New Romantics and synth pop bands too readily even though Architecture had more in common with Kraftwerk and minimalism than most of those chart bands.

[George]

Rediscovered albums



How could I have gone without listening to this for the best part of 10 years?

[alyxandr]

Rediscovered albums

evilC wrote:

Basically, Simple Minds from 'Real To Real Cacophony' to 'New Gold Dream' were excellent. Simple Minds from 'Sparkle In The Rain' onwards were increasingly dire.

Sons & Fascination is probably my fave, one of the better ones before they got too overtly Xtian. But 'New Gold Dream' is so well produced i can forgive them a little of that.

[sw2borshch]

Rediscovered albums

I really enjoyed "NGD" in th end, but there was a little bit of me that struggled to get past Kerr's voice - he'd already done his damage. I'll definitely come back to that LP though.

So I suppose I should take that copy of "Cupid & Psyche 85" out of the shrink wrap next, seeing as it's been in one of the teetering piles of CDs next to my PC for over a year now?
I always liked SP singles as a kid, but never got into them. I've listened to a few of their albums the last couple of years and I wish I had sooner.

I had that conversation with a mate about "The Word Girl" a couple of years back, shame it took us both about 25 years to click on.

[Benjm]

Rediscovered albums

It seems that Jim Kerr & Co have listened to the voice of the people and are taking a nothing-beyond-New-Gold-Dream set on tour next year.

What do OTF's early SM fans reckon; will they be able to recapture the magic?

[willie1foot]

Rediscovered albums

No

[alyxandr]

Rediscovered albums

Based upon Mr. Kerr's habit of going Full Shatner in live performance, i would also guess "no".

(EDIT: As may be seen here, the spirit of Capt. Kirk manifesting at around the 3:00 mark)

[Sundeporino]

Rediscovered albums

Vicarious Thrillseeker wrote:

evilC wrote:

'Theme For Great Cities' remains among my favourite tracks ever.

Mr. Kerr never sounded better.

Bravo Sir.

[historyman]

Rediscovered albums

stonelephant wrote:

This one came up on the iPod last night. Never sounded better.

Big Country - The Crossing

The Storm

It sounds even better when you're listening to it and there's a literal storm raging outside.

[Sits]

Rediscovered albums

historyman wrote:

stonelephant wrote:

This one came up on the iPod last night. Never sounded better.

Big Country - The Crossing

The Storm

It sounds even better when you're listening to it and there's a literal storm raging outside.

I'll remember that HM

[historyman]

Rediscovered albums

dalliance wrote:

While we are on great albums of the early 1980s, I've often thought that OMD's Architecture & Morality was probably the best thing released in that era. I'm not sure that OMD are remembered as seriously as they should be, perhaps they get lumped in with the New Romantics and synth pop bands too readily even though Architecture had more in common with Kraftwerk and minimalism than most of those chart bands.

Thanks for the tip. I only had the three singles off the album and had never heard any of the other tracks before. It has that shimmering quality of NGD but expressed in a different way, like the dark and brooding 'New Stone Age'.

And of course any album which has two singles about Joan of Arc is either bloody mad or touching on genius - fortunately the latter in this case.