Needle Time

  Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) [V 2230 UK 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] An album which I assume would be well known to most, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) was the record which propelled Simple Minds from slow burning cult credibility to mainstream commercial success. To many this album seemed part of the band's journey and development, to others it was likely the record with which they book-ended their relationship with the band. It is also very likely the band lost considerably fewer fans than they gained as a consequence. This is my well-played UK original pressing, deep cleaned and ripped for the very first time. This is not a perfect rip, I've upped the levels a bit to bring out all the intricate detail buried in Peter Walsh's production, much of which gets lost in the subsequent digital remasters during the years since release. What is surprising is that for twenty years this album was out-of-print on vinyl - I don't have any of the more recent vinyl p...

  Simple Minds - Sons And Fascination [203 959 DEU 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I know I said that this rip would feature next week, but I now have to go on a work trip instead, so I managed to squeeze in the time last night and then again this morning for Sons And Fascination . What could have/possibly should have been a double, the band's proper debut for Virgin Records was produced by prog-rock-god Steve Hillage. Virgin records balked at the thought of a double, instead choosing to release an initial two album double pack in September 1981, then split them as separate releases in October 1981. Hillage's production style was very different to John Leckie's, pushing the drums, percussion and Kerr's voice further forward in the mix. This certainly marked a further move on from the new-wave/post-punk sound of the first three records, and further defined the musical direction of Simple Minds.  Both Sons And Fascination & Sister Feelings Call contain some of the bands...

  Simple Minds - Empires And Dance [V 2247 UK 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Simple Minds returned to Rockfield Studios with John Leckie in May 1980 to record what was to be their final album for Arista Records. The label failed to keep track of demand, consequently insufficient numbers of Empire And Dance were originally pressed when the album was first released on September 12th 1980. The initial run was just 15,000 & copies were rushed out to coincide with the bands support slot on Peter Gabriel's tour that autumn.  In 1982, Virgin Records acquired the rights to the Arista Simple Minds catelogue for just £35,000 and it is from a Virgin 1982 A1/B1 pressing that this rip has been prepared. Empires And Dance spawned two great singles, I Travel and Celebrate , neither of which would dent the Top 30, however the album's bleak euro-beats and continental politico reference points won great favour from critics and fans alike. Much more electronic than the first two albums, it ...

  Simple Minds - Real To Real Cacophony [201 150 DEU 1979/1980 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Before we begin, I need to ensure that I emphasise my belief that Real To Real Cacophony should be revered as one the great post-punk albums, possibly right up there with Unknown Pleasures , Metal Box , 154 and  The Correct Use Of Soap. In a world filled with genre bias, it would be easy to pigeonhole the second Simple Minds long player differently, but that would be foolish. After all, just look at that sleeve. Real to Real Cacophony was recorded and mixed in five weeks at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire during the autumn of 1979, produced by John Leckie renting the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio. The band entered the studio with just four songs, and left with one of the most important albums of the era. The problem was that Arista Records possessed a highly inefficient  marketing department, and the label had no clue how to promote the band. Sales were extremely disappoin...

  Simple Minds - Life In A Day [204 940 DEU 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] I would guess anybody who has heard the digital-format reissues of the early Simple Minds albums agrees that they don't sound great. During those post Johnny & The Self Abusers years, they signed to Arista Records via Bruce Findlay's important Zoom Records labels however Arista never championed the band and after disappointing sales, Simple Minds were dropped by mutual consent. A subsequent deal with Virgin Records proved to be considerably more fruitful. Life In A Day was first released on Zoom Records in 1979, and then repressed as part of the Virgin deal a few years later. A generous blog follower recently contacted me to prod my interest in ripping those early pre-Lillywhite records. After agreeing on a donation to acquire what I perceived (or is that guessed) would be the best pressings, I am pleased to present what will be the first fruits from this project. This 1982 German repress was from the ...

  Simple Minds - Love Song [VS 434-12 UK 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Love Song was Simple Mind's seventh single, with a pounding, almost funky bass line, washes of distorted guitar & sequenced synths, it fit's perfectly into their euro-wave period. My copy is the full length five minute EMI pressing, rather than the much shorter alternative CBS pressing. The single backed with the much more intricate & experimental  This Earth That You Walk Upon which just proves that they were truly skilled in their craft, long before they decided to be the Scottish U2 and fill stadiums all over the globe.  A1 Love Song B1 This Earth That You Walk Upon

  Simple Minds - Sister Feelings Call [OVED 2 UK 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] The earlier 'euro-wave' years of Simple Minds represent, for me at least, some of the band's finest work. Sister Feelings Call was one of two mid-price compilations of singles from the era, with associated b-sides and other works. Moving on from their early post-punk albums, the band found influence in the Bowie & Eno Berlin-based collaborations of the late seventies to redevelop their sound into an intricate new-wave formula which eventually became their New Gold Dream . A1 Theme For Great Cities A2 The American A3 20th Century Promised Land B1 Wonderful In Young Life B2 League Of Nations B3 Careful In Career B4 Sound In 70 Cities