[Mr. X]

I now have the first seven Simple Minds remastered albums on CD. However, I hate DigiPaks, and the first three albums are in this format. I've seen Empires and Dance in the jewel case format, but I have yet to see Life In A Day or Real to Reel in a jewel case. Does anyone know where I can find them? I hate to order online, only to have them show up in DigiPaks...

 

[twc5964]

http://idealcopy.american-data.net/M...SIMPL-REELT-01

http://idealcopy.american-data.net/M...SIMPL-LIFEI-01

this is one of my favorite albums(Real to Real Cacophony) since the late 70's....my cd of it from the mid 80's sounds friggin terrible so I'll prolly buy this one again soon from Ideal Copy and at least it's re-mastered.I've ordered from them before.....no worries..Jason runs a good outfit ! Hope this helps.

 

[Mr. X]

How do I know this is the jewel case version and not the digipak (mini-lp) packaging? And yes, I agree: Real to Reel is amazing.

 

[twc5964]

I would think it's a jewel case as I tried to cross reference using Amazon.I would just e-mail them at Ideal Copy just in case.I found the 2002 24 bit mini lp version at Amazon.I'm hoping Ideal Copy's version is the 2003 re-mastered 24 bit.I e-mailed them but forgot to ask about which version(jewel or mini lp). I'm gonna order it anyway more than likely. Just waiting on a response from them.

 

[bong]

Mr. X, i got my four regular jewel cased Simple Minds remasters (Reel to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance, Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call, New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84) from overstock.com. doing a quick search, looks like they're missing remasters for Life in a Day, Reel to Real, and Real Life onwards.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2....minds+remaster

having been a recent convert of early Simple Minds, i can't get enough of this stuff, and i find myself listening to Reel to Real Cacophony or Empires and Dance constantly. Reel to Real Cacophony is just as good, dark, and disturbing as Metal Box, Reproduction, or Unknown Pleasures... Premonition is just amazing. from Empires and Dance, i can't get enough of "I Travel," "This Fear of Gods," and "Thirty Frames a Second." SAF/SFC has some brilliant moments, and New Gold Dream is just achingly beautiful. am i missing much from not having Life in a Day?

also, how should i go about post NGD Simple Minds? i'd imagine Sparkle in the Rain is essential, but what else?

 

[Mr. X]

Life in the Day---while one of my least favorites---has some amazing moments. Seeing as how you have completely fallen for the Minds catalog, I would say you need to get it. "Life In A Day," "Pleasantly Disturbed" and "Chelsea Girl" are all riveting cuts. I think the album is grossly underrated by Minds fans.

Sparkle in the Rain is a must-have. I FINALLY picked that one up a few weeks ago. At this point, it pales in comparison to New Gold Dream (which, yeah, is their most gorgeous album), but it has a very unique "cathedral" sound, and excellent Lillywhite production values. Get it!

Real To Reel is still my favorite.....and man, HELL yeah..."This Fear Of Gods" from Empires and Dance...off the hook!

Post Sparkle? Once Upon A Time is a guilty pleasure for me. I mean, it's very arena sounding, and of course can't even touch any album that preceeded it, but I do enjoy it on occasion...and it's a bit of a flashback from my childhood for me. I actually fancy the "I Travel" remake, entitled "Ghostdancing"....I know I shouldn't like it or the rest of the album (I usually hate the big HIT)....but I do..

"Live in the City Of Lights" is filled with all kinds of studio overdubs, but I still like it and consider it worth the purchase. I love its version of "Big Sleep." The worst thing about it is that they threw "Love Song" into a medley, and play less than two minutes of it. Of course, nothing is worse than the fact that it's the only moment where any pre NGD song is even performed.

As of right now, I have yet to hear a Simple Minds album that I can truly say I don't like. I am actually going to go ahead and begin exploring their catalog post-City of Lights.....

...and as a huge fan, I really want the jewel case versions of all the albums, so I hope to obtain those first three soon. Nothing annoys me more than seeing the innersleeve of Real to Reel be completely screwed up (they copied one side of it twice...I have the vinyl...I know how it should be...)...

 

[twc5964]

I placed an order for Reel to Real at Ideal Copy along with several more cd's. I'll let you know when i receive it.I'm sure this is a re-master jewel case version. I hope it sounds better than my old one.

Funny,I only ordered cd's to replace old ones I already own..go figure.....but they are re-mastered faves of mine except for the Violent Femmes which is a re-issue .

They(Ideal Copy) e-mailed me back..they are pretty sure it's the jewel case version. The mini lp is a 24 bit remaster I saw on Amazon....I certainly hope this one is as well.

 

[NacMacFeegle]

Wow...a lone voice for Street Fighting Years here..just love it and don't think there is a bad track on it. Loved all the early stuff and even went to see them circa '79, but haven't listen to those albums in years whereas had Street on in the car over the past weekend.
Maybe I should go back and pick up the re-masters...hmmm

 

[twc5964]

I finally received "Reel to Real Cacophony". 2003 Virgin re-master in a jewel case from the link I provided earlier in this thread if interested. Definitely sounds better than my mid 80's cd

 

[Relayer71]

I've been listening to the Minds since early 80s and I wish they had stuck to their original sound. I think they're a bit underrated currently but that's based on their older stuff (and a bit overrated around 1987, hehe).

Sparkle in The Rain is great, possibly their best - meshing the pre NGD style (cryptic lyrics, dark music, a bit experimental and very European sound with their later style (a bit more "pop" both lyrically and musically, not as "edgy" or experimental). My favorite, after NGD.

Once Upon A Time had a few good songs (Alive & Kicking, Ghost Dancing) but overall it was weak and actually sounds a bit more dated than Empires today.

Live In The City Of Lights sucks for a few reasons: Overly produced sound, doesn't sound live at all (you can't even hear the audience and the songs "fade out"!), was mostly songs from Once Upon A Time along with the "re-arranged" New Gold Dream, Book Of Brilliant Things, and East at Easter songs. Very dull live album from a great live band.

Street Fighting Years had a few good songs, but was just TOO serious sounding for it's own good. Mandela Day is a pathetic attempt at capturing the power and emotion of Peter Gabriels' Biko. I think they played brilliantly on this album though, but the songs were boring. Although I loved Belfast Child and the instrumental at the end.

Real Life is a good album. It would have been the perfect follow up for Once Upon A Time. Except for a few weak songs (like "African Skies"), it contains some of their best post-NGD work and is possibly their last really good album.

Simple Minds remind me of The Church - both started out in the early 80s and did well then became really popular in the 80s due to one song (Alive & Kicking, Under The Milky Way), both seemed to have dissappeared a couple of years after (here in the U.S.) although they were still regularly releasing albums. Big difference? The Church stumbled a few times but is releasing the BEST work of their careers NOW (last few albums were great) and SM hasn't done anything worthwhile since Real Life (and that wasn't their best).

I've heard Good News From The Next World & Neapolis and just never felt the need to buy them. They sound very weak - like Simple Minds in Groundhog Day - (pale imitation of) Real Life repeating itself over and over. But to be honest, I've only heard each of these a couple of times.

To me they lost their originality and uniqueness after Sparkle. They had such an amazing sound in the early 80s (Empires, Sons And Fascination, NGD)

 

[MarkyMark]

They are touring Europe/Far East & Australasia over the next month or so (see www.simpleminds.com). Line-up is Jim Kerr, Mel Gaynor and Charlie Burchill plus what appear to be a couple of session guys on bass and keyboards.

Saw them play a kicking 2 hour set at the London Astoria on the UK leg last month. Only moan was that 'Seeing Out The Angel' was the only pre NGD track they played, though it wasn't really a surprise given the size of their back catalogue.

They played a couple of tracks from their new album but they sounded pretty ordinary.

 

[bong]

i picked up the Sparkle in the Rain remaster a few weeks ago and i can't stop listening to it, it's really really good album. i can definitely hear the progression between the cryptic, experimental, and majestic old Simple Minds and the later big, bombastic, and rockish late 80's Minds. as great as Sparkle in the Rain is, i can see how this album started to alienate their original fanbase (while Once Upon a Time completely severed all ties).

so now i've got all the remasters from Real to Real Cacophony right through Sparkle in the Rain. i'm contemplating what i should get next; i think either Life in a Day or Street Fighting Years. any recommendations?

still... i can't decide whether i like Real to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance, or New Gold Dream best, LOL.

i think i'm leaning towards Empires and Dance at the moment.