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"By taking the risk of moving away from its fan-base to reach a much wider audience, Simple Minds succeeded in offering us with "Once Upon A Time" one of its most accomplished albums."
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5/5
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With "New Gold Dream" (1982) and "Sparkle In The Rain" (1984), Simple Minds started to impose their style, a mix of Pop-Rock and New-Wave both melodic and energetic, and to reach a larger audience. But it is with the hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)", single extracted from the soundtrack of the film The Breakfast Club, that the Scottish combo really exploded at the beginning of 1985. Jim Kerr and his band then quickly followed up with their new album entitled "Once Upon A Time" which, even if it doesn't include the interplanetary success of the beginning of the year, is not less rich in potential singles.
Marked by the replacement of Derek Forbes by John Giblin on bass, the line-up also sees the chorus girl Robin Clark settling in remarkably well, even if she does not appear as a full member. Her interventions, in particular on the eponymous title and on 'Alive And Kicking' bring an additional richness to titles with already enormous potential. The second with its rise in power all in control and delicacy, and its unstoppable chorus, carried by a bewitching Jim Kerr and endowed with a superb piano break, will not fail to flood the FM waves of the whole world.
Apart from 'I Wish You Were Here', a track with a calmer and more romantic atmosphere, Simple Minds seems to leave more and more the New-Wave elements of its music for a more Rock approach, even if the keyboards remain very present. Pieces such as the engaged 'Ghost Dancing', the percussive 'Oh Jungleland' or even the nervous and more basic 'Sanctify Yourself', see the band dynamizing and muscling its music with a more present guitar and a bass offering some very heavy lines and all in roundness. In barely more than 40 minutes, the tempi are varied and the dynamics of the album is such that we don't see the time passing, while the choruses are insinuated in our memory. Boosted by the ample and clear production of Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain, and rich of melodies reinforced by a mastered art of the well felt break, nothing comes to spoil the whole.
By taking the risk to move away from its fan-base to reach a much wider public, Simple Minds succeeds in offering us what is probably its most accomplished album, combining with talent quality of the compositions and accessibility of the whole, without sacrificing its identity. Working from now on in a shimmering Pop with luminous attires, the Scots delivered with this "Once Upon A Time", what it is agreed to call an essential monument of the genre. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Once Upon A Time - 5:45
02. All The Things She Said - 4:16
03. Ghost Dancing - 4:45
04. Alive And Kicking - 5:26
05. Oh Jungleland - 5:14
06. I Wish You Were Here - 4:42
07. Sanctify Yourself - 4:57
08. Come A Long Way - 5:07
LINEUP:
Charlie Burchill: Guitares
Jim Kerr: Chant
John Giblin: Basse
Mel Gaynor : Batterie
Mike McNeil: Claviers / Accordéon, Piano
Robin Clark: Choeurs
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
4/5 (4 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.3/5 (3 view(s))
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OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT SIMPLE MINDS
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