Search - Simple Minds :: Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings

Lovely lovely

Chava | Seattle ,WA | 01/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having bought all of Simple Minds first albums in late high school/early college years, and feeling dismayed by their later "anthem-stadium" efforts, I was thrilled to see these records(Reel to Real, Empires & Dance, Sons/Sisters) released as CDs. I can't really decide on a favorite song, though In Trance as Mission, and Careful in Career especially resonate. Along with the earlier two albums, Simple Minds at this time had a great feel for the postmodern angst of the isolated reflexive self, and with that the desire for human connection brought on by globalization. These songs capture well the unreal feelings of living at the end of the cold war, hopeful despite the overarching threat of annihilation. The compositions are innovative and haunting, Jim Kerr's vocals and phrasing innovative and, though at times unpredictable, absolutely breathtaking. This is still a group that understands voice as part of the instrumental whole."

Ahead of its time and above its peers.

Immaculate Friend | N. California | 11/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no other record that sounds like this one. Consider the age of the band members when they produced this juggernaut and compare it to what members of that age group are producing at present and there is no comparison in talent, sophistication and creativity.



This album challenges your mind with a huge collection of inventive sounds, rythyms, riffs and lyrics as well as possibly the most impressive keyboard playing of its time. Listen to some of the other records of the time and they seem so primitive. Of course there are some great records but this one really takes you out of your own comfort zone and throws the frenzied atmosphere of the European dance scene into your psyche and keeps you buzzing to the end.



Whenever I play this record for people who haven't heard it I watch their interest gaining momentum as the huge variety of music ropes them in and holds their ears for the duration. They almost all say that they've never heard anything quite like this one and later on they will remark about how many songs keep playing in their mind over and over.



Some of the highlights here for me are the unforgettable bass lines in songs like 20th Century Promised Land, This Earth that You Walk Upon, Theme for Great Cities, Sons and Fascination as well as the cascading and layered keyboards throughout. Outstanding synths on Seeing Out the Angel, The American, Love Song and This Earth that You Walk Upon.



The guitar on this record is pretty subdued in its production although it is not hard to note the brilliance in the subtlety of the playing. Charlie Burchill is a guitar player who accents and adds to songs rather than having a song built around him like so many guitar players do.



Very hypnotic drumming here by Brian McGee. His departure not long after this record was a great loss to this band. He had a great understanding of the dance rythyms of the time and his playing is spot on.



The vocals are very complimentary to the songs. I have always thought that Simple Minds was an instrumental band first who just happen to have a great singer/lyricist as well. Listen to any track and imagine them as just instrumentals or part of an indie film soundtrack and they work very well.



This record is definitely a great example of music as an art form and is one that you should never tire of."

Once Upon A Time...

Christopher Loring Knowles | United States | 05/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...the Simple Minds were not the dreary U2 wannabes they became. Before they broke our hearts they were one of the most exciting and innovative Post-Punk acts in the world. Before they chased around the almighty pound/dollar/ deutschmark nearly as fervently as they hungered for Bono's dingleberries, the Simple Minds were a Teutonic, proto-Industrial leviathan powered primarily by Derek Forbes' monstrous post-Funk bass. It's no surprise that they became a comedy when Forbes left after Sparkle in the Rain in 1984. He was the heart and soul of the band. His nimble, inventive basslines formed the backbone of all the band's best songs. I'm giving this album only four stars, but still giving it my highest possible recommendation, not for Sons and Fascination but for the appended Sister Feelings Call tracks. Sons is a perfectly OK album, with the mammoth Love Song being the standout track. But Sister Feelings Call is a landmark. Producer Steve Hillage (ex -Gong) outdoes all of his contemporaries and messes with the tone and timbre of every single instrument. The snareband is turned off so the beats have a round and tribal feel, but in context sound like the working of some infernal machine. The bass is gargantuan and metallic, fat and heavy. The guitars sound like power tools, the synths like foghorns and conveyor belts and Kerr's summons the tortured ghost of Jim Morrison for a cab-ride through his worst industrial nightmares. Sound in 70 Cities ends the whole shebang in a glorious fashion, as bass and drums punch it out with the sound of a pneumatic drill and a glorious guitar arpeggio sounds like churchbells ringing all over the universe.



Sister Feelings Call is easily of a piece with the most seminal works of its type- David Bowie's Low, PiL's Metal Box, Gary Numan's Replicas, Ultravox' first. IPod must haves: Love Song, Theme for Great Cities, The American, Careful in Career and Sound in 70 Cities."