Customer Reviews

Black and White 050505

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Simple Minds fan since high school (OK, 1985!), and have always enjoyed their music. Ironically, I got into their "back" catalog as I grew older. My high school days were filled with "Don't You Forget About Me" and "Alive and Kicking", along with all the other great tunes from "Once Upon A Time".

Then, while in college, Simple Minds release "Street Fighting Years" and simply blow me away. To this day, this album remains one of my all time favorites from any band. Next comes "The Real Life", and the band continues to amaze. I can't get enough.

Unfortunately, from that point, their popularity in the states starts to fade, and many one time "fans" write them off as "one of those 80's bands". Sure, there were flashes of Simple Minds brilliance in the 90's - songs from "Good News.." and "Neapolis" come to mind - but an album like "Street Fighting Years" didn't seem to be in the cards anymore for the band.

Until now. When I first popped in "Black and White" and heard the first notes of "Stay Visible", I knew instantly I was hearing the soaring, atmospheric, passionate Simple Minds that I knew still existed. Followed closely by the first single "Home" and new single (well, new everywhere except in the U.S., but don't get me started on that) "Stranger", Simple Minds are simply back on top of their game.

To me, I know an album has grabbed my attention if I continuously play it, and ignore the rest of my 2,000 cds for a while. That's what "Black and White" has done to me since I first played it. If you are, were, or aren't even a Simple Minds fan, pick up this new release and you will believe all the folklore "hype" that has been said and written about this group once standing toe to toe with U2 for international rock stardom. U2 may have reached the summit of world domination (and rightly so), but this record proves that Simple Minds belong right up there with them.

The sticker on the front of Simple Minds' "Black & White" reads "An Astounding Return To Form"--FIVE STARS by Record Collection, and "Spectacular" by Sunday Mail. Who are these people? What are their credentials? I've never heard of them. With all the internet hype surrounding this cd, I purchased my copy from Amazon.uk.

Well, the results seemed more like a cross between "Good News From The Next World" and "Neapolis" with a sprinkle of "Cry". Simple Minds have not released a good album since 1991's "Real Life", and not a great album since 1989's "Street Fighting Years". Everything up to now has had moments, but not an entire album's worth of great songs. "Black & White" offers the same.

There seem to be five standout tracks: "Stay Visible", "Home" (the first single released), "Stranger", "Underneath The Ice" and "Dolphins". The other four tracks are solid, but nothing substantially exciting. "Home", in particular, is probably the best song on the disc, and a good idea to release it as the first single.

The band consists of Kerr & Burchill, and this time they brought back long time, on again, off again, drummer, Mel Gaynor. The found a new bass player by the name of Eddy Duffy. He is a sound-alike Derek Forbes, and does a great imitation of the spiralling bass playing that Forbes excelled at on "Stay Visible". Overall, the music and musicianship is solid, but lacking in creativity. They bring energy to the songs, but the lyrics and melodies seem rather uninspired. This is no "New Gold Dream", "Sparkle In The Rain", "Once Upon A Time", or "Street Fighting Years". Nor is it anyting prior to "New Gold Dream".

Some of the individual parts of the album had their merits such as Charlie's guitar playing, which just seems to get more textured and richer as the years pass. Of course, Mel Gaynor is a great drummer, and he does his bit. Eddy Duffy seems to be a suitable bass player and get the job done. Jim's vocals are a bit different here, and I'm not sure I liked his approach this time around, and his lyrics didn't seem to inspire me that much either. As a whole, the music just didn't hang together as well as I was hoping for, but Simple Minds fans can decide for themselves.

As a bonus, they included a video for "Home" which is average. Just the band, in shadows, in what looks to be some kind of soundstage or hangar, just playing. They were never inventive marketers of their music, and I think they've paid the price for that.

So, if you are a Simple Minds' fan like myself, this should be adequate until their next release. It just seems at this stage of their career they ought to be stretching and doing something more experimental and edgy. After all, what have they got to lose?

There are moments on this album that are as good as anything the Minds have put together over the last few years and a couple of tracks that are at least deserving of a place beside the best of their music from the 80s. `Stay Visible' would have to be their best track in a long time, rhythmic and pulsating, dark and enlightening with roots back to the early 80s where it was first sketched out. The second track, `Home', is impressively moody and driven and, to use a phrase I deplore, infectiously scored. With their dark energy neither track would necessarily be out of place in the classic `Sparkle in the Rain' album of 1983.

'Jeweller' works, I guess, as does `Different world'. They don't quite smack you in the face but seem rather to work on you while you're not watching. The latter is perhaps the more moodily hypnotic and the vocals are ultimately more rewarding. From there album plunges into a pool of mediocrity that seems inevitable in the days of modern music. `Underneath the ice' and `Kiss the ground' are as pointless as any of their weaker moments. Both songs suffer from a witless repetition of a fairly uninspired chorus line and lack the opening tracks' driving vigour. `Stranger' is much the same- not as bad perhaps, but not a great deal better.

The title track, `Black and White' and the closing `Dolphin', however, bring no small amount of redemption. The title song is a cracking track; quieter but more personal. What it lacks in pulsating rhythm and driving energy it more than makes up for in expression. Jimmy is in a raw mood here. The soaring vocals of his more successful anthems blend with an impressive intimacy that is close to making this the albums best track. `Dolphins' brings the album to a grand close; reflective and atmospheric, with a wonderfully haunting guitar refrain.

There are weak moments to be sure, but the 4 better tracks are possibly `great tracks' and, at least in my book, worth the CD price alone. What is a couple of dollars anyway for a bit of Simple Minds music that is as good as anything they have done, and better (barring perhaps the wonderful `War babies' from Neapolis) than what they have managed to put together for a long, long time.

Finally, the album for which Simple Minds fans have been waiting two decades. I realize that sounds like the hyperbole of a PR hack, but I'm actually an old Minds fan who only reticently even picked up this cd. To my surprise, this is their most focused, passionate, inspiring album in two decades. The past few albums have had moments of greatness, such as See the Lights and Killing Andy Warhol, but this entire album just drips of Simple Minds' essence - that head in the clouds, eyes on the stars earnest hopefulness, "the Big Music". The first single, Hope, is a brilliant Charlie Burchill tour de force. Mel Gaynor pounds the skins like he's performing for heaven, he remains an incredible drummer. Jim Kerr's vocals slip from elegant to overbearing with typical frequency, but you have to admit he gives his all. If this album had been released in 1988, it would have gone platinum.

And that's the one problem with this album. It oozes Simple Minds' signature sound, so does sometimes seem a little dated. Blame Bob Clearmountain perhaps, but the keyboards sound darn late 80's, and subtlety can't be found anywhere in sight. Maybe they took a page from U2 (again) in going back to this basics a little too fervently, for the album lacks a new twist. New Gold Dream sounds more timeless to these ears. Still, the performances are top-notch (Mr. Burchill please take a well deserved, long overdue bow). A truly fine, occasionally awesome album, their best in 20 years. Enjoy.

This album is exhilarating and ranks along side classic Simple Minds albums such as New Gold Dream and Once Upon a Time. The production is first class and Jim Kerr's voice is as good as ever. Melodically, the songs are strong - they wash over you and engulf you, inspire you and mesmerise you ... Dolphins is a toure de force, embodying all that is best about Simple Minds. If ever you were a fan of Simple Minds, you owe it to yourself to give this album a listen.

Simple Mind's Black and White is an amazing comeback. I say comeback because their last effort wasn't even close to this calibur. This album really is more in line with their albums from the 80's. There are no filler songs, even though there is only 9 tracks, each track has something special to offer. I bought this album on Ebay and got a great deal.

I'm a fan since the days of Love Song and The American on 45's. Yes...I'm that old. I walked 8 miles after school to purchase "Promised You a Miracle" on 12 inch the day it was released. I've seen every tour since Sparkle in the Rain. I met my wife while queuing up for the Real Life show in San Francisco. Needless to say, this band is the one of the most important parts of my life next to the obvious things like family ,friends, faith and country.

Having said that I will tell you all that I would love to give every Simple Minds record 5 stars because I have found something in each of them to make them classics to me. The period from "Sons and Fascination" to "Sparkle in the Rain" is my favorite time in music. "Don't You Forget About Me" came out and I did not care for the song although the treatment they gave it made it a better song. I will not call it a sell out by any means. Then a very sad thing happened. Derek Forbes left the band for reasons I still am not sure about and their sound changed dramatically.

I was a bit disappointed in Once Upon a Time because it was such a different record from what they had seemed to lay the groundwork for with "Sparkle in the Rain". It since then has grown on me and "Alive and Kicking" and "Oh Jungleland" are among my favorite songs of theirs.

So we have a band that just tore through the United States with an enormous tour that spawned what is considered to be one of the great live albums of modern times. I like it enough but again.....no Derek=differnt sound. I would suggest to anyone interested in this band to track down bootleg live recordings of their "New Gold Dream" and "Sparkle in the Rain" shows. Absolutely breathtaking.

Anyways, so we have this great band who release a great live album from a huge tour and what do they do? They get quite political, dial the "wall of sound" down to organ sounds and release "Street Fighting Years". Big mistake for this band. I truly believe they could have stayed true to themselves while releasing another New Gold Dream-ish record and kept that huge fan base that came along after "Once Upon a Time" I know for a fact that they lost a huge portion of their new fans because of "Street Fighting Years" It is a good record, many love it and I can understand why but it is among my least favorite records if not the least favorite of mine.

So they release "Real Life", "Good News from the Next World" which are both terrific records but I can understand why some of the Minds purists turned off from those. They had lost Michael McNeil after "Street Fighting Years", had session synth players come in along with Charlie Burchill assuming some keyboard duties as well. These two albums along with Neapolis illustrate the absolute importance that one great musician has to a band who saw some of its members splinter off.

Charlie Burchill is to me the most talented, creative and intelligent musician of his time. Listen to his guitar work from "Sons and Fascination" to present. I won't include Reel to Reel or Life in a Day because the guitar is quite subdued on most of the tracks. Even Empires and Dance shows the budding of a great guitar player who knows his place in a band. This man never steps on the song to exhibit his craft, he plays exactly what a great musician knows what a song needs, nothing more, nothing less.

I know there are guitar players out there whose talent is limitless like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page but I submit that Charlie Burchill's talent is right on par with these two but the simple fact that his guitar work complements the songs rather than stands out makes him the best in my opinion.

His keyboard work on Neapolis makes it one of my favorite records of all time. Derek Forbes plays on this record and his excellent playing compliments it very nicely. To bad EMI decided to screw it up and not release it stateside. The decision makers at EMI should have been flogged for that one.

"Our Secrets are the Same" is a very solid record, very different and I can understand why some did not like it but I listen to it at least once a week.

This brings us to Cry and then the subject of this long winded review, Black and White 050505. Cry is pretty decent, very heavily influenced by the trance and techno music that was dominating the European music scene(I will take that over American gangsta rap and rap metal every time by the way) but still very good.

Black and White is a record that is excellent in its own way. It seems the sounds have been paired down a bit as far a layering but I think the vocal style works well at this point in time. Eddy Duffy's bass playing is spot on and I know the comparisons to Derek Forbes are out there but he is mostly uses a pick and it does effect the style. I noticed it when seeing him play with the band right before Cry was released. Not a ton of chord changes, harder than most bass styles because the bass is played like a guitar in a way.

The opening track "Stay Visible" is my favorite on this record which is solid all the way through. The only song that I skip at times is "Beautiful Stranger" because the opening is very odd but the song does pick up. "Kiss the Ground", "Home", "Dolphins" are my other favorite songs. "Dolphins" has some incredible keyboard and guitar work on it and Jim Kerr's vocals are subtle and moving.

In my eyes this band has not released a single record that I would not recommend to people who are fans of more alternative popular music. I'm sure my friends who are die-hard Rush fans probaly wouldn't care for "Reel to Real Cacophony" but most of us who grew up listening to the New Wave and punk of the time wouldn't go wrong picking up any Simple Minds record including this one. They are that good.

a real true simple minds come back with true simple minds music.A miracle has happened.

How can people be so critical? I think this album is excellent. Imagine being constantly compared to what you did last year or to the other guys next door. I have not really given Simple Minds much of a listen over the years, but after buying this CD I am buying some of their other albums. I am dissapointed that another CD called Our Secrets Are The Same is not easily found in my neck of the woods (BC, Canada). I can honestly say this 47 year old will keep listening to this great band over the years and I look forward to another new album.

Per Jim Kerr in a recent interview, Simple Minds singer and lyricist, the wording of publicity materials is invariably 'awkward.' Their record label, Sanctuary, has found it expedient to exploit their stadium heyday as way to garner sales, and the band is more or less mute on their work during the past eight years. But there is much good work in those eight years, and Black and White 050505 is certainly not a backward glance at Halcyon days.
That being said, this album IS atmospheric and haunting, two traits that have been consistent for a band accused of inconsistency, which simply means one album has seldom sounded like the next, (a marketing problem, perhaps, but not a creative one). Thematically, the songs continue to explore the complexity and uncertainty of human connection, and the ambiguity of place, (Home, the first single, does this quite well). Kerr's voice has aged nicely, and though he is in a couple instances seeming a bit overdramatic, what vocal flaws exist are overshadowed by rich arrangements, and Burchill's talent for leading his guitar beyond its expected capabilities. This is an album, like Cry (2002) or Our Secrets are the Same (2000, but only available on the Silver Box set), that is replete with reflections of lives lived, disappointments and disillusionments endured, and the hope that keeps scratching to the surface. Some of us still sink, (as in Dolphins,) but overall the songs reflect an understanding that, amazingly enough, most of us keep going, searching, and hoping.
Highlighting a few of the songs, Stranger, for me is just a great pop song, and demonstrates how expert Kerr and Burchill are with that form, (and the song hearkens to that need for connection); Underneath the Ice has a beautiful guitar solo, passionate and longing to complement a lovely lyric and vocals; Kiss the Ground has a snaking dark humor at its edges, (a characteristic often missed when discussing Simple Minds' music). My least favourite is Jeweller Part 2 (which appears in a much rougher, but more visceral form, on Our Secrets are the Same as Jeweller to the Stars), good, but feeling a bit out of place.
Hopefully Simple Minds can learn to trust what they create, and silence those awkward and unnecessary cries for a past that could not have created the (uneven, perhaps, but tangibly present) beauty that distinguishes Black and White 050505. This is an album worth giving a chance and listening to, as it develops its own life, and carries the listener along with it.