Customer Reviews

Live in the City of Light

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

 

 

"Live In The City of Light" is a TRULY amazing concert album! From the first track ("Ghostdancing") to the last track ("New Gold Dream"), Jim Kerr and company give their all (i.e., their energy and emotions), and then some! The passion they put into their performances is far exceeded by the energy they give out! A very intense and satisfying concert album of all time!

OK, be honest: how many live rock albums actually have performances that IMPROVE upon the studio versions of the songs? Besides The Who, Bob Dylan, and The Allman Bros. Band, it's a rare occurrence. On this magnificent set, Simple Minds justify the massive popularity they enjoyed in the mid-eighties. Every song is performed as if their lives depended on it, and on several tunes, they exceed the excellence of the studio recordings. In particular, "Book Of Brilliant Things" is amazing. This is a perfect document of an important band at the peak of their power. They would scale the heights again, but never at this level of popularity. I recommend this set as a terrific introduction to Simple Minds for the novice, or as a wonderful addition to the committed fans' collection.

If you are any kind of fan of Simple Minds, you are probably thinking to yourself 'Why should I buy this one?'. After all, you probably already have 'New Gold Dream', 'Sparkle In The Rain', and 'Once Upon A Time'. And if this is true, then you have EVERY song on this album with the exception of 'Love Song'. Besides, live albums are always lame, aren't they?

Well, that is what I thought for a long time. In fact, the only reason why I bought this album was because I found it used on vinyl (and in pretty good condition) for $2. I just thought it might be neat to have (even if I already have all the three aforementioned albums on CD). Little did I know that I was actually in for quite a treat! Simply put, this has to be the best live album I have heard. Or at least one of them. You actually get the feeling like you are there. Or at least wish you were. There is definitely a different vibe listeningto this compared to a typical studio album. Not to mention that the renditions of the songs themselves have quite a different feel from the studio versions.

The bottom line: this is a must for a true Simple Minds fan. And if you are new to the band, this album might be a good place to start, as it includes many of their greatest songs of the 1980s.

I was introduced to this album by my sister back in 1990, and since then I have had to re-purchase it 3 times, all cd.
This is to me the best album ever, I know it does have some errors, but Simple Minds really do give it there all, I wish I could of been there. If only all concerts were like this.

Though the album has some flaws, it's still a great simple minds album and a great Live album. I really liked the East at easter version. Because I am a fan I say it's great, it's a classical live album.

This is a great live recording...period. For some reason I only received ONE CD instead of the two described in product details for this recording. Are the descriptions misleading or the seller made a mistake...?

I like Simple Minds and I usually perfer live music over stale studio albums.

This is one of the worst concert albums I have ever heard. The songs are all muddled and the music is indistinguishable. The group never sounds in sync. I think this is one case of a group that is much better in the studio than live.