Customer Reviews

Neapolis

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This album is in my opinion one of the most underrated Simple Minds album ever. As the title of my review states, I do not believe I enjoyed an album as much since Sparkle in the rain. I have been listening to Simple Minds since I heard "Love song" back in 81, and "Sons and Fascination" is still one of my favorite albums. This is not "Sons and Fascination", and it is not stadium rock either.

Don't get me wrong, Simple Minds have created some really polished works in between Neapolis and Sparkle in the Rain, and some of those songs are probably stronger by themselves. But to me it is musically the strongest whole album since Sparkle in the rain, and even though my musical enjoyment has evolved I am happy Simple Minds evolved with me. Do yourself a favor and buy this album.....

PS. The other album I really enjoyed lately is "Cry", which was released after Neapolis. More "classic" Simple Minds, but really good songs. DS.

For anyone who has followed this band from the Johnny and the Self Abusers days up to now know that this band has almost always been a cut above in the majesty of their music. New Gold Dream or Sparkle in the Rain should have broken them through in the states but it took the Breakfast Club song followed by a very mainstream but great record called Once Upon a Time to catapult them into the big time.

One thing was missing from that album that I believe would have made the record better and very different from what was produced. Derek Forbes left the band in between the release of Don't You and the release of Once Upon a Time. His spiralling bass helped define the sound and helped make them so unique. It complemented the other excellent efforts inside the group and was sorely missed on Once Upon a Time as it would have kept them on their natural progression in sound other than them teaming up with arena rock specialist Bob Clearmountain and making a good but unnatural record.

No fear on this record though. Derek is back playing on this one and would contribute to Our Secrets Are the Same before leaving again. Neapolis is a must for anyone who likes more stylish, progressive music. The seamless mix between guitar, bass, keyboards and drums is very reminiscent of New Gold Dream and Sons and Fascination. I guess it should since the man who produced New Gold Dream steps into the control room on this album as well and they do recapture what was lost after Sparkle in the Rain.

I love the blend of the treated guitars and climbing bass with the very differnt and excellent keyboard work by Charlie Burchill. There is not one song I would dare skip on this disc. I can listen to it front to back over and over and never get tired of it due to the outstanding musicianship, songwriting, great vocals and production found here.

My favorite tracks here are Lightning, Killing Andy Warhol, Glitterball and If I Had Wings and the rest all sit in the upper echelons of my favorite songs by anyone. It is a shame that EMI decided not to release this stateside or promote it at all. I guess since the band didn't have some gangsta looking dude with a hat on crooked on their cover it meant that they were low priority. EMI has done music lovers a great disservice but I doubt the wannabe pimp record execs don't really know a good thing when they have it sitting on their desk. If any of you know any of the current lot of record company bigwigs then you may know what I mean. Quantity over quality gets you the new 350z with the neon spinners and the trophy wife with a face full of Botox.

Neapolis is another strong album from Scotland's supremely talented Simple Minds.

For this 1998 effort, the producer's seat is taken again by the gifted Peter Walsh, who helmed the Simple Minds classic "New Gold Dream." He draws on every phase of the band's rich history, and embellishes it with a unique, very modern sound that could be called Italian Futurism (the album was recorded in Italy).

And the result is a diverse effort that offers something for fans of every phase of Simple Minds.

For fans of 80s Simple Minds, there's the ethereal, haunting "Song for the Tribes," the quirky, skip-along "Superman V Supersoul," or "Tears of a Guy," with its instant-classic guitar riff.

If you like the band's early techno roots, check out the terrific instrumental "Androgyny," or the fantastic, wall-of-sound jungle rhythms of "Killing Andy Warhol," perhaps Simple Minds' best song of the 90s.

There a couple weak tracks; the go-nowhere "Glitterball" was a strange choice for a single. It's the weakest track on the album, and probably caused a lot of fans to not bother checking out the rest of the album.

That's a shame, because "Neapolis" is the group's best effort since "Once Upon a Time," and will delight any fan of Simple Minds or 80s music.