Customer Reviews

Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sometimes one generation's vision of what is new and strange seems quaint thirty years on. This music, which is a picture of the strangeness of the modern world of 1980-something, is as vivid now as it was when it was first released.

Part of this is that the sound is so intelligently structured and presented -- the production is a model of clarity. Partly it's the strange palette of tone colors that combine so well with Jim Kerr's rich yet hollow voice.

But most of all, I think, this is because there is something haunting and mysterious about the combined clarity, intelligence, and color that is so perfectly set off by the propulsive bass and drums that drive track after track and that sustain this record over the long haul. The contrast is what makes Sons and Fascination's vision of modernity fresh and evocative even if it is so clearly a thing of its time.

Their later music tends, I think, to sound like Chicken Soup for the New Wave Soul, and their older music seems almost to document Simple Minds groping their way towards this record. If you are a fan of the later stuff for the sake of the allusive qualities that remain in it, you may just find there is more of that here, and better.

Simple Minds made some truly fresh, invigorating music in their early days. The band's evolution was so fast and dramatic. This double album was recorded just before the band made their mainstream push, and consequently very little of it sounds commercial. Whilst I feel their follow-up (New Gold Dream) is their best, it's perhaps this record that contains the most challenging yet accessible soundscapes of the Simple Minds catalogue. I can't stress enough how unique and uncategoriseable this record is. It's not mainstream pop music because none of this would ever have gotten much airplay. It isn't progressive rock because of its accessibility. Considering the unconventional rhythms and textures, maybe we can call this industrial pop, but it really doesn't need a label.

The album opens with my favourite, "In Trance as Mission." It's got a driving, insistent 6/4 beat with a killer bassline. Layers of synthesizers propel the song over seven uplifting minutes. Jim Kerr's lyrics are non-sensical yet compelling: "In dream a dream a / courage of dreams / in trance as mission / trans-american / moving on." The darkness from previous albums was left behind on this incredible opener.

Next up are two of my least favourite Simple Minds tracks, "Sweat in Bullet" and "70 Cities." These two tracks exemplify the sometimes overbusy arrangements in the band's more experimental work. Each of these songs have too much going on. They also have some seriously annoying keyboard melodies. Fast forward.

"Boys From Brazil" gets back on track in a big way with pounding drums and more synth layers. Like a lot of their early songs, there isn't a definite, simple, strong melody, but various elements including bass and vocals come together to create a clear picture. Again, the lyrics don't tell a story ("Babies can't manage crocodiles?"), but they fit so well with the abstract network of pulsating sounds behind them.

"Love Song" is anything but. A high-energy, rocking track with a subtle disco backbeat, it could nevertheless have been made in 2007. This is a high point on the record. More great, weird lyrics: "Flesh of heart / heart of steel / so well so well / I cut my hair / paint my face / break a finger / tell a lie / so well so well." The electronics point towards their next album. And the decidedly low-tech tambourine adds a perfect touch.

Sons & Fascination winds down with three slower, darker tracks. "This Earth That You Walk Upon" is a bit lighter on lyrics but dense on musical texture. Processed guitars blend with finger snaps and breathy yelps to create a completely original sound. The title track is a bit more nimble, but retains the darker tone. The rhythm is similar to "Boys From Brazil." Dig some more abstract lyrics: "Summer rains are here / Savaged beauty life / Falling here from grace."

Finally we come to "Seeing Out the Angel," a lengthy, menacing track. The heavy, mechanical composition is the result of a brooding synth line and sparse, robotic drums. This is about as scary as Simple Minds ever got, with the possible exception of a couple songs on Empires & Dance. The eerie music bonds perfectly with the dreamlike lyrics: "Rescue by the first light / Receiving us with these tears / Feeling your gaze in the back of my eyes / Leaving worlds this way." On what planet do you suppose this sequence of alien events transpired? Only deep within the tortured recesses of a nightmare?

Luckily, the second half of the album lightens things considerably. Sister Feelings Call contains what I feel are the (slightly) weaker tracks from this recording session. It opens with the classic instrumental "Theme For Great Cities." This is a fine example of the technical skills each member of the group brought to the studio, in addition to their composing abilities.

Next is "The American," a fan favourite, but really one of the weakest tracks here. The vocals tend towards the bombastic and silly. "20th Century Promised Land" is another weird little song. Better than the previous track, but still skip-worthy. The keyboards are out front too much in the arrangement and the sometimes-painful melody is reminiscent of "Sweat in Bullet." Skip it.

Things pick up again with "Wonderful in Young Life." Faster, more industrial. It's got some funky bass. And it's slightly darker with a nice chugging electric guitar. "League of Nations" has a trippy synth beat that was sampled by Dr Atmo for his Sad World album in 1993. More rather menacing sounds play out to very terse lyrics. Stirring, if somewhat repetitive music.

"Careful in Career" is similar to the better tracks from the first half. It retains the darker feel of those and has more distinct drumming and synth arrangements. Another highlight. An instrumental version of "70 Cities" finishes the album.

One thing that strikes me as I listen to this album is the groupwork -- no one is getting drowned in the mix. This is easily the best lineup Simple Minds had. Derek Forbes (b), Charlie Burchill (g), Brian McGee (d), Michael MacNeil (k). Though they would write even better songs in the future, Sons & Fascination is the pinnacle of their pure musical ability. This is an obscure album, and the flow of the songs is somewhat puzzling. It's mainly just a collection of songs. No real sequencing is evident, so there isn't much contrast as one track moves into the next. But these complaints are minor. This is a groundbreaking piece of work even though relatively few people have ever heard it. Though it's now more than 25 years old, it has aged very well. Highly recommended.

This stuff is as groovy as it gets: I think it is psychedelic disco new wave fit for a space station. It is weird, maybe an acquired taste. Well worth acquiring, though: it is sort of a grandfather to ambient dance music...layers of interesting sounds with a solid, fun, bouncy rhythm section. There are a few cheesy big 80s moments, but hardly anything to really complain about.

"Sweat in Bullet" show how great Michael MacNeil, the keyboard player was. The bass lines by Derek Forber are magnificent.

Jim Kerr was in his prime here. He carved his own image by now (earlier, some critics thought he had emulated Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music). He sounded great.

...disappointed that Sister Feelings' Call was truncated in order to compress two albums into one CD. While I totally agree with their dismay, I guess beggars can't be choosers. This brilliant music was always snubbed by mainstream American radio, like most anything in the early 80s was from Europe. While American radio dorks were mass-rotating stadium[music]like Toto and Journey, Scotland was light years ahead.

GET THIS ALBUM and anything Simple Minds did before it; New Gold Dream and Sparkle in the Rain are also great. Warning: stay away from Alive and Kicking and anything they did afterward. It really, really [smells]!

This album was originally released as a double LP; then re-released as 2 single LPs: Sons and Fascination & Sister Feelings Call. Unfortunately, the music company decided to release this as a single CD, thus requiring them to cut 3 tracks from Sister Feelings Call. Since Sister Feelings Call was my favorite LP, I'm disappointed. I wish they would remaster it & re-release it as a double-CD w/ all the tracks. However, the songs that are on the CD are great stuff.

Long before The Breakfast Club came along and ruined a great band, Simple Minds were making great records. There are 4 CDs that deserve a place in any collection: Empires & Dance, Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and Sparkle in the Rain.

This CD is actually 2 albums in one. Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. They were released simultaneously and both are presented completely here. Excellent euro post-punk. Jim Kerr's song writing was at it's best during this period and the band is excellent, especially bass player Derek Forbes.

One of their great albums. They were so extraordinarily creative in late 70's and early 80's. Anything up through Sparkle in the Rain is well worth checking out. They were assimilating influences and ignoring them; making very innovative, non-categorizable music. Then, all of a sudden, something happened: they tried to be U2 or something. "Once Upon a Time" sounded like a different band, different people. What happened!? British post-punk's all-time greatest sellout. From so high to so low. But get this one and New Gold Dream. Wow.

'Sons and Fascination' can be seen as a transitional album between the arty electronica of 'Empires and Dance' and the more commerical New Wave of 'New Gold Dream'. It incorporates many of the extended drum/bass/keyboard arrangements and lyrical concerns of the former, but within a more accessible arrangement. The band also branch out even further into some new directions. It mostly works, although sometimes I think the band is trying a bit too hard.

The songs are more complex and detailed than the very sparse arrangments on 'Empires and Dance', and combined with the length of most songs (often at least 5-6 minutes), it gives the album an almost prog-rock feel. In fact, the two singles, the soul-influenced 'Sweat in a Bullet' and the poppier 'Love Song' actually sound a bit out of place among these extended soundscapes. Those two tracks, plus the call-and-response '70 Seconds as Love Brings the Fall' and the affecting title track are my personal favourites. At other times, I feel the songs drag on a bit, with not quite enough ideas to justify their running time. Of the 'Sister Feelings Call' tracks, 'The American' is the clear standout, but a few tracks are under-developed.

In all, it's just as ambitious as their previous albums, but a little less consistent. The five songs mentioned above, plus opener 'In Trance As Mission' and 'Theme For Great Cities', rank alongside Simple Minds' best work. The rest of the album I can take or leave, really.

This is the band at the height of its powers--during its great run of albums from 1979's Real to Real Cacophony to 1982's New Gold Dream. At this point they had incredible mystique--propulsive rhythm coupled with an arty atmospheric sound and oblique lyrics. They also had Derek Forbes and Michael MacNeil, making this the classic lineup. This album may be a bit impenetrable initially, but it reveals its genius after repeated listenings. "Love Song" will probably always remain the quintessential track for me, but there are plenty of great tracks here.

I love the music here, but I gotta say the packaging over the years has been messy, botched by indecision upon its initial release. Back in the mid-80s I had the original SONS lp (I can't recall if it was imported or what). It had 10 of these selections and some songs that also appeared on SISTER FEELINGS CALL.

Before I got this re-release, I had never heard "70 Cities as Love Brings the Fall" which merely adds vocals to "Sound in 70 Cities." I still prefer the version without vocals, perhaps out of familiarity. It's an upbeat instrumental of old-school U.K. rock augmented by what sounds like a chainsaw. "Seeing Out the Angel" is another new one for me, and it's very good - a sterile, hypnotic piece.

Unfortunately, the weakest track here is the first one. "In Trance As Mission" is a rather awkward song and may have turned off some new listeners before they gave the entire album a chance, the rest of which is excellent. Highlights include the swaggering rocker "Sweat In Bullet," the meditative "This Earth That You Walk Upon" and the hypnotic yet driving instrumental "Theme for Great Cities."

"The American" may actually be the best track here. It's very synth heavy and it also rocks. A scorching lick from guitarist Charlie Burchill closes out the song with real intensity. It should also be noted that Derek Forbes (who, after all these years, recently rejoined the band, if only for a hot minute) laid down some absolutely addictive bass grooves all over these songs.

These guys created some of the most unique, palpable rock atmospheres during their underground electronic period which includes the albums REAL TO REEL CACOPHONY and EMPIRES AND DANCE along with this one. This latest release collecting SONS and SISTERS might in fact be the best of the bunch! Highly recommended!

...Sons & Fascination was my personal favorite of the two orig. LPs (S&F originally was the first eight tracks of this CD). For me the Sister Feelings Call tracks are all bonus. Esp. likeable is the 'instrumental' Theme for Great Cities ("and loved one, and loved ones"). For me Sons (throw-in 'the American') epitomizes the Simple Minds - all their subsequent releases had to live up to this!