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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece, February 18, 2005
"Street Fighting Years" was the moment when an intermittently interesting post-punk art rock band of the 80s, responsible for a few classic singles (the most popular of which - "Don't You Forget About Me" - they didn't even write), suddenly produced one of the most daring, heartfelt and extraordinarily beautiful albums ever to emerge from the slag heap of contemporary pop. It was a commercial failure, of course, and some reviewers still decry it as "blatantly political" - as if intelligence, emotion and making an argument are alien concepts to art. When it comes to popular music they often are, which is all the more reason to treasure albums like this one. It's a glorious epic about love, loss, trampled innocence and murderous injustice from the opening bars to the uplifting instrumental conclusion. Even setting aside the politics, this is still 61 minutes of astonishingly beautiful music: rich, complex, superbly engineered and executed. Just listen closely to the percussive opening of "Mandela Day", or the care with which the layers of "Belfast Child" are orchestrated. It was twelve months in the making and sounds every bit of it. It was also the basis for what is, even after 15 years, still the best concert I've ever been to: no fancy light shows or on-stage antics, just Jim Kerr's yearning voice, Charlie Burchill's soaring guitars, and 12,000 gobsmacked fans. While their next recording effort, "Real Life", continued in a somewhat similar vein, Simple Minds have never quite reached these heights again. Their later works have mostly been competent stadium rock or electronica-influenced experiments. Still, it matters little - if they'd existed only to produce this one album, it would be enough.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So what if it's political?, June 29, 2005
It's crazy. There are millions of songs about I love you and about sex and meeting a girl and losing her and getting her back and no one complains. But sing about Mandela or Soweto and everyone complains.
Lyrics aside (not that I have any complaints), the title track SFY is one of the best post New Wave Simple Mind Songs, period. The opening bass got me right away. I disagree with the other reviewer about Soul Crying Out, the softer edged songs like this and Let It All Come Down are some of the highlights of the album. It's got these great tracks, and plenty of kicking action for those who like Simple Minds Raw - Kick It In is one hell of a thumper.
And Mandela Day simply demonstrates how effective a simple riff can be, something Simple Minds discovered from the start with Promised You A Miracle. Here they still have it. I can listen to the opening hook over and over again, and basically the song is built that way. Is it repetitive? Wasn't Waterfront, Up On The Catwalk etc, but weren't they just fab?
And Once Upon A Time was also an excellent album, and Robin Cook only made it even more attractive. The fantastic pop appeal of Alive and Kicking aside, Ghostdancing shows they have real rock in them, as does Santicy Yourself and All The Things She Said. All the remixes from this album are fantastic, too.
I can't say the same about what happens after Street Fighting Years, but as a fan from New Gold Dream days these two albums are definitely tops. Diehard fans of early Simple Minds may not like this but there is no cause to diss it.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic, October 13, 2001
This is now quite an old CD it was written before Nelson Mandella's release from imprisonment and the end of Apartheid. The songs are strongly political with one being about the troubles in Northern Island and two about South Africa. Some musicians when attempting a message can sacrifice the quality of the music. This CD is however one of Simple Mind's best. Despite the fact that the battle against Apartheid is long since one and the problems of Northern Island nearing a resolution the music lasts. The song Mandella day is one that longs for his release. I have now played it hundreds of times but it still moves me even today. The image of a man who spent some 20 years imprisoned for struggling to build a just a democratic society, and who on his release and assumption of political power did not hold on thought of revenge for his treatment is conveyed so eloquently by the music in a way that no other medium could.
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