Stuff That Works - a Review of Big Music by Simple Minds



Gotta confess right off that I have been a fan of Simple Minds for decades and "Big Music" justifies my fandom once again. My first taste of their new one came when I ordered a special edition DVD "Celebrate" which is their live show at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow - recorded in 2013. It was one of those deals you ordered in advance and paid a bunch of money for - but my goodness, it was worth it.
 
Anyway, they played a couple of tunes from what was to become Big Music. I also ordered a live recording from one of their tour stops in Australia on their 5X5 Tour. (My review of same can be seen clicking here: 5x5 Live.) Funny, it just struck home that I have to buy all this Aussie and Euro live stuff because Simple Minds has not come to my part of the world in a while. JIM KERR - if you ever read this - will ya please come over to Michigan? We are the state that looks like a mitten and we need us some Simple Minds.
 
I was a bit put off at first that Simple Minds included a cover of "Let The Day Begin" by Michael Been and The Call. Why? Well, I dearly loved The Call and that song in particular was one of my faves. I thought it a bit cheeky to record it. WELL - I repent! These days it is probably my favorite song on the album. Gotta believe Michael Been is smiling at the result.
 
If you are a fan, even a luke warm one who thought it began and ended with "Don't You (Forget About Me)" for the band - then you owe it to yourself to take a listen. The title track is truly some big music - the Minds are firing on all cylinders. The bulk of the writing is by Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill - works for me. The album presents a great mix of guitars (Burchill), synth (Andy Gillespie), and the driving force of Mel Gaynor's drums and bottom end from Ged Grimes to support Kerr's vocals - with help from the ever present Sarah Brown and Clinton Outten (the last two being backing vocals). Ms Brown has been hanging with SM for years and she is a vital part IMHO.

 
"Imagination" is a great song.
"Blindfolded" is a great song.
 
Ah hell, I like pretty much everything on it. There were a couple I was not wild about to begin with, but the more I listen, the more I dig the whole enchilada. Charlie has his chops and Jim is still in great voice - the band makes it work from start to stop.
 
If you like Simple Minds - you will LOVE Big Music.
I guarantee it.
 


 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Olive oil and lemon juice gallstone cleanse works!

Image
May 29, 2011 - This post has been up since June 2008. I am amazed at the number of people who read it. There are several hundred page views every month. Please take the time to read the various comments after my post. In addition to some success stories, I have been diligent to put up comments from people who don't agree with my thinking and/or experience on this matter. My purpose in writing this was NOT to try to convince others to do what I did, but rather to share my experience. Anyway - since doing this I have not had any further issues with gallstones or pain (knock on wood, toss salt over my shoulder, etc. etc.). I am not trying to replace a visit to the doctor, just sharing what I did and inviting others to share their experience - even when it does not line up with mine. January 8, 2012 - the comments and readers keep coming. I thought I should mention one more thing. If you take the time to read all the comments you will find some variations on the recipe I followed. I
Read more

A blog called SuperForest and saving seeds.

Don't cha love the interweb? You can find the coolest people out there. One day whilst surfing around I found a blog called Super Forest. What a great combination of uplifting stuff along with challenges to do better by our planet. Super Forest is very much behind the Millennium Seed Bank. What is that, says you? From Wikipedia: "The Millennium Seed Bank Project is an international conservation project coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Launched in the year 2000... its purpose is to provide an "insurance policy" against the extinction of plants in the wild by storing seeds for future use. The storage facilities consist of large underground frozen vaults preserving the world's largest collection of seeds.In April 2007 it banked its billionth seed, the Oxytenanthera abyssinica, a type of African bamboo." Anyway - the folks at Super Forest are raising awareness and raising funds to save one seed. Read about them here: http://www.superforest.org
Read more

Love Wines Opens Tasting Room in Lowell at Red Barn Mercantile

Image
  Red Barn Mercantile Opens Tasting Room for Love Wines Originally Published in the Lowell Ledger August 16, 2023 Hopefully by now anyone reading this article appreciates how important it is to shop at locally owned businesses because studies consistently demonstrate how dollars spent at a local mom and pop results in way more of that money staying right in the community. Want to know a way to double down on that principle? It happens when you support a local family owned business that is selling a product produced by another family owned business. The Red Barn Mercantile at 217 West Main is a mom and pop business owned by Laurie and Marty Chambers. After lots of phone calls, form filling, and hoop jumping, they are very pleased to open their tasting room for Love Wines – hand crafted wines produced by another family operation located in Luddington, MI. The wine tasting room is one more step for Red Barn Mercantile in their effort to provide a nice selection of Michigan Made food, b
Read more