Simple Minds

With "New Gold Dream", Simple Minds, a superb band active since the late 70s, wrote one of the finest chapters of British new wave. The record is a work of great maturity, formally near-perfect, one might say, that seals a steady growth for the band, from early efforts like "Life In A Day", when the group was still searching for a clear identity, all the way to the crafting of powerful pop songs like "The American", "Sweat In Bullet" and "Love Song", found on the twin albums "Sons And Fascination" and "Sister Feelings Call" from 1981, which stand as the immediate prelude to the record under discussion here.

With the arrival of Mel Gaynor, the formidably powerful and precise Black drummer who features on almost every track of "New Gold Dream", the lineup - fronted by the charismatic vocalist Jim Kerr - grows stronger and more complete. The great Derek Forbes on bass finally finds the ideal rhythmic partner to give full, intense expression to the danceable grooves that would make the band's fortune, as esteemed in the "alternative" circles close to the post-punk current dominated by The Cure and Joy Division as it was admired in circles closer to more easily digestible pop, one literally upended in those early 80s by the so-called "British Invasion", which found in the spread of music videos one of its most defining and, ultimately, most innovative elements (Depeche Mode, ABC, Human League, and even the far too maligned Duran Duran).

The harmonic section finds in Michael MacNeil's exemplary work one of the finest examples of that era's "plasticky" keyboard sound, and in Charles Burchill's exquisite guitar effects another textbook example of the sound of the times, this time on guitar. The opening track, "Someone, Somewhere In Summertime", is the record's first anthem. Over a tight rhythmic bed pulsing on the quarter notes, the guitar riff introduces the verse, which opens up over the characteristic keyboard beds of the period. The song builds enveloping momentum all the way to the chorus, with Kerr belting out the slogan that gives the song its title. "Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel" is dominated by Forbes's fine plucked riff, embroidered with keyboard and guitar filigree. The verse spirals concentrically in on itself, only ever simulating a launch into a chorus that, in fact, never arrives.

The third track, "Promised You A Miracle", is one of the record's hits, opening with a fresh, inviting hook repeated several times throughout the song's development. Here too, MacNeil's keyboard work is exemplary. "Big Sleep" rests on the interplay between a simple keyboard riff and a lovely slapped bass line, over which the guitar notes pour down like magic dust, while the drums hammer away relentlessly on the quarter notes above it all: one of the finest examples of a hypnotic song produced by new wave. The instrumental and rather unremarkable "Somebody Up There Likes You" closes out what would have been side one of the record.

"New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)" is the album's manifesto song. It kicks off with the bass pulsing tightly over the keyboard riff, and from there it's a full-on, fantastic gallop, with an epic Kerr hailing the golden dream of those early 80s (...and perhaps someone still remembers the faint taste of bitterness at the dawn of the year of our Lord 1985, when that generation - mine - realized the slogan was outdated and an era had come to an end...). "Glittering Prize" again showcases Forbes, with a gorgeous bass riff carrying the entire song, and an ever-bouncing MacNeil, whose keyboards make room in the chorus for Burchill's guitar embroidery. The song's music video is also worth noting.

Perhaps the most intense moment on the whole album remains "Hunter And The Hunted", one of the finest songs in the Minds' entire output, and thus in British new wave as a whole. The sense of anticipation that pervades the track, which in other songs by the band ultimately leads nowhere, here reaches its peak, its true culmination. This is the summit of the entire record, that precise instant in which all the golden dreams fueled by the band's sound condense into notes: the astonishing, inimitable, magical intro of Herbie Hancock's keyboard solo, appearing here as a luxury guest.

The record closes with the dark, unsettling "King Is White And In The Crowd", featuring a keyboard interplay that seems to evoke Kraftwerk, and Forbes nodding to the immense Mick Karn. And indeed, in hindsight this song appears bolder than the rest of Simple Minds' otherwise simple architecture, closer to the ambitious designs of Japan, who started from the same cultural substrate and arrived at shores of greater artistic and compositional depth.

The album as a whole stands out for the sonic balance it achieves, a perfect synthesis of the heavily electronic sound with dance leanings that goes under the name of "British Invasion". Shortly after, the band would attempt a shift towards rock with the still-remarkable "Sparkle In The Rain" (1984, boosted by the poignant "Up On The Catwalk"), which fuelled a manufactured rivalry in the music press with Bono's U2 for the crown of best band around. But these are just the final flickers. With the 1985 single "Don't You (Forget About Me)", Derek Forbes would say goodbye to the Minds, and the group to its most satisfying period.

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09/11/2006