Review: Simple Minds’ Not So Simple Return

Simple Minds
Acoustic in Concert
(Mercury/Universal)
4 out of 5 stars

Simple Minds
New Gold Dream – Live from Paisley Abbey
(BMG)
4 out of 5 stars

Some 45 years or so after making their initial appearance during Britain’s post-punk era, Simple Minds mark their return courtesy of not one, but two new live albums, albeit each with a different theme. Granted, the band has more than enough hits to fill any single concert collection, but the fact that they opted to do a straight live set, as well as an acoustic offering, indicated a varied strategy that easily adapts to either format.

Acoustic In Concert—offered as a CD and Blu-ray two-disc set— boasts the majority of Simple Minds’ standards, among them, “New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84),” “Promised You a Miracle,” “Sanctify Yourself,” “Alive and Kicking,” and their biggest song of all, “Don’t You Forget About Me.” On the other hand, New Gold Dream – Live from Paisley Abbey is a rerecording of one of the band’s classic albums, one which bore four of the band’s best known songs: “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84),” “Promised You A Miracle,” and “Glittering Prize.”

Although the acoustic set is billed as an unplugged offering, it’s far from simply strummed guitars and minimal accompaniment. It’s a live take on their Acoustic studio album released in 2016, given a full-on band performance and executed with both prowess and passion. Each of the tracks are given a rich and riveting delivery. “You can sing, you can dance,” singer Jim Kerr insists. “Just don’t get arrested.” 

As a result, songs such as “See the Lights” and “Glittering Prize” are rendered with a richness and fullness that belies any sense that the music is somehow the fuller finesse Simple Minds’ anthemic approach calls for. So too, when the band branches out to include covers—Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel’s “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me),” David Bowie’s “Andy Warhol,” and Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot”—the effect is both mesmerizing and magnificent, helped in no small way by a pair of back-up singers that add extra flourish to the riveting refrains. The compelling chorus of “Chelsea Girl” is but one prime example. Only “Speed Your Love to Me” comes close to the sound of an actual acoustic serenade. On the other hand, the hand-rocking “Sanctify Yourself” is anything but.

Likewise, Live from Paisley Abbey sounds like an actual studio album, and given the absence of any perceptible audience noise, it’s simply a revisit to Simple Minds’ seminal classic. Recorded late last year, the program is part of Sky Arts’ “Greatest Albums Live” series, which captures iconic artists playing classic albums from their illustrious careers. 

It’s debatable whether or not these new recordings offer any substantial improvement on the original effort, but given the fact that the band has several new players in the fold—vocalist Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill are the only holdovers from the original lineup—a remake could be considered valid and worthwhile. Besides, completists will likely crave it for their collections, which in itself gives it a decisive degree of importance. For a band marking its 40th anniversary, they sound as driving and determined as ever. Credit these two albums for confirming that conclusion.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images