New Simple Minds album, "Walk Between Worlds", set for release 02/02/2018

If you haven't heard it yet:


later
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It's a good one! Thanks.

 

Wondering who will be in the line-up for the summer tour...

 

I see they're staying in the safe confines of Europe. Cross the pond boys! Just do it, promote the hell out of it and get that American audience back! For what it's worth, the album is still in heavy rotation and I'm enjoying it thoroughly from beginning to end. Definitely not mailed in, a lot of effort went into the album and I hear it every listen.

 

Thanks for this, I listened to it on Spotify and enjoyed it as well. Several of the tracks are quite close to the originals in arrangement, but The American as piano ballad and King is White as delta blues works surprisingly well IMO. I also listened to his other album which was very folky and liked it.

 

I pulled out Black & White 050505 over the weekend and gave it a spin in the car. Is it really 13 years old? That's the time span between New Gold Dream and Good News... we're all getting older. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, apart from "A Life Shot in Black and White" which I think is undercooked. Maybe time for them to resurrect some of the rockier tracks? It'd be a shame if this record was forgotten, especially as I think it's stronger than Graffiti Soul.

Speaking of which, anyone recall the hoo-haa about Mick & Derek almost-but-not rejoining to record "This is It"? That episode seemed to have killed any taste for a 'classic' line-up reunion that Jim ever had. It's not a bad track, definitely written to ape the Sons/Sisters period, but I've often wondered what Mick would have done with it, especially given his lack of musical output over the last couple of decades. Would he have dragged the old OB-Xa, Jupiter 4 and Space Echo out and thrown a load of great soundscapes all over it? I doubt it..

 

Mick apparently felt the track needed a lot of work, which was probably true. It's a good tune, but perhaps a bit underdeveloped.
But then it all ended in business arguments...

 

Great new interview with Jim on the Songfacts site:

Jim Kerr Of Simple Minds: Writing Through The Good, The Bad And The Indifferent : Songwriter Interviews

 

The part where he talks about Michael Been and "Let The Day Begin" was especially fascinating. Wonder if he is aware that BRMC also did a cover of that song. Too bad the journalist didn't ask him.

 

Yes, especially since the singer of BRMC is Michael Been's son. Would have loved to read if Jim is familiar with them.

 

They've been dropping many hints on their FB page about a North American tour this fall. They apparently met with a promoter in New York and have been doing a lot of interviews on US radio, not just in the biggest markets but also mid-sized ones like Cleveland/Tucson/Portland/Kansas City etc. On every single one of their FB posts people always ask them to do a US tour, but recently they've actually been replying to those posts and telling them to stay tuned. Fingers crossed.

 

It looks like US dates will be announced soon.

 

They are up, there coming to California, also here in Las Vegas and Reno.
But I refuse to go if Mel it not there and the current line up is still in place.
I would have bought 6 tickets.

Derek, Mel and Mick should get together, tour and play those same very songs, I'm sure it would sound closer to the truth. I'd pay for that!!

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that a date has been booked here for 9/29. The
last time Simple Minds was in this town they played a tiny bar. Yes, I'm going.......

 

I think I might turn Scot (Scottish?) late in September. Proclaimers on the 25th and Simple Minds on the 28th.

 

Wow -- great to see such an extensive list of cities. Their last one this big was 2002 and before that what...1985? (They've had a few smaller ones in between, but still not even too many of those.) With 16-17 years between each massive tour, this could be the very last time we get something like this. Got to make this one count.

Sounds like a great time to visit family and friends in Milwaukee and Denver, and then schedule that layover in Reno I've always wanted on my way back to SF.

 

I'm thinking Reno will be nice that time of year. I can visit all the "Americans" in my family and hopefully watch a blazer of "Signal".

 

Got my tickets for Montreal. Now I'm praying it's not going to be the band "inspired by the likes Sly & The Family Stone".

 

Well is this really Simple Minds? I can see 3 main members of a band carry the name, but this is just 2, and one does not even play any instrument.

 

He does do a mean "let me see your hands".

 

I’m sorry to be Joe Casino here but I hope for their first American tour in years, for audiences that will mostly be nostalgic, they’re going to be sensible and not play their whole new album in order like they have been doing in Europe (where they tour regularly).

 

According to email I received (and the web) - "Simple Minds are delighted to announce that they will tour North America in September and October 2018, playing two full sets featuring iconic songs spanning their whole career and including tracks from the new album Walk Between Worlds."

 

Just go and enjoy the show and forget that your favourite drummer/bass player/roadie is not there.

I know you won't agree, but the main components are there to put on a damn good show, last time I saw them in Glasgow they were great and I can't even remember who was twirling the sticks.

Who knows how many more times they'll be around your neck of the woods.....

 

It would be a mistake to play the whole album on this tour. They need to reestablish themselves in the USA and the way to NOT do that is spending half the show playing stuff that few want to hear.

 

The core of Simple Minds was always Jim and Charlie.
They started the band, and wrote the first album.
Then Mick, Derek and Brian McGee were contributed a great deal creatively for albums 2-5.
Then they replaced Brian with Mel for album 6.
Then Derek dropped off after album 7.
Then Mick dropped off after album 9.
That was all within 11 years, and the following 19 years it's been the Jim and Charlie show again.