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Rating: The Simple Minds is a band whose origin is directly linked to the essential phenomenon of punk and everything that immediately followed it. After taking their first steps by distinguishing themselves with an innovative sound featuring an initial, not overly heavy, combination of electronic keyboards and guitars that nodded to the danceable rhythms of the late '70s, they embarked on a recording journey that saw the release of the elegant "Life In A Day" (1979) as much as the avant-garde "Real To Real Cacophony" (1979), proving in its own way to be innovative. The dark "Empires And Dance" (1980) laid the groundwork for an art-rock approach that would reach its culmination with the successful pairing of "Sons And Fascination" and "Sister Feelings Call", with which the group would make its debut for Virgin.
The year 1982 was marked by the release of "New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)", where rock elegantly blended with electronics and catchy melodies, leaving "Sparkle In The Rain" (1984) with the challenging task of expanding the musical path undertaken, steering towards more penetrating sounds that, also thanks to acclaimed producer Steve Lillywhite, weren't far from what the Irish U2 were creating in those years. By a twist of fate, success would come with a song not originally theirs, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (spring 1985); written (initially for Billy Idol) by the duo Shift-Forsey for the "Breakfast Club" soundtrack, it would leave the task of achieving global acclaim to the multi-seller "Once Upon A Time" (October 1985), which, riding more pleasantly rock-pop atmospheres, would grant the band deserved fame and sell truckloads of records, representing the just reward for two decades of tireless and honest musical work.
At first listen, "Street Fighting Years" - released four years after the previous one, - shows a renewed communication, implying the attempt to once again establish contact with their loyal followers, without betraying those who fell under the charm of feeling alive and kicking. There is a declared intention to use songs as vehicles free to circulate, helping to spread a message that proves capable of evading any attempt to hinder its propagation. The sound manages to remain visceral and never betray by flowing into predictability, generating at the same time feelings of protest and sharing.
The frankness of Kerr's autobiographical reflections passes through the lightness of "Soul Crying Out", which connects well to the turmoil expressed through the rhythmic thrust of "Take A Step Back", capable of matching the urgency of "Wall Of Love" in terms of expressive need. The single tasked with ferrying the album into the charts through airplay is "Belfast Child" (a reworking of the Irish traditional "She Moved Through The Fair"), which transmits with a certain grandeur, the awareness of a non-existent light at the end of the tunnel, as the explicit black and white of Andy Morahan's clip manages to imply.
It's the winning sequence of the three initial piano chords of "Mandela Day" that underline the importance of a message which, far from political ambitions, succeeds in being perceived even by those who see music only as a fleeting moment of distraction, leaving "Biko"'s ode (written by Peter Gabriel) with the task of permeating consciences. The eloquent anger that emanates from the title-track (inspired by the murder of a friend of Jim Kerr), is the perfect balance to the elegance of "This Is Your Land", without fully compensating for the excessive rarefaction that makes "Let It All Come Down" the least intriguing track.
This eighth album by the Scottish group musically represents both the start of a new phase - already inaugurated after the concert at Wembley Arena in June 1988, - and the continuation of their journey, on a path capable of depicting those soundscapes that had led to the universal recognition achieved with the previous album and then celebrated with the live "In The City Of Light" (1987). A vigorous work of commitment focusing on the predominant and instinctive creativity of the Kerr-Buchill-McNeil trio, aimed at rekindling ties with fans potentially lost over recent years, leading to the creation of a quality record and seeing the light after a year of recording, showing itself - due to proven validity, - indebted also to the experience of Trevor Horne and Stephen Lips, who skillfully took turns behind the console.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Take a Step Back (04:23)
Go tell it on the mountain
Like it burst forth like a fountain
Try to shake the deep foundations of this land
High up on lover's land
They got hotel rooms so grand
And no one here knows what goes behind closed doors
Take a step back to the middle of the track
Don't you know it's rumoured all around
Says you know it's come to town
Come on and take a step back to the middle of the track
'Cos the rumours are around said you're coming back to town
And with every little lie
You come and never blink an eye
You know you've got yourself all tied up
When you're around
I've got the modern world behind me
Like a needle in a haystack find me
They build you up and then they're going to burn you down
So take a step back to the middle of the track
The rumours all around
Said you're coming back to me
Come on and take a step back to the middle of the track
Says you know it's going upside, you know what's going down
I'm haunted by the wanderer deep inside
Wanted by
Haunted by
I'm haunted by the wanderer that's deep in my soul
Gonna look back to the middle of the track
And you know it's going upside
Le, le, da, le
Telling me
Ah ha, uh hu
Ooh look back to the middle of the track
And you know it's going upside
Telling me...
Don't tell me it's a bad dream
Don't tell me it's not what it seems
Don't tell me pretty soon you know
Gotta stop the roller coaster
Gotta make the most of it
Gonna pull you down
Gotta make the most of it
Better cool it down
Words And Music : Simple Minds Reproduced without permission
08 Mandela Day (05:45)
It was 25 years they take that man away
Now the freedom moves in closer every day
Wipe the tears down from your saddened eyes
They say Mandela's free so step outside
Oh oh oh oh Mandela day
Oh oh oh oh Mandela's free
It was 25 years ago this very day
Held behind four walls all through night and day
Still the children know the story of that man
And I know what's going on right through your land
25 years ago
Na na na na Mandela day
Oh oh oh Mandela's free
If the tears are flowing wipe them from your face
I can feel his heartbeat moving deep inside
It was 25 years they took that man away
And now the world come down say Nelson Mandela's free
Oh oh oh oh Mandela's free
The rising suns sets Mandela on his way
Its been 25 years around this very day
From the one outside to the ones inside we say
Oh oh oh oh Mandela's free
Oh oh oh set Mandela free
Na na na na Mandela day
Na na na na Mandela's free
25 years ago
What's going on
And we know what's going on
Cos we know what's going on
09 Belfast Child (06:41)
When my love said to me,
Meet me down by the gallow tree.
For it's sad news I bring,
About this old town and all that it's offering.
Some say troubles abound,
Some day soon they're gonna pull the old town down.
One day we'll return here,
When the Belfast Child sings again.
Brothers, sisters, where are you now?
As I look for you right through the crowd.
All my life here I've spent,
With my faith in God the Church and the Government.
But there's sadness abound,
Some day soon they're gonna pull the old town down.
One day we'll return here,
When the Belfast Child sings again,
When the Belfast Child sings again.
So come back Billy, won't you come on home?
Come back Mary, you've been away so long.
The streets are empty, and your mother's gone.
The girls are crying, it's been oh so long.
And your father's calling, come on home.
Won't you come on home, won't you come on home?
Come back people, you've been gone a while,
And the war is raging, through the Emerald Isle.
That's flesh and blood man, that's flesh and blood,
All the girls are crying but all's not lost.
The streets are empty, the streets are cold.
Won't you come on home, won't you come on home?
The streets are empty,
Life goes on.
One day we'll return here,
When the Belfast Child sings again,
When the Belfast Child sings again.
10 Biko (07:34)
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Hiromija, Hiromija
The man is dead, the man is dead
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Hiromija, Hiromija
The man is dead, the man is dead
You can blow out a candle
But you can never blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Hiromija, Hiromija
The man is dead, the man is dead
And the eyes of the world are watching you now
They're watching you now, watching you now
Watching you now, watching you now
They're watching you now
You gotta waken up, you gotta face up
I think you gotta open up
The eyes of the world are watching you now
You gotta waken up, you gotta face up
You know you can never turn away
Never turn away
Words And Music : Peter Gabriel Reproduced Without Permission
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Other reviews
By senior86
"It is incredible how Simple Minds managed in this album to distance themselves even more from the sound that characterized albums like 'Life in a Day' and 'New Gold Dream'."
"'Mandela Day' seems like an anthem not of a man’s redemption, but that of an entire people."
By rosharris
"'Street Fighting Years' is a masterpiece!"
"The atmosphere that this album exudes is refined, sophisticated, intoxicating, all surrounded by Kerr’s voice, which is fantastic."
