Simple Minds
Street Fighting Years

THE REVIEW

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.