•
Rating: In 1989, Simple Minds re-entered the music scene with this album, which already in its title expressed all its "battle" intentions: "Street Fighting Years", meaning years of struggles, abuses, inequalities, and wars. Beyond the theme of the album, produced by none other than Trevor Horn, what strikes the most is the extraordinary communicative power possessed by all the songs, thanks to Jim Kerr's more subdued voice than ever and the epic sound of tracks like the title track and "Belfast Child".
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" or even "Once Upon a Time": it was very difficult in those years to make albums without being banal because we all know the crap the '80s gave us a bit.
Let's talk about the tracks: it begins with the splendid "Street Fighting Years", a true masterpiece suspended between post-rock and new wave, and continues with the delicate "Soul Crying Out". Wall of Love is a bit of an exception in the album, bringing back the stadium rock of "Don't You Forget About Me", while the splendid "This is Your Land", featuring Lou Reed, is undoubtedly one of the strengths of the album. It moves forward with the pressing rhythm of "Take a Step Back" and the "aggression" of "Kick It In". "Let It All Come Down" leaves you speechless and "Mandela Day" has that extra edge that many albums lack. Dedicated to Nelson Mandela, it's one of the best-known pieces by Simple Minds with arrangements that bring back serenity and optimism. It seems like an anthem not of a man's redemption, but that of an entire people (the South African one specifically).
"Belfast Child" (which is a traditional Irish ballad) is a real gem, and "Biko" is the track that sparks the most debate. It may seem strange, but the piece doesn't lose that pathos and sense of vindication inherent in Peter Gabriel's original version. On the contrary, it gains even more strength thanks to the extraordinary chemistry between Kerr's voice and the wall of sound erected by Katché and John Giblin. "When Spirits Rise" is instead a pleasant instrumental that evokes traditional Irish sounds.
Also noteworthy is the participation of Stewart Copeland, ex-Police.
In short, although "Street Fighting Years" is not the best-selling and most known album by Simple Minds, it is certainly my favorite and probably the most complete, marking the return to civil commitment of the Scottish band too often compared to U2. Great songs and great courage.
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
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
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."
By claudio carpentieri
'The sound manages to remain visceral and never betray by flowing into predictability, generating at the same time feelings of protest and sharing.'
'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.'
