Review:
On their seventh album, “Scotland’s Simple Minds get creative and passionate.” MW After 1982’s New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), the band’s most critically acclaimed album, they churned out this “rock-oriented album” WK which landed them atop the UK album chart for the first time.
“Sparkle in the Rain is a glimpse of what’s to come from Simple Minds;” MW they would finally have their U.S. breakthrough with 1985’s Once Upon a Time, the top 10, gold-selling album that played off their success with the #1 U.S. hit “Don’t You Forget about Me.” “Kerr’s heart-wrenching vocals soar and such emotion only leads to earning a global following. Like U2 did with 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire, Simple Minds will touch hearts by stripping their soul. The process has already begun on Sparkle in the Rain.” MW
“Produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, Morrissey, XTC, Psychedelic Furs), Sparkle in the Rain marks the band’s best effort thus far, capturing thick seascapes of illustrious lyrical visions. Frontman Jim Kerr’s anthemic love songs are political and personal, and synth-beats throb over Charlie Burchill’s new wave third-chord guitars and swooning basslines. Songs like Waterfront,” MW which is “one of the band's signature songs to this day,” WK “and Book of Brilliant Things are finely cut tracks with Simple Minds’ signature harking, but the glossy verse behind Up on the Catwalk is what’s most appealing. Piano vibes are pinch-hitting and Kerr’s songwriting thrives on celebrity and the falling grace that coincides that.” MW “The album also contains a cover version of Lou Reed’s song Street Hassle.” WK
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0.3
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