****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I was lucky enough to come across this album when it came out way back when. I taped the album (as I did back then) so only played it once or twice but I wore the tape out when I worked as a driver. Out of nostalgia, I ripped it again once I figured out how to hook my stereo to a quality sound card and was blown away by how much beat this album had and how well it holds up. This is not Pop by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it cheerful, but it is excellent art. This is the hypnotic, numbed and questioning post punk of the early eighties. Simple Minds certainly evolved into a terrific big market band, but the collection of their early work is really a education of the palette. This album and the subsequent Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call have a unique sound that places them firmly in their time but also holds up well. The band was tight, exquisitely timed and brought a lot to the mix of the album. Generally the beats hold the songs and everything goes it's own way but weaves whole cloth. Others have written extensive critiques of individual tracks. I will only add that the album as a whole takes you from song to song with a determined beat that sticks with you. Meanwhile the journey of the album leaves you feeling like a lost traveler through society. Lyrically a commentary on current society that probably changed forever after Thatcher. The songs have a sense of escapism from the creeping stench of a decaying Western society. Hypnotic beats keeping you from engaging too closely but driving you song to song, ending up alone in a room wondering what you had just experienced and questioning your own participation in it. This album will stay in your memory and come back to you time after time, and it won't disappoint.
