Simple Minds, part 2

Following up on my Simple Minds post, I'm not even sure I can remember where I was going with that. 

I had several of those albums (with the exception of Sons and Fascination and Street Fighting Years) on vinyl, but I don't get the chance to listen to my vinyl as much as I'd like, and vinyl is not portable. As has been established in this blog, I don't like streaming in the car and really don't stream much music unless I am bored with podcasts, need some inspiration, or want to sample some music. It has been fun hearing this music on CD, and I now have heard Street Fighting Years (the 1989 follow-up to Once Upon a Time) for the first time ever. It only took me 34 years. The album flies in the face of Once Upon a Time, as the band ventures into more subdued, almost jazzy, almost bluesy, almost prog-y directions and Jim Kerr eliminates the more bombastic, arena-ready vocals of OUaT and even Sparkle in the Rain. It's easy to see why the album didn't sell well and baffled most listeners at the time.

Simple Minds' original bass player Derek Forbes appeared on one of The Hustle, one of my favorite music podcasts. That helped to re-ignite my interest in Simple Minds. He told some wonderful stories of his time in the band, all in his thick Scottish brogue. 


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