New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)

This album slipped across my mind without leaving any trace of it's time there.

This couldn't be more of its time if it tried. It's the musical equivalent of Molly Ringwald doing a Jane Fonda workout while wearing leg warmers and a Walkman. Very 1980s. But the 1980s was the best era for music (it just was alright), so that's just fine.

In listening to this for the first time in nearly 40 years my observations are 1) Jim Kerr's voice is just sooo smoooth, nothing like their first few albums, it's like he hired Mel Torme or Brian Ferry as a vocal coach 2) the band lays down beautiful textures and is happy to stay in the background and let Kerr sing 3) There are so many pop hooks and pop songs in general (!) - it's like they are shooting for that massive hit that would be heard in grocery stores and bus stations for decades to come, but that was still a year or two away. Sue says their prior album was better, which I can't disagree with, and smoe fans would have been disappointed by the less-edgy sound of this album. Before I gave it too high a mark I wanted to make sure the lyrics weren't fluff so I looked up King is White and in the Crowd - it's about the assassination of Anwar Sadat. Good enough for me.

“ We heard the deacon's hopeful eulogy/ At least in dying you don't have to deal with New Wave for a second time” - The Hold Steady, “Multitude of Casualties” Hard to argue with that sentiment when an album like this comes along. This list is bloated with indistinguishable New Wave records, and this one in particular seems to revel in the genre’s worst overindulgences. Some of the instrumentation is interesting in a sort of curio way, but there was nothing here to make me want to listen again. Favourite track: “Promised You A Miracle”

Richly textured beautifully crafted songs making for a complete, cohesive album.

Couple of amazing singles and a big load of rubbish

I just can't stand those 80's synths... this, as much of the decade stuff i've been hearing just did not age well

Every song sounds like it's going to be "Relax" by Frankie goes to Hollywood, but they always turn out to be better.

I along with most people really only know their one big hit, Don't You (Forget About Me), so this was a real treat to hear the band a few years prior. First thing of note to me was how involved the bass playing is; every song has a slick bass line that drives them forward. The layering of the mix with different synth sounds along with the rest of the band makes for a really fun soundscape that shifts with each song. Overall I’d say I was definitely not expecting 80’s pop to be so fine tuned; make no mistake, this is an album firmly planted in the 80’s, but even 40 years on now, it still sounds great. Extra points for so many of the album's 9 songs hitting the 5-minute mark. Top pick from first listen is "Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel." Even though this is the shortest song, the bass line drives the groove right from the get-go, the drum playing perfectly syncopated and I love the sparse hits from the synth, it creates such a vibe. Shout out to the single "Glittering Prize" and it’s ethereal like synths and constantly moving bass line.

A great groover that earns itself a solid, strong 4 from me. Really easy to make a mediocre muck of this genre, but they do it right with catchy hooks, varied production backing the synth-i-ness of it all, and a dramatically romantic lead with a brass voice. No moments where they go above and beyond to me, feels more slow burn on the dance floor in a drug haze type vibes, so at 4 it stays. Standout Tracks: Someone Somewhere In Summertime, Promised You A Miracle, Somebody up There Likes You, Hunter And The Hunted

Really didn't think I'd like it but, actually did.

Pre-listen: I’m so fucking sick of so many fucking 80’s albums. I hope I’m wrong and I look/sound like an idiot, but oh my god, it feels like every other album is from this wretched decade. Post-listen: nope, wasn’t wrong. More terribly boring and dated music to be filed away under the worst, most pretentious genre name: “sophisti-pop.” Spare me your declarations of how “intelligent” it is. It gets a generous bonus star for sounding competently made. 2/5

Fun, dubby basslines. Bright, cracking drumming. Angular, reverb drenched, noisy guitars. Songs about Chelsea Girls and Murder. Jim Kerr's compelling vocals. Yes, Life in a Day is an excellent record. Check it out. . . Except that's not the album I was dealt. I did supplemental research and listening to attempt to get a handle on the one I was dealt. One thing I read is that producer Peter Walsh was tasked with capturing the sound of the band live. If this is how Simple Minds sounds live, it may be the lamest thing I have heard. Was Walsh responsible for turning Derek Forbes onto Stanley Clarke, and recording Forbes slapping in the most generic fashion imaginable? Did Walsh purposefully murder the drums into a mush of cardboard thuds? Can we blame Walsh for the whole band sound sliding into the the kind of AOR 1980s dribble that made worldwide moms think they, too, were "kinda punk". Post-Punk beginning into Air Supply bullshit? People that like this probably voted for Reagan or Thatcher. Get those acid washed Sassoons on. Chop up those baby laxative lines. Get an angular haircut. Find some shoulder pads. Put this on, and let the nothing happen. Recommended for Incels and Conservatives. If I could give this a black hole as a review, I would.

This sucked

Horrible album cover! Nothing standing out for me on this one.

Brilliant 80's album! Every track is good.

One of my favourite new-wave albums.

Brilliant. Was brilliant when released, and still is today

What’s not to like?

New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) It’s one of the obvious things that you don’t think much about, but doing this list you realise that pretty much every British band is influenced either by The Beatles or Bowie, or both. The 80s synth/new wave albums we’ve had in particular have been clearly Bowie influenced, and this is the same. It grew on me a lot over repeated listens. Initially I was struck by the overall hazy and dreamy atmosphere of songscapes, rather than the catchy tunes their pop rock pomp later in the decade. Along with Bowie there seems to be quite a bit of Cure and ABC - a not uniteresting mix. As I listened more, more melodies and moments emerged and I realised what superb bass playing there is on here, and how many of the songs are both melodically and rhythmically driven by the bass, with guitar and keyboard providing texture and embellishment. Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) sets the tone with its insistent groove and atmosphere, the guitar riff sounding a lot like Echo and the Bunnymen. Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel is great, excellent bass with a nagging groove and a nice chorus. A real grower. Promised You a Miracle I know as the single, and it’s definitely the most immediately catchy, although it does sound very ABC. Some great synthesiser parts though. Big Sleep, again some great bass and another grower with its slightly edgy but delicate atmosphere. More atmosphere on Somebody Up There Likes You, this time more hypnotic and mesmeric. I like this one. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) is probably the 2nd most immediately catchy track. Up to now it doesn’t seem obvious that this is the same band as Don’t You Forget About Me and Alive and Kicking, but you can hear the genes of those songs in this, a sense that a massive stadium song is about to burst into life, but is being held back, a great bit of tension making a great track. Glittering Prize is very reminiscent of The Cure, and it sounds slightly odd after New Gold Dream, flatter and less atmospheric, poppier but not as catchy, despite some great bass. Alex James must have heard the bass in the intro to Hunter and the Hunted, a definite Boys and Girls-ness to it. It’s another atmospheric and moody track. Big big Bowie vibes to King is White and in the Crowd, the bass as always is great, and yet more spectral atmospherics. After the first couple of listens I liked this, but found it hard to pick individual tracks, and I felt I couldn’t remember it, but then it started to get its hooks into me, and I found it’s slightly nervy dream-like quality quite seductive, finding new little interesting parts and moments in it with further listens. I don’t think I would have listened to this without doing the list, but I’m very glad it came up. Not quite sure it’s a 5 (yet), so I’ll go for a solid and intriguing 4. 🧠🧠🧠🧠 Playlist submission: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

The version of this I listened to showed a 2016 date. I kept saying to myself, “Wow, this sounds a lot like early 80s electronica, but better.” Turns out I was listening to a re-release…or AppleMusic has the wrong date. Either way when I realized it was released in 1982, everything made more sense. New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84) stands above most 80s electronica for me, especially tracks like Someone Somewhere, Hunter and Hunted, and the title track. I can hear snippets of Chromatics, a modern electronica band I dig, in this album. The bass guitar is badass. It carries the album. Derek Forbes, take a bow. The producer, Peter Walsh, should also be commended for pushing the bass so far forward in the mix.

De sacrées bonnes synthpoperies qui auront trouvé leur public au creux de mes oreilles crasseuses.

Cet album vous permet désormais de comprendre pourquoi j'ai interverti mon père avec celui de mon camarade d'écoute robgouttière. En effet, alors que je me rapprochais de plus en plus du père de rob, et de sa caverne a vinyles hard rock, mon propre père tenta de s'interposer, et me glissa un album dans les mains afin de regagner mon coeur. Cet album, c'était New Gold Dream de Simple Minds. Comme vous le savez désormais, cet album est de très piètre qualité, ce qui finit d'entâcher complétement la relation qui me liait à mon père.

Easily forgettable

Don't You (forget about Simple Minds) ...Don't, don't don't you... Unless you're a Ferris Bueller fan, it's pretty easy to forget about Simple Minds. To me they were always a one-hit-wonder that just existed behind the antlers above Ferris' dresser. Ferris Bueller's Day Off was unforgettable. I saw it in the theatre when it was released and had a copy on VHS. There are plenty of memorable scenes like at The Art Institute of Chicago and lines like "you killed the car...", and my favorite "the 'Sausage King of Chicago?'" Sadly, this album isn't as memorable. From the cover art and outset, New Gold Dream looks like it would play from an hymnal at a random new age church. The song titles read like religious brainwashing. "King is White and In the Crowd", "Somebody Up There Likes You", "Promised You a Miracle," etc. All of this religious garbage mixed in with pop music is a huge turn off in the states... but maybe I should turn this album off, get out of my bubble and explore the world because this album was largely a waste of time. ...as everyone knows. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/february-2016/ferris-bueller-bedroom/

I don't like Simple Minds. It's a band that once was great and then... it's just not even ok. I see this album as the begining of their decadence.

If you love early new wave pop this is the album for you. It is painfully terrible.

Hat mir nich gefallen 1

Shite, twaddle, and unredeemable, synthetic trash.

Those coming to Simple Minds when they became a stadium rock band often don't know their roots as an influential and important part of the new wave electronica scene. Until this their albums were packed with instrumentals. This is really the bridge to their popular phase but I still really like the nods back to it with "someone up there likes you" and the more proggy/electronica tracks. I like this a lot. It's got depth.

Liked

Jævlig bra

This was one of those albums that was instant love as soon as I put it on. A proper, full, cohesive collection of songs which reminds me why I love the 80s. Also love the album cover, very Catholic school prayer book.

My 80's loving heart adored this album.

This is in my top 10 fave albums of all time

01) Someone Somewhere in Summertime - 10,0 02) Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel - 8,0 03) Promised You a Miracle - 10,0 04) Big Sleep - 8,0 05) Somebody Up There Likes You (Instrumental) - 9,5 06) New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) - 9,5 07) Glittering Prize - 9,5 08) Hunter and the Hunted - 8,0 09) King is White and in the Crowd - 8,5 TOTAL: 9,00 (90/100) Current ranking: 30/304 This one took me completely by surprise. I thought I knew two songs from the album, but in the end it turned out that I knew five out of nine. And that's a good recipe to get five stars from me. "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" is one of my favorite "summer" songs, "Promised You a Miracle" is a big hit, and when the first notes of "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)" started I thought, damn, it's Usura's "Open Your Mind", I know this song! "Somebody Up There Likes You" is a wonderful instrumental, and "Glittering Prize" is another hit that was often played on radio stations in the eighties. With the remaining four songs not bad at all, we come to the final five stars that I didn't think would happen today. Great job, Simple Minds!

One of my favourite Simple Minds albums - my favourite track is the last one: "King is White and in the Crowd".

Ethereal melodies, uplifting.

Love the vibe

Huh! Thanks for reminding me if the glorious and Simple Minds. Adding them to my list of "live bands to see before I die' list now.... this album = Gorgeous on headphones - they were loving their work together and everything was just working for them. And they shapes pop music for a decade or more and there are some eternal songs that came out of this period (not all on this album, but you get a sense of how they can make soaring anthems here) . Warm sounds, funky beats, and playful - and most of all the gift for the warm voice of Jim Kerr, which of course have us - a few years later - "Don't you (forget about me)" which a new generation is learning. An excellent and very "tight" pop music style, rich vocals and all the funky electric toys of 80s music here. Yes this band deserves a place on the list. They would groove a stadium live. Something to keep in mind. I just checked. Anyone going to be in Nimes (FR) ON 12 JULY?

This album is sensational. I love Jim Kerr's distinctive vocals and the music is brilliant. Such a great sound. One of my favourite bands. It's worth a listen for the instrumental too. Fabulous 👌

Hell yeah. I know others fatigue of it, but I love the fact I've been able to discover tons of new wave thanks to this list. Bring it on!

Oldie but a goodie!

This album is awesome. Sound slike billy idol a bit

♥️

Good

yes

Super!

First of all, those bass lines! 🤌 I hadn't heard this one at all before, although I of course I knew and liked Don't You Forget About Me. This is one of the dreamier and more ethereal 80s pop/new-wave albums I've heard up to this point... Which of course means it's right up my alley. Sparkling 80s synth + chugging funky bass + layers of reverb + smooth vocals... I mean, yeah, that's plenty enough to love for me already.

An absolutely fantastic album for New Wave alternative. 3 absolutely undeniably great and catchy songs, and the rest exude a kind of haunting electronic beat that makes it a great listen.

I love New Wave so I was bound to enjoy this. The use of actual drums really helps this album, and the bass and guitar parts both jump out as particularly fantastic as well. I can definitely see the influence this album had.

I was surprised how gorgeous, lush and catchy so many songs were from this album. I genuinely went in with the presumption that Simple Minds were a one hit wonder, and here I am leaving with more songs that I genuinely prefer Don't you (forget about me). It's a wonderful cosmonaut of an album that leaves you entranced in it's simple but beautiful synths. It's not only so great on first listen but I think I'm definitely going to be coming back to this regularly. I do however wish the vocals were a little louder or present. I think the group could've put them a bit more into the centre focus. But first impressions are good, I was not expecting this to be one of my favorites of the previous albums I've listened to. And if you just want to listen to some genuinely great synth pop, go nuts!

really good

My favourite Simple Minds album used to be Once Upon a Time (I like the commercial Big Music sound). Then it became this album (the consensus album) but ultimately would go for Real to Real Cacophony. All three albums are very different from each other, but obviously 5 stars. There is not a single weak track on New Gold Dream and the songs are in the "right" order. A perfect album. Overall score: 10/10.

Perfect album!!

Ace!

Iconic music executed at its best. One of my all time favourite groups, who produced a quality of sound that is as fresh today as it was 40 years ago.

Probably their best.

I love this album, capturing a moment where the chilly Euro-fluenced dance music they'd been perfecting on Empires and Dance and the Sister Feelings Call set thaw out with a new pop sensibility. It's really one mood, with pop sunshine ('Miracle') and longer more abstract tracks (King Is White) moving the dial back and forth but never leaving the unique mood they create on this album. From hereon in the law of diminishing artistic returns/bigger sales would kick in, as their writing and arrangements became simpler. But marvel at how complete an achievement this is.

LOVE 80s synth pop. Really enjoyed this!!

Wonderful in the day. Lots of good songs.

oh nice, that one-hit-wonder band this album was really good, I’m not too picky when it comes to this genre solid 9/10

Magnificent as is this band as well.

One of the Best!

Fantastic album.

I've always loved this band. This is a great album.

Loved it

good album

Simple Minds are another band I always thought I should like better than I did—until now, ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ was the only song I really liked—but this album really works as an album if you avoid the five hundred versions of ‘Promised You A Miracle’ at the end of the deluxe edition…

one of my favorite albums of the 80s. the bass is a big standout for me. and glittering prize… ❤️

Ciekawy album. Mój główny problem z nim to to, że nie lubię synthowego brzmienia, także lata 80-te to nie jest moja ulubiona epoka muzyki. Mimo to z przyjemnością mi się słuchało. To znaczy w tych momentach, w których nie przysypiałem, bo za późno do tego usiadłem. Najbardziej zwróciłem uwagę na to, o czym Cichy mówił - sekcja rytmiczna, która jest dużo bardziej wyrazista od instrumentów "prowadzących". Basista ma naprawdę fajny groove, długimi fragmentami ma pozycję dominującą wobec gitary, dobrze buja. Perkusistę podziwiam za bardzo dużą cierpliwość i dyscyplinę. Cały album naprawdę mocno akcentuje jego instrument, a gość mimo to posługuje się bardzo ograniczonymi środkami i nawet w momentach, które zapraszają do bardziej skomplikowanego grania on trzyma się swoich minimalistycznych zasad. Moim zdaniem buduje to fantastyczne napięcie. Nie wiem, czy wielu perkusistów, którzy dostaliby szansę wyjść bardziej na front, powstrzymałoby się przed wrzuceniem miliona ozdobników. Mega zdziwiło mnie to, jaką transformację przechodzi ten album w połowie. W samym środku mamy "Somebody Up There Likes You" (swoją drogą super instrumental). Cztery utwory przed są bardziej rockowe (momentami lekko funkowe dla mnie), a cztery po już zdecydowanie popowe. Ale jakoś mi to nie przeszkadzało, bardziej zaskoczyło. Myślę, że to intermezzo mocno zamortyzowało przejście. Chciałbym wrócić do tego albumu, jak będę miał spokojniejszy czas i nie będę przysypiał podczas słuchania.

I think it's something that requires bpth time and effort to fully apreciate. I will come back to this one day and enjoy it properly I hope.

Ok, od zera do (prawie) bohatera. New Gold Dream to imo jednak dobra płyta. Przede wszystkim przemówiła do mnie muzycznie, potrafi wprowadzić w trans, bujać (efekt podbija faktycznie pasujący do tego nieźle wokal). Niemniej jest dość powtarzalna i zastanawiam się, czy i jak szybko by mi się nie znudziła (okaże się ??). Pomogło mi też, o dziwo, olanie zupełnie tekstów i docenianie jedynie słów w kontekście fajnego brzmienia w rytmie. Top tracks: Someone somewhere (in summertime) Glittering prize Hunter and the hunted

Fantastyczny album - emocjonalna podróż, pełna introspekcji, marzeń i refleksji nad przemijaniem. Jego piękno polega na połączeniu bogatej produkcji z osobistą wrażliwością. Mój ulubiony kawałek na płycie to "Someone Somewhere" Ten utwór to kwintesencja marzycielskiej atmosfery, która przewija się przez cały album. Piosenka o ulotnych chwilach, które zostawiają ślad w naszej pamięci. Powtarzająca się linia basu i perka działa niemal jak bicie serca, podczas gdy syntezatory tworzą aurę nostalgii i nadziei. Wokal Jima Kerra zdaje się opowiadać o formatywnych momentach, które zostają z nami na zawsze. Prosty koncept, który w swojej ludzkości bardzo ze mną rezonuje. "Somewhere there is some place that one million eyes can't see And somewhere there is someone who can see what I can see' 4, album wchodzi do mojej stałej rotacji

Love them

Classic 80's vibe. Synth Pop at it's finest. One of my favorite 80's groups.

I really liked the songs. Music accompaniment for the movie scene where the hero looks at VHS tapes of the family he’s lost

Some good clean 80s fun

Bra men når inte riktigt ända fram.

Great bit of early 80s new wave. Title track was a standout. Not much more to say.

Very 80s, kinda samey but thoroughly enjoyed regardless

This album gets the award for the shittiest cover ever. But with that said, cool stuff! Love the vibe of the more toned-down vocals leaving plenty of room for the bass and synth.

Oh goddamn this takes me back! Sounds best played loud in the car, windows rolled down, while singing along at full volume. Particularly Glittering Prize. Promised You a Miracle is definitive of the 1980s style. It’s hard to find a better example. It’s perfect. 4/5

Blind album, know the artist. Album was pretty good for 80s which I generally don't see out a lot.

This has aged better than a lot of 80s music. I really like these guys and most of the tracks on this album have aged pretty well and sounded really good when they were new. "New Gold Dream" is one of my personal favorites, and brings back great memories. "Glittering Prize" and "Somebody Up There Likes You" were the favorites for this listen.

Until 2021, I had never heard of Simple Minds until one fine day a taxi driver wearing fluorescent glasses and a button-down shirt half-open revealing a hairy chest passed by the street where I work, driving his taxi slowly playing Don't You Forget About Me at the last volume that car stereo could emit. Since then, this song and those from the album Once Upon a Time have been a must-have in my daily playlists. However, I had never heard another album besides this one and it was a pleasant surprise to discover that even 3 years before the band's Big Hit Album, they already sounded in this spectacular way, a very characteristic 80s sound, but of course, without all those big hits with the exception of the first track. Anyway, I loved it! I'll leave 4 stars!

Took me back to my teen years

I’d never heard of this album. I knew the band’s biggest singles (“The Breakfast Club” was one of my favourite films as a teen in the 80s). I was surprised to see this album here and have such ecstatic reviews from the British music press. I’ll be honest: on my first listen I didn’t like it at all. Might have been my mood, though. So I listened to it a second time last night in bed, and a switch flipped. Loved it. Who knew?

An awesome album, though I find it falters slightly towards the end. Promised you a miracle and Glittering prize are still great songs today.

8/10. :) I love new wave! I've heard more remarkable new wave albums, but this is still a solid, and enjoyable album!!! :)

Some damn good synth-pop right here, kept my attention the whole way through.

A few songs veer off a bit too towards pop, but overall, I like the synthy kind of surreal sound.

one of the defining albums of the new-wave/new-pop movement from Scottish Band Simply Minds, this album maintains the distinctive new-wave sound while still achieving timeless pop sensibilities. Had to note the guest appearance from Herbie Hancock on keyboard for Hunter and the Hunted. Incredibly pretty sound that influenced U2's 1984 The Unforgettable Fire and ultimately influenced Bono's sound.

3.5

I was expecting an album full of Don't You Forget About Me's, but this was surprisingly enjoyable - lots of dark synthy stuff that I am naturally predisposed to. An unexpected hit.

The 80s keep surprising me. I actually really enjoyed this. Promised You A miracle was a standout. Some really interesting beats.

This is great. Flags in places at times though but overall a winner. Captures them at their best before Jim Kerr’s pompous tendencies got the better of him. My mum was once in the same house as Jim Kerr. And she recognised him. They were that famous in Scotland

I like Don't You Forget About Me as much as the next kid who grew up in the 80s, but TIL it wasn't even written by Simple Minds - it was written specifically for The Breakfast Club and Simple Minds reluctantly agreed to record it after Bryan Ferry and Billy Idol each declined (apparently Simple Minds have Chrissie Hynde to thank for pushing then husband Jim Kerr to record it - it ended up being their biggest hit). That said, they made it their own, because it has a similar sound to the songs on this album (probably at bare minimum due to Kerr's very distinctive voice). I liked this album, particularly the bass playing. The recording quality is excellent (turn it up - the sonic quality really comes through when played loud), but the music is definitely VERY 80s. Regardless, solid album worth listening to. Favorite Tracks: Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel, Big Sleep, New Gold Dream, King is White and in the Crowd.

My second album by a Scottish band released in 82 in a row. Luckily this one got a lot of things right that the previous one failed at. I like the layers here, creating a texture that melds into a pleasing whole. I don't think it's amazing enough to deserve a 5 star rating, but it's a solid 4.

7/17/24. A fantastic 80s new wave album with a lot of funk elements. Glad I came across this one as I wasn't familiar with the group, but this earns some replays as I enjoyed each song.