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

#480 Simple Minds have a couple of very famous songs which I really like but neither were on here, which was a touch disappointing. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed it, even if it took me a while to properly immerse myself. I always thought of them as a mid to late 80s band so I didn’t realise they were potentially as influential. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt on this and push out to 4 stars. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ✅ Listen before you die? ✅ Fave track(s): New Gold Dream Rating: 7/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Conflicted feelings because it sounds like the inspiration for the genres I hate the most, while also being well pulled off. I'd expect these influences to feel tacky, and for the artists over time to perfect the craft, and maybe this being the fourth record has something to do with that polish. I can't find myself to unhate it, despite my appreciation for the artistry, I find it better than a lot of other 80's-engulfed works. It's just got a little too much kick in that percussion, and the synths only accentuate the fact. Maybe it's the vocals, because the instrumentals are typically fun. 2.5/5

Très année 80, très madeleine de proust, j'aime toujours, 5 est exagéré, mais je ne peux pas renier mes souvenirs

Very 80’s very…okay

6/10 Scottish group Simple Minds are a group that I only really know through a couple of big hits, Don’t You (Forget About Me) from The Breakfast Club, and Alive and Kicking, two absolute staples of 80s synth rock. Based on that knowledge, I’m fully expecting a robust slice of über-80s, hook laden pop balladry and, while that’s not necessarily the top of my list of preferred styles, I am quite looking forward to getting stuck in to this. It’s got to be better than the utterly atrocious cover, which looks like the kind of CD that has sat untouched in a catholic bookshop for the last 40 years! Unsurprisingly, the overall sound of this record is magnificently 80s. The synth tones and general ambience, particularly the Oberheim, Jupiter 8, and string synth sounds and very of-its-time use of reverb. It’s pretty cool stuff and the overall sound palette and production quality is interesting and engaging, creating a coherent and stylish sound world for the songs to inhabit. One of the strongest elements of the record is actually the bass work of Derek Forbes, who really injects the most significant amount of drive and movement into the work. He plays with an edge of funk and groove that gives a bit more punch that the rest of the instruments typically deliver. From time to time, the disconnect between those styles did create a slightly confused mix, but when these elements gelled, it was able to create a bit of life into songs that may otherwise have drifted a little too much. Unfortunately, that brings me on to my biggest issue with this album, which is that it feels a bit lacking in quality hooks and standout melodic motifs to really gather the rest of the strong production work around. The sound world was often really interesting, but the vocal work and other melodic lines often felt a bit rambling and non-committal. When compared to their bigger hits, it felt like the anthemic centre was strangely absent here, which was a big shame. Perhaps this is more of a personal preference, but the floating centre of the songs often passed me by and I felt there wasn’t anything concrete enough for me to grab on to, in order to be guided through the record. It almost felt like the album was happening around me, rather than actually involving me. It was a pleasant enough experience to inhabit, but in order to rate this more highly, I feel like it just needed a little more of a front-foot approach to the lead work to really make the most of the strong, albeit very of its time, production. Someone Somewhere In Summertime - Holy John Hughes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s the 80s! It’s a pretty cool blend of synth tones, with a nicely paced pulse and a lot of sonic movement. The dynamic rise and fall is well handled and the vibe, while incredibly 80s is pretty good. Musically, I don’t find it vastly interesting though. Not that it’s bad, it just feels a little bit wishy-washy. Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel - That bass line is great. Again, I think the sonic blend here is great and they keep things moving nicely with the subtle arrangement, bringing elements in and out for short sequences. But melodically, it feels a bit loose and as whole, I can’t feel an overwhelming sense of direction, despite what the bass and drums are trying to do by pulling it forward. Promised You A Miracle - Immediately this has more punch and intent behind it. There are still the more drifting sections, but they’re interspersed with sequences of power and drive, particularly the choruses. The bass lines rock again, and there’s a much stronger melodic focus and identity to this than the tracks that have come before. It does drift away a little towards the end, but it’s a much stronger effort. Big Sleep - They like bass lines with a lot of movement don’t they? It’s quite weird, because the rest of the track almost lazily drifts along. It’s almost like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers accidentally joined an ambient pop band. There are elements of punch, but the general vibe is pretty laid back and atmospheric. Again, I think the sonic palette here is nice, but it’s quite musically bland. Somebody Up There Likes You - An instrumental now? If I accused some of the earlier tracks of lacking direction, this one feels even more like a collection of fairly aimless ideas pasted together. There are some great bits of production in there to be fair, and it sounds pretty good for a track from 1982, at least in places. But it just doesn’t really go anywhere or offer anything particularly interesting. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) - This is a bit better. It’s still fairly sonically dreamy, but there’s more drive and direction to it. I’m actually bobbing along to the groove and the structure and production are all pulling together in a more purposeful way. There are some decent moments of melodic work in there and the harmonic content is pretty rich, and full of sonic interest. I’m still not completely sold on the vocals, but the synth sound bed is very well put together. Good stuff. Glittering Prize - Sonically, this jumps out quite a lot after the last few tracks. There’s lot less synth pad work, so the other elements of the track stand out and have a sharpness that’s not been present before. As a result, it feels a bit more front-foot and active. There’s more great bass work, and even the melodic work has more clarity and direction to it. There’s a good groove and I’d say the vocals are probably at their strongest so far. Things get a touch more dreamy during the choruses, but it’s a nice piece of development in the song as a whole. Another pretty good one. Hunter And The Hunted - There’s another slight broadening of the tonal palette here. There are elements of this that are very strong, and the general vibe and atmospheric production are very good. There’s a decent bit of drive and intensity to the groove too, but melodically it again feels non-committal and rambling. The bridge is super 80s, but pretty damn good, with an edge of funk and some cool synth tones. On the whole it’s another that’s just a bit bland for me. King Is White And In The Crowd - A long one to finish and it’s a slow burn as a result. It’s quite musically sparse and again lacks much momentum and direction for me. I think that they build some very interesting sonic worlds, what they do inside those worlds doesn’t really speak to me. I can appreciate the production, and when they get things together, which does happen a few times in this track, things become much more enjoyable. Again, there’s nothing inherently bad about it, just that the musical decisions don’t connect with what I’m looking for. But it is an interesting piece of production and synthcraft regardless.

It was decent

Inoffensive synthy background music

Feel like I'm transported to another planet, gimme that 80s synth sound If it had 'don't you' it would be perfect. wanna give it a 4.5 but what to round it to hmmm I don't think there are any skips here, will come back for a good time

I like some Simple Minds but I found this mid. It is filled with songs with good hooks but never quite get there. Top tracks: "New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)," "Someone Somewhere in Summertime"

--Someone Somewhere in Summertime...like the production here. ethereal guitars on top of a driving bass line --Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel...nice, fat bass tone. not much else to it --Promised You a Miracle...the low end stands out once again. song is a little haphazard --Big Sleep...some cool synths helping out the bass here --Somebody Up There Likes You...mediocre instrumental --New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)...begins with gusto. it's a toe tapper --Glittering Prize...bass (Derek Forbes) is the star again --Hunter and the Hunted...nice bass/synth/drum interplay here. feels like the most complete track so far --King is White and in the Crowd...a bit aimless

Some straight square asks Renton if he likes the Simple Minds. “Renton did not like the Simple Minds,” says Irvine Welsh, and with that understated yet withering criticism, I too dismissed the Minds in question; I trusted Mark Renton, you see. But that worthy Scot was all wrong: The sophisticated grooves of the Simple Minds are tops and are worth at least 3.5 stars.

Remember those songs by Simple Minds that you love? Those will not be found here. They've definitely had better albums.

Day 64 I'm an adamant hater of 80s sludge when I can clock it. This is not 80s sludge. This is what happens when you take a vocalist with a smooth voice, equip it with optimism that doesn't fall slight and utilise their sound in a forward-facing way that doesn't drown itself in keyboard wankery. It's a phenomenal listen start to finish. It's Scritti Politti if Scritti Politti was good. So not Scritti Politti. Fav track: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

enjoyed

I really liked Big Sleep but overall this album never takes off for me.

I have really learned I don’t enjoy music of the 80s

A low 3 this, known Promised You A Miracle for years, and it’s considerably stronger than the rest of the album

New Gold Dream is all sheen and atmosphere, but there's nothing for me to hold onto. The production is polished, the musicians are competent, and the songs pass by without ever demanding my attention. By the time the album ended, I struggled to remember a single moment worth revisiting. Not offensive, not bad, just completely forgettable. Forgettable is worse than bad. A bad album leaves an impression, a reminder that it as there. If someone were to play this album tomorrow and said I heard these tracks yesterday, I'd have to take their word for it or look at the album art. The album art is the most memorable part of the entire experience, and even THAT isn't much to go on. My Rating: 1/5

Great record by a great band.

Consistently strong instrumentals bring this up. The bass playing is sick! The synths are bright and colorful and make up for whatever vocal and songwriting issues one might have with this. It's no Tears For Fears, but still great stuff overall!

Whoever pushed synths in the 80s is probably also how we got the phrase "could sell ice to an eskimo", etc. Doesn't matter if they're the first band or the 397th, it's all just the same sound and it all sounds bad.

Enjoyed this album more than i expected. I liked a lot of the synth sounds they incorporated, especially the sequence drums in King is White and In The Crowd. This album had some whimsy that i really appreciated. Really liked Glittering Prize. Pretty fun sound across the board and i had not heard of this album before today. Generally a nice listen even if nothing truly revolutionary. Another one that would be 3.5 if that was an option

These guys were DEVOTED to the synth and played it with love Highlights: "Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)", "Big Sleep", "King is White and In the Crowd"

British (actually Scottish) pop, kind of all blends together in the background. Was OK but no interest in it to me.

Pretty weak 3

Can't say anything particularly good or bad on this - good 80s background album, but nothing too impressive

This album is very forgettable 80s synth-pop music. It sounded like one long song. I already don't like 80s pop that much, so this ranks low for me.

Good album

It was okay I suppose...

an 80s classic really, nice basslines, nice synths, jim kerr's vocals make me think of peter murphy and billy mackenzie

Solid 5/10 I suppose.

Pure 1980s. Synths everywhere, cryptic emo lyrics, earnest suffering vocals, and a surprisingly prominent bass. Nostalgia rush: I've never heard most of these songs before but they immediately zapped me back to middle school.

I just cant get into this. I had tears for fears a few days ago and it was the same. Theres nothing wrong with it. I know plenty of people like it. It just is empty and meaningless to me.

Big, slow drums and synths. There's a lot to like here.

Love the 80s and this is so that. Boys. Synth. Head nodding drums and a 4-string king. It was a good decade.

yaaaaawwwwwnnnn

Very typical 80s

Uchhhhhhh boring. Some cool jangle sounds but really didn’t enthuse me much 1/5 Best song: hunter and the hunted

Incredibly dull, i feel like all parents like simple minds. There was nothing special or even anything that grabbed the attention here

Yeah it was nice, sounded cool, not much substance to it though.

Favorite Song: Big Sleep Least Favorite: Hunter And The Hunted

Ok, this is a bit more muscular than I remember SmpleMnds being, and that’s fine - but it’s still not very good. There’s nothing wrong with it, but not really much right, either. It’s ok, but entirely forgettable.

I'm torn between two and three stars here. I was the audience for this music in the early 80s, but didn't like it much even then. It was just too electronic. There were certainly a few songs I liked from them, but mostly later. While I wouldn't have used these words at the time, it just doesn't have soul. The electronic sound makes it feel shallow and, in my opinion, doesn't hold up 45 years later.

Well, I made it through. And the best song for me was 'somebody up there likes you', since it was an instrumental.

Good overall. Nothing I'd seek out but good.

Great bass

They really captured the "random church poster" aesthetic for the album cover. I can imagine this being on the wall of any church hall I've ever been to for a wedding, baby shower, choir concert, bake sale, etc. Or this would be the design on the hymn book or something. This album sounds like the 80s.

Kinda folky

This album grew on me. At first I didn't like the vocal style. But, I think the music accompanied the vocals really well. And it was overall quite enjoyable

Me giving a new wave album 4 stars?! Unheard of... I am shocked that I find myself starting to enjoy the New Wave genre more and more. Like this was actually good? Although I found the vocals here to be a lot smoother than most other albums within the genre, and the 80s synth a little bit less in your face (might be a hot take). Also, shoutout to the seemingly random Herbie Hancock synth solo on Hunter and the Hunted?! Would love to know more on the backstory for the album cover, very misleading, however I am sure there's a story or reasoning for it looking so much like a gospel quire album. In which it is very much not, a great example of not judging a book by its cover.

What kind of mixing is this? Why does at least half of the album sound like I'm listening to it with my ears filled with water? At some point I really felt the need to check my ears. Barely listenable. Fortunately the rest of the album has a clearer sound. Otherwise a very decent pop album, and a very enjoyable one, unless you can't stand these 80s synths. I liked the second half (Somebody Up There, New Gold Dream...) better than the first, partly because of this weird, muffled mixing. 3.25/5.

Synes det var mye kult her. Åpenbart dyktige musikere. Svak for groovy basslinjer. Blir kanskje noe ensformig, men mulig det bare er sjangeren. Svak 4.

Decent, liker vibesene

Gøy 80-tallsmusikk, men ikke gøy nok. Somewhere somwhere var gøy nok

Egentlig en sjanger jeg er glad i, men denne ga meg ikke noe spesielt. Fattigmanns Depeche Mode

I don't know. Bit bored by it all. I prefer a more upbeat synth pop. Nice singles though.

Delicious 80s New Wave. Absolutely amazing album from this time. In the mid 90s I found Don't you forget out about me on a cassette at home. Me and my friend played it to death.

3,5 stars

Mein Album 1001 😊. Es ist der Moment, in dem Simple Minds nicht einfach glänzen, sondern schimmern – wie eine nächtliche Stadt im Neonregen. Das Album ist ein Schwebezustand aus Synth‑Glanz, hypnotischen Grooves und Jim Kerrs entrückter Stimme. Jeder Track wirkt wie ein eigenes, perfekt ausgeleuchtetes Universum: „Someone Somewhere in Summertime“ warm und sehnsüchtig, „Promised You a Miracle“ elektrisierend, „Hunter and the hunted“ makellos. Die Produktion ist federleicht und zugleich monumental, ein Sound, der sich nicht abnutzt, sondern immer wieder neu öffnet. New Gold Dream ist kein Album – es ist ein Zustand 😊.

6/10

Far too eighties. Points off for the intentionally sacrilegious album cover.

Too 80s sounding for me. Not a big fan of the synths in that poppy era

“I award you no points. And may god have mercy on your soul.” Billy Madison (1995)

Really good album. New wave/80’s synth pop. Every song is good. I’ll check out more from this band. 4.5

There were some very fun tracks, but this is incredibly safe. There isn’t really anything interesting that happens and it feels far too polished, but it definitely has catchy moments and functions well as a Synthpop album. I doubt I’ll revisit this, but I guess it’s quite fun.

I liked this, they have a great sound. No particular song stood out, but it was a good album.

idk man, not bad but not for me ig bruh

🎤🌟🏆💤🎇

Sounds like the majority of 80's albums. :/

I tought this was going to be an emo band… imagine my disappointment when it was an 80s anthem ballads… ugh. 1.3

Pleasant enough, but completely forgettable. 5/10 Decent

Again, nothing really standing out, just background noise 3

‘Promised you a Miracle’ is a great song. Glad to hear more of them. Thank you.

Exactly my style.

So, a synth-pop artist I was into in the early aughts did a cover of "New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84)" in 2003. Until today I'd never heard the original song (harder to investigate on a whim in the early 2000s). That gave me reason to approach this one with interest, despite the cover looking like a book out of the church library. Verdict: Mostly a disappointment. Maybe good for 80s texture but none of the individual songs matter. Even the title track wouldn't have stood out to me if I wasn't already familiar with the cover. Something about the production on this album makes me feel like the songs are being performed in the next room over, especially the vocals. The album almost gives me a vaporwave sort of vibe.

Simple yet solid 80s album

I guess I'm just not a new wave kinda guy.

I was raised on this kind of music but GODDAMN I could not understand a word they said.

It's ok.

If you asked AI to give you an album that sounds exactly like 1981–1984, but with no measurable hits, it could just give you this album and I think it would fit the ask perfectly. It has that unmistakable early-'80s sound from start to finish, but somehow none of it really stands out. It's not bad, it's just incredibly representative of its time without giving me much to remember.

I’m probably not going to like this because I hate red heads. Or is it Simply Red I’m thinking about? There isn’t anything for me to love with this nor is there anything for me to really hate. Depeche Mode it is not. More like the Cure

Surprise surprise! It's the most over-represented genre on the project.

Is this a new wave album cover or a 1980s church choir sheet music cover? Regardless, it’s pretty good. 7/10

Nice grooves but not as many stand out songs as I had hoped. They play great live, by the way

hey kind of a vibe

Cool

++: Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel, Promised You a Miracle, New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84), Hunter and the Hunted +: Somebody Up There Likes You (Instrumental) +-: Someone Somewhere in Summertime, Big Sleep, Glittering Prize, King is White and in the Crowd 5,5/10

Synth wave background music. I listened to this album 4 times front to back and I couldn't identify a single song if my life depended on it.

Rather unremarkable. Not bad sounding, just not a standout. As I understand it, this is the album that brought them into the public eye. So for that, good on them. The breakfast club wouldn’t have been the same without these guys, and therefore, this album.

Very good album, it displays the gente very well, introspective songs and to pay attention to.

A solid synthpop album for sure, but it does run out of tricks before the end.

Unremarkable 80s synthpop final boss

I REALLY wanted to like this more because 80s synthpop is probably my favorite genre and I'm a sucker for a deep voiced man singing over something going bleep boop. However, doing that over 46 minutes with almost no variation except the first and last tracks was a lot to expect from me.

Overall Rating - 3.22/5 (6.44/10). This album is just about every piece of the 80s aesthetic. Not necessarily a bad thing, and it's a solid album. But nothing great.

Excellent 80s widescreen snapshot.....one of the highlights of their output...

Nice 80s album. Good to keep in rotation but nothing innovative or mind blowing

I am noticing that the reverby production style from from the 80s is not my cup of tea. The lead singer sounds like a whining man and that kinda gives me the ick. In the end I did like a few songs so that was good.

They sound way better than I expected, with a great instrumentation, especially the synth work, that is a testament to its time. Unusual great addition to the list. 8/10 [KEEP]

The best simple minds album, promised you a miracle is an absolute banger

Yessssss