Simple Minds - Albums (1980 - 1981)
Simple Minds next album, Empires and Dance, was another stylistic departure, and signalled the influence of Kraftwerk, Neu! and similar European artists on the band. During this period of their career Simple Minds promoted themselves as being a European band, rather than Scottish or British. Many of the tracks on Empires and Dance were extremely minimal and featured a significant use of sequencing. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements in the band's sound, with Burchill's heavily-processed guitar becoming more of a textural element. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics based on observations he'd made as the band travelled across Europe on tour. While not consciously so, Empires and Dance was essentially industrial in its aesthetic. in 1981 Simple Minds switched from Arista to Virgin. The following year, Arista put out a compilation album, Celebration, featuring tracks from the three previous records.
Simple Minds' first release on Virgin was actually two albums: the Steve Hillage-produced Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. Sons and Fascination perfected the formula that began with Empires and Dance, and showcased the band’s musicianship during their most prolific period. The band’s comparative musical virtuosity aligned them with the more streamlined end of progressive rock rather than the flippancy of many other New Wave musicians. One significant progressive rock musician - Peter Gabriel - selected Simple Minds as the opening act on several dates of his European tour. Further increasing the band's visibility, the single "Love Song" was an international hit (reaching the Top 20 in Canada and Australia) and the instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" proved so enduring a composition that it was later re-recorded in 1991 as a B-side to the single "See the Lights". However, this period would also see the end of the first "classic" Simple Minds lineup when drummer Brian McGee left the band at the end of the Sons and Fascination sessions.
Simple Minds next album, Empires and Dance, was another stylistic departure, and signalled the influence of Kraftwerk, Neu! and similar European artists on the band. During this period of their career Simple Minds promoted themselves as being a European band, rather than Scottish or British. Many of the tracks on Empires and Dance were extremely minimal and featured a significant use of sequencing. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements in the band's sound, with Burchill's heavily-processed guitar becoming more of a textural element. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics based on observations he'd made as the band travelled across Europe on tour. While not consciously so, Empires and Dance was essentially industrial in its aesthetic. in 1981 Simple Minds switched from Arista to Virgin. The following year, Arista put out a compilation album, Celebration, featuring tracks from the three previous records.
Simple Minds' first release on Virgin was actually two albums: the Steve Hillage-produced Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. Sons and Fascination perfected the formula that began with Empires and Dance, and showcased the band’s musicianship during their most prolific period. The band’s comparative musical virtuosity aligned them with the more streamlined end of progressive rock rather than the flippancy of many other New Wave musicians. One significant progressive rock musician - Peter Gabriel - selected Simple Minds as the opening act on several dates of his European tour. Further increasing the band's visibility, the single "Love Song" was an international hit (reaching the Top 20 in Canada and Australia) and the instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" proved so enduring a composition that it was later re-recorded in 1991 as a B-side to the single "See the Lights". However, this period would also see the end of the first "classic" Simple Minds lineup when drummer Brian McGee left the band at the end of the Sons and Fascination sessions.
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