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New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)
by Simple Minds

First Released: 13th September 1982
Virgin & A&M
New Wave, Synth-Pop
New Gold Dream (81:82:83:84) Album Cover

Review

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.

Track by Track

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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.

8

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.

9

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.