{"id":3162,"date":"2015-03-23T12:40:39","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T16:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=3162"},"modified":"2015-03-31T12:19:35","modified_gmt":"2015-03-31T16:19:35","slug":"simple-minds-sparkle-in-the-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/simple-minds-sparkle-in-the-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Minds <br>Sparkle in the Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/img\/perfect\/simplemindssparkle.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/img\/perfect\/simplemindssparkle.jpg\" alt=\"Simple Minds, Sparkle in the Rain\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" \/><\/a>Released 31 years ago, Simple Minds\u2019 seventh album, <i>Sparkle in the Rain<\/i>, remains an astounding work and the artistic pinnacle of the Glaswegian band\u2019s lengthy career. As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agitreader.com\/perfect\/simple_minds-sparkle_in_the_rain.html\">I\u2019ve detailed before<\/a>, the record is a unique combination of sonic grandeur and songwriting big in both eloquence and hooks. But with the band having resumed activity last year and with <i>Sparkle<\/i> now reissued in several expanded forms\u2014most notably a five-disc boxset and a \u201cfour-disc\u201d digital set\u2014by Universal, it certainly is worth once again recounting this album\u2019s many attributes.<\/p>\n<p>While Simple Minds\u2019 superb release from last year is called <i>Big Music<\/i>, there is something truly epic in feel about <i>Sparkle in Rain<\/i>. Every element feels larger than life without the cumulative sum seeming bloated. Indeed, there is a sense of expansive space, with each player seemingly occupying his own precipice in some <i>Lord of the Rings<\/i>\u2013type mountain range. Producer Steve Lillywhite, U2\u2019s goto guy for their early records, no doubt contributed to the album\u2019s grand atmosphere, but it\u2019s hard to imagine songs like \u201cSpeed Your Love to Me,\u201d \u201cWaterfront,\u201d and \u201cWhite Hot Day\u201d on a smaller scale. And with the five-disc set containing a Blu-ray with the entire album in 5.1 surround sound, it\u2019s now possible to make the album sound even bigger.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, like most sets of this nature, included here are multiple versions and edits of the singles, the aforementioned \u201cWaterfront\u201d and \u201cSpeed Your Love to Me,\u201d as well as several outtakes and some BBC recordings. Truthfully, while these alternate versions are interesting, they do little to deepen one\u2019s appreciation of the songs. Besides, completists will already own the \u201cWaterfront\u201d 12-inch or will be purchasing the picture disc version being released next month for Record Store Day. No, the real bonus here is the live set from 1984, played just three weeks after the album\u2019s release in the band\u2019s hometown. The set is split between <i>Sparkle<\/i> and songs from its nearly as brilliant previous record <i>New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)<\/i>, including a thrilling run through \u201cGlittering Prize,\u201d with a smattering of cuts from prior records thrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, <i>Sparkle in the Rain<\/i> came before Simple Minds had made their mark on America with \u201cDon\u2019t You (Forget About Me)\u201d from <i>The Breakfast Club<\/i>, released a year later. (The movie is marking its 30th anniversary this year by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fathomevents.com\/event\/the-breakfast-club\/more-info\/details\" target=\"_blank\">returning to theaters<\/a> and the soundtrack album being re-released.) But while the band would enjoy its greatest popularity in the years to come, it never reached the artistic heights of <i>Sparkle in the Rain<\/i> again. Subsequent albums retained some of <i>Sparkle\u2019s<\/i> largeness, but epitomizing the term \u201cstadium rock,\u201d they seemed devoid of emotional earnestness and musically bland by comparison. Still, it\u2019s probably unfair to expect a repeat performance of this magnitude, and Simple Minds gifted us with more than its fair share of truly spellbinding music. As such, this reissue is a poignant reminder to count its blessings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Released 31 years ago, Simple Minds\u2019 seventh album, <i>Sparkle in the Rain<\/i>, remains an astounding work and the artistic pinnacle of the Glaswegian band\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1444,826,910],"class_list":["post-3162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-past-perfect","tag-past-perfect","tag-simple-minds","tag-universal-music-enterprises"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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