Following the recent release of Big Music Universal Music Enterprises will release a four-disc digital box set of Simple Mindsβ SPARKLE IN THE RAIN on March 31st. It will be the first time the entire back catalog of this era has been collected together.
Originally released in February 1984, SPARKLE IN THE RAIN (title taken from a line in βBook Of Brilliant Thingsβ) was Simple Mindsβ sixth studio album and, following 1982βs crossover album New Gold Dream, the one to cement their commercial success.
SPARKLE IN THE RAIN was initially started on the run with stays in residential recording studios booked during gaps during the New Gold Dream tour. A wintery sojourn at the Old Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire during January 1983 resulted in a number of interesting ideas, but it wasnβt until the summer when the majority of touring had finished, that Simple Mindsβ new direction would solidify. βWaterfrontβ began as a Derek Forbesβ single note bass line which, inspired by nocturnal walks Jim Kerr took along the disappearing River Clyde shipyards in the bandβs native Glasgow, became a tribute to the cityβs industrial past, and an expression of hope and optimism for the future. The song was quickly knocked into shape the days before the bandβs final booked concert at Phoenix Park, and they were so confident with their new song, that they opened their set with it. From day forth, the era-defining song became perhaps the bandβs most enduring, still in their set till this day.
Steve Lillywhite became the obvious choice of producer for the album, a man who knew how to handle the bandβs dynamic new sound. With touring now complete, SPARKLE IN THE RAIN gradually took shape that September with initial preparatory work at Rockfield Studios in Wales and final recording at the legendary Townhouse, London. Kerr was adamant the resulting album should not be New Gold Dream part 2, but that the band should continue to expand and enhance their sound.
To that end, SPARKLE IN THE RAIN sees the line up of Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes, Mick MacNeil and Mel Gaynor (now a permanent fixture β playing on his first full Simple Minds album) move in a more cohesive, rock-orientated direction, in part, propelled by Gaynorβs powerhouse drumming, though the album still retained traces of their new wave past. As well as the aforementioned βWaterfrontβ, the album featured religious references and symbolism (βBook Of Brilliant Thingsβ, βEast At Easterβ), a critique on celebrity (βUp On The Catwalkβ (albumβs third single) as well as a cover of βStreet Hassleβ (featuring Kristy MacColl β also on βSpeed Your Love To Meβ, second single from the album), a homage to one of their biggest influences, the now sadly deceased Lou Reed (whom later guested on the bandβs Street Fighting Years album).
The illustrious lyrics and the political and personal love songs were matched by MacNeilβs throbbing synth-beats and piano flourishes, Burchillβs dominating, new wave guitar chimes and Forbesβ swooning bass lines. Kerrβs song writing thrived on the bandβs striving amidst a new emerging sound and direction. The album cemented Simple Mindsβ reputation as one of the major bands of the 1980s and prepared the groundwork for the worldwide hit album Once Upon A Time.
The SPARKLE IN THE RAIN re-master will also be available on digital download, a 2 CD version Pure Audio Blu-ray and LP.
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/sparkle-in-rain-super-deluxe/id950807212?ign-mpt=uo%3D4