Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Direction Of The Heart
Genre: New Wave
Release Date: 20th October 2022
Label: BMG
Album Review
What can such a dinosaur band like SIMPLE MINDS offer after more than 40 years? As a long-time fan, having a decent album sounding like SIMPLE MINDS would already have been a good bargain. But with talented artists, there’s always more to that and the Scottish act delivers a more than brilliant album. Due to Covid restriction, the album was mostly produced by Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill (performing guitars and most of bass guitars, keyboards and drum programming) and Ged Grimes, the bass player.
‘Vision Thing’ and ‘First You Jump’, the two album openers and singles, are obviously meant as stadium hymns and give the “direction of the” album. Jim Kerr’s voice is absolutely stunning, and it feels good to have some big and good guitar riff by Charlie Burchill to lead the tracks. ‘Human Traffic’ features a notable guest, no less than Russell Mael of SPARKS. This song was already mentioned back in 2009 but was not finished for inclusion in ‘Graffiti Soul’. Uplifting, upbeat, guitars reminding of ‘Sparkles in the rain’ era, but with the very modern sounding the band developed during what they call their ‘Rejuvenating’ era started with ‘Black Or White’ back in 2005.
By ‘Who Killed Truth?’, the game is already won. Another smash that will certainly embrace arenas. A strange number where various eras of the band’s sound collapse (guitars reminding ‘Good News From The Next World’ upon synths taken from ‘New Gold Dream’). ‘Solstice Kiss’ slows down the tempo with a great Celtic intro - oddly for Scottish musicians, not an era they go often apart from ‘Belfast Child’ and their cover of MASSIVE ATTACK’s ‘Teardrop’ to name a few. A track composed by Ged Grimes during the ‘Big Music’ sessions, re-recorded for ‘Walk Between Worlds’ but not included… this time is the good one. Typical MINDS’ mid-tempo and lyrical song with great female vocals to surround Jim’s deep voice. Already a fan favourite according to reaction on social medias
‘Act Of Love’ is a future vs past track. Released as a single promoting the “40 Years Tour” in January 2022 (and performed as gigs opener), it is in fact one of the oldest tracks composed by Kerr and Burchill: it was performed back in 1978 at the first ever gig of the band in Glasgow. Not that often an oldie can fit a band’s repertoire more than four decades later. ‘Natural’ and ‘Planet Zero’ carry on the path started with ‘Big Music’. They may not last as huge standards, but they’re decent enough to keep the interested going. And the album - in its standard edition - ends up on ‘The Walls Came Down’, with a synth gimmick straight from the early days, uplifted by some “La la la la la”s meant to be sung by the audience, and once again, this beautiful guitar so distinctive of Burchill’s talent.
The Deluxe edition comes in with two great tracks. ‘Direction Of The Heart’ (first released as the B. Side of the 2018’s single ‘Magic’) is another typical MINDS’ anthem while ‘Wondertimes’ reminds more of, once again, the 1995 guitar oriented and often underrated album ‘Good News From The Next World’. The difference being the surrounding of great synth pieces.
When it comes to giants like SIMPLE MINDS, I’m not expecting - and nobody should - to have a ground-breaking album to the level of, let’s say, ‘New Gold Dream’, ‘Real Life’ or ‘Sparkles In The Rain’. The band has enough of masterpieces in their catalogue and they are already at the pantheon of bands that counted in the music history. ‘Direction Of The Heart’ offers some great songs, true to their DNA, with touches of their history here and there, but never sounding nostalgic or lazy. The song writing, the arrangements, the performance, the production… prove how relevant SIMPLE MINDS is still today and that is already a great achievement.
Tracklist
01. Vision Thing
02. First You Jump
03. Human Traffic
04. Who Killed Truth?
05. Solstice Kiss
06. Act of Love
07. Natural
08. Planet Zero
09. The Walls Came Down
Deluxe Edition Bonus
10. Direction Of The Heart (Taromina 2022)
11. Wondertimes
Super Deluxe Edition – Digital Bonus
12. Vision Thing (Live Rehearsal Session)
13. First You Jump (Live Rehearsal Session)
Line-up
Jim Kerr – lead vocals
Charlie Burchill – guitars, keyboards, bass guitars, programming
Ged Grimes – bass guitar, keyboards, programming
Cherisse Osei – drums
Sarah Brown – backing vocals
Website
www.simpleminds.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Bonus: 9
Total: 9 / 10
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