Nick R O'Philiac

OTT vocals from Jim, too many 'big rock' stylings (including an unnecessarily extended and twiddly guitar solo on Promised You A Miracle, rather than the minimalist original), and the general impression that they're desperate to move into U2 territory. Someone Somewhere somehow mutates from the grandiose and awe-inspiring opener it was, to being shouted all over by a rather overly excitable Kerr, who's clearly enjoying the show more than we are. The performances are proficient enough. But the overall impression is pretty soulless. Under A Blood Red Sky it ain't. Or even Stop Making Sense. I had pretty high hopes for this when I bought it. Not sure I've ever bothered to give it the time of day since 1987...

The first Simple Minds album I ever bought. As a fan of big, broad-gesture rock at the time (U2, in particular), this worked for me. THEN. But, upon investigation of their back catalogue, it became increasingly apparent to me that they REALLY sold themselves short here. The smart, complex grooves and atmospheric guitar textures of Empires And Dance, the evocative grandeur of New Gold Dream, had all been sacrificed in the name of stadium headliner status-seeking blam blam guitar power chords and huge, dominant drums. Half-baked, ill-considered 'songs' that were little more than sketches, and shouty, impassioned vocals made a big impression on the 15 year old me - but now, seemed like big, empty, hollow gestures. Where U2 had moved into atmospheric, impressionistic territory with Eno and Lanois, away from their signature, crowd-pleasing sound, and air-punching choruses, Simple Minds had done the complete reverse and taken a massive backward step, artistically-speaking. A real shame. Losing Derek Forbes as their bass player was the worst thing that could've happened to them. But he WAS right to go when he did, if THIS was where they were heading...

Grant Hart's songs are the more tuneful and pop-oriented here but Bob Mould's still retain some of that more snarling, punky edge. The major, standout exceptions to this rule are his acoustic numbers, Too Far Down and the beauteous Hardly Getting Over It, which is actually better and more powerful when played live. Overall, a strong, rewarding album, whose only significant failure is its weak production: The guitars are too thin & waspish, and nowhere near gutsy enough; the drums sound like they were recorded from the other side of the room by a single mic; and the bass is barely evident at ALL, when it should be underpinning and powering the whole endeavour. Sound gripes aside though, a taut and true album, still very much worth a listen...

This was the first Chilli Peppers record I heard, back in '88/'89. Didn't know what to make of it at first, given the seemingly jarring clash of metal-ish guitars and funk bass, along with (predominantly) shouty, chanted, rapping vocals. I think it offers greater musical variety than BSSM - I really like Behind The Sun and Organic Anti-Beatbox Band. Less sinuously funky than Freaky Styley, more clattering and confrontational. But DEFINITELY worth checking out as the only album to feature all four original members. And, as a pointer towards things to come. Sad that it was Hillel's swansong. Frusciante's arrival signalled both a continuation AND a transformation...

Wonderful, whimsical, outrageous and clever. An amazing achievement for a first novel. I read it 30 years ago and lent it out to others who were as enamoured as I. Thoroughly recommended..

A great read. Rovelli's writing is both poetic and direct. Never patronising or arcane. He WANTS us to understand. I found my perception of time altered considerably while reading. Full of big, complex ideas made fantastically easy to digest.