I haven't yet acquired a copy of Simple Mind's second album "Real to Real Cacophony" so we are forced to skip to their third effort "Empires and Dance" from 1980. I bought this record from eBay quite recently and it sounds good with very little extraneous noise.
The moment this record begins it is clear the sound of the band has moved on from their debut. The synth rhythms of "I Travel" are redolent of sweaty European night clubs where the PA resonates to the sounds of Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk. On this record Jim Kerr's voice has evolved into the baritone we are familiar with and the guitars seems to have taken a step back when compared to earlier efforts.
Whilst still not matching the band's best, the songs on this record are much 'groovier' and have a distinct studio polish. Much of the groove is provided by bassists Derek Forbes whose superlative work features most prominently on tracks like "Today I Died Again" and "This Fear of Gods".
Elsewhere there is a good deal of time devoted to experimentation with "Twist/Run/Repulsion" or "Kant Kino" being some of the more prominent examples. For fans of electronic music, the song "Thirty Frames a Second" is probably the most interesting with its Korg 770 bass refrain complimenting Charlie's distinctive guitar sounds.
The most commercial recordings are the afore mentioned "I Travel" and the only other single taken from the album, "Celebrate". Whilst both are good songs, neither have really chimed outside of the band's fan base and they remain a kind of buried treasure for those of us brave enough to wander into uncharted territory.
Because various styles of music are being thrown into the melting pot, this album doesn't really have a strong identity. Unfortunately I can help but judge "Empires and Dance" alongside more successful entries in the band's back catalogue and unfortunately it suffers from this comparison. Even when I try to look more objectively, I can help but thing this record is just too quirky for anyone other than those with an interest in the history of Simple Minds. 2.5/5
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