Simple Minds Empires And Dance (1980)

Most people know Simple Minds chiefly as purveyors of arena-sized 1980s pop/rock grandeur a la "Don't You Forget About Me" and "Sanctify Yourself." By the time these Scots broke through with a wide-screen U2-ish approach, there'd already been plenty of water under the bridge. They started out firmly in edgy post-punk mode in the late '70s, and by the time of their third album, EMPIRES AND DANCE, they'd reached a crucial turning point. Though they'd begun the process on their preceding record, here they perfected their mix of post-punk/New Wave rock, colorful synthesizers, and dance beats, effectively creating the template for what would soon become known as the New Romantic sound (Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, etc).

Empires and Dance is the third studio album by Simple Minds, released in 1980. It reached #41 in the UK Albums Chart. The opening track "I Travel" was released as a single in 1980, failing to chart. Following the release of this album, Simple Minds transferred to Virgin Records, where they met with much greater commercial success. Arista tried to capitalize on this success by re-releasing "I Travel" as a single in 1982, and again in 1983. Both times, it still failed to chart.

Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982) {5CD+DVD Super Deluxe Edition rel 2016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.63 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 610 Mb
DVD5 -> 3.20 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch (96-24) / DTS, 6 ch / Dolby AC3, 6 ch | ~ 54+15 m | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 89 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1982, 2016 Virgin Records / Universal | 4766622
New Wave / Pop Rock / Synth-Pop

Super deluxe six disc edition boasts an abundance of material. Disc one features a 2016 remaster (by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road) approved by Charlie Burchill and the second disc gathers 12-inch remixes and instrumentals of the singles, a few of which enjoy their CD debut. Various edits and B-sides can be found on the third CD in the set while disc four features previously unreleased BBC John Peel and Kid Jensen radio sessions, recorded in February and August 1982. All ten tracks on disc five are previously unreleased; made up of alternative mixes and demos and the icing on the cake is the sixth and final disc which is a DVD, featuring Charlie Burchill and Ronald Prent's 5.1 surround sound mix, first released on the now long out-of-print DVD-Audio in 2005. This mix of the album is a unique 'full duration' mix which is different to the standard version. DVD also includes promo videos and a few Top of the Pops performances. Note, this is a DVD-V unlike the DVD-A/V disc from previous Simple Minds box sets.

Originally released in 1982 by Arista in the U.K. and reissued on CD by the Dutch Disky imprint in 2001, Celebration serviceably culls some of the better moments from Simple Minds' first three albums: 1979's Life in a Day and Reel to Real Cacophony and 1980's Empires and Dance. Given the sadly neglected status of the band's early catalog – meaning anything that was released prior to 1982's breakthrough New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) – through the early 2000s, it is doubly unfortunate that a compilation like this remained out of print for an extended period of time.

Originally released in 1982 by Arista in the U.K. and reissued on CD by the Dutch Disky imprint in 2001, Celebration serviceably culls some of the better moments from Simple Minds' first three albums: 1979's Life in a Day and Reel to Real Cacophony and 1980's Empires and Dance. Given the sadly neglected status of the band's early catalog – meaning anything that was released prior to 1982's breakthrough New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) – through the early 2000s, it is doubly unfortunate that a compilation like this remained out of print for an extended period of time.

The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache". They have been credited as being an influence on later post-punk revival bands such as Blacklist, Bell Hollow, Editors and Interpol. The Comsat Angels toured heavily in the UK and western Europe, especially in the Netherlands; the band's two concerts in August 1982 in Iceland had a strong influence on the music scene in Reykjavík. They also toured the United States twice. Their music has been extensively reissued and recompiled since 1995 by various record labels.