Big Music (Simple Minds album)

Big Music is the sixteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released on 31 October 2014 by Sony Music.[14] "Honest Town" was released as the lead single on 10 October 2014. The album was available to stream from 28 October 2014.[15]

For the Machinations album, see Big Music (Machinations album).

Big Music
Studio album by
Simple Minds
Released31 October 2014
RecordedMay 2009 - August 2014[1]
Genre
Length51:44
LabelCaroline International/Universal, Sony Music
ProducerGavin Goldberg, Steve Osborne, Owen Parker, Simple Minds, Andy Wright
Simple Minds chronology
Celebrate: The Greatest Hits
(2013)		 Big Music
(2014)		 Live – Big Music Tour 2015
(2015)
Simple Minds studio albums chronology
Graffiti Soul
(2009)		 Big Music
(2014)		 Acoustic
(2016)
Singles from Big Music
  1. "Honest Town"
    Released: 10 October 2014
  2. "Let the Day Begin"
    Released: 13 December 2014
  3. "Midnight Walking"
    Released: 9 February 2015
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
The Daily Telegraph[4]
The Guardian[5]
Hot Press"HotPress"[6]
The Irish Times[7]
London Evening Standard[8]
musicOMH[9]
Record Collector[10]
Shields Gazette7/10[11]
The Yorkshire Times4/5[12]
MOJO magazine[13]

Background

During the recording of Simple Minds previous studio album Graffiti Soul, Jim Kerr stated: «We really are flowing with ideas at the moment and [...] I do feel that we are possibly writing two albums simultaneously at present.» Several tracks were omitted from Graffiti Soul so that the album had more focus. Possible candidates include "Six Degrees Of Separation", "Lotus Effect" and "Shaman".[1]

According to Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr, Big Music has lots of power and passion, urgency and momentum, adding "it is energetic, it's got a raw power and a lot of vitality".[16]

Recording

On 19 May 2014, it was announced that Simple Minds had just finished recording Big Music.[16] Even so, a final recording took place on 27 August 2014.[1]

Release and promotion

The album's release campaign started on 4 September 2014 with "Blindfolded" being issued as a video teaser (not as a single).[1] The album's logo was revealed on 4 September 2014.[1]

On 23 September 2014, Simple Minds announced that Jim and Charlie would be special guests of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Friday morning 26 September 2014 where they'd be performing 4 tracks acoustically for the first time ever.

Previously announced for October 2014,[16] the album was released on the 31 October 2014 in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland and on 3 November 2014 in other territories.

The album was released on Caroline Records in the UK and Ireland, the Embassy Of Music in Germany and by Sony (licensed from Embassy Of Music) in other European territories.

Singles

The title song "Big Music" was intended to be the first single but the idea was later dropped.[1] On 23 September 2014, Simple Minds announced that the first play of their new single "Honest Town" would have its worldwide premiere the following morning on the Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2.[17] "Honest Town" was released as the lead single on 10 October 2014.[18]

Critical reception

Upon its release, Big Music received generally positive reviews from music critics. In the review aggregator website Metacritic (which assigns a "Metascore" based on the ratings and reviews of selected mainstream independent publications), the album has a score of a 75 based on 12 selected critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2] The Guardian rated the album three stars out of five, commenting that "the band have managed to craft an album of pop that’s both true to their sound and interesting enough to give it a contemporary edge."[5]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, Big Music debuted at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. The album sold 10,207 copies in its first week, and became the group's 17th top 75 album.[19]

Track listing
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Blindfolded"Jim Kerr, Charlie BurchillSteve Osborne, Simple Minds, Andy Wright[a], Gavin Goldberg[a]5:23
2."Midnight Walking"Kerr, Burchill, Andy GillespieAndy Wright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:54
3."Honest Town"Iain Cook, Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:46
4."Big Music"Kerr, Burchill, GillespieWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:12
5."Human"Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:42
6."Blood Diamonds"Cook, Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:21
7."Let the Day Begin"Michael BeenWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds5:10
8."Concrete and Cherry Blossom"Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:33
9."Imagination"Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:42
10."Kill or Cure"Paul Statham, Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:12
11."Broken Glass Park"Owen Parker, Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:41
12."Spirited Away"Parker, Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds, Parker[b]4:08
Deluxe edition – Disc 2[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Swimming Towards the Sun"Kevin Hunter, Kathleen StevensonWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds5:16
14."Bittersweet"Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:58
15."Liaison"Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:37
16."Riders on the Storm"Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John DensmoreWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds3:46
17."Dancing Barefoot"Patti Smith, Ivan Kral, Lenny Kaye, Richard Sohl, Jay Dee DaughertyWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:02
18."Blindfolded" (reprise)Kerr, BurchillWright, Goldberg, Simple Minds4:23
Deluxe edition – iTunes Store bonus tracks[14]
No.TitleLength
19."Blindfolded" (video)5:23
20."Honest Town" (video)4:44
21."Album Interview" (video)22:24
Deluxe edition – DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Honest Town" (video) 
2."Blindfolded" (video) 
3."Let the Day Begin" (clip) 
4."Human" (clip) 
5."Midnight Walking" (clip) 
6."Behind the Scenes" 
7."Band Interviews" 

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[b] signifies original production

Personnel

Adapted from album liner notes.[20]

Simple Minds

Additional musicians
  • Sarah Brown – backing vocals
  • Clinton Outten – backing vocals

Production
  • Steve Osborne – producer, programming
  • Simple Minds – producer
  • Gavin Goldberg – producer, programming, keyboard, mixer, acoustic guitar
  • Andy Wright – producer, programming, keyboard
  • Owen Parker – original production, backing vocals, additional guitar, additional programming
  • Iain Cook – additional programming
  • Tom Dalgety – additional engineering
  • John Henry – additional engineering
  • Lewis Chapman – assistant mixer
  • JP Chalbos – mastering

Charts

References
  1. Cornwell, Simon. "dream giver redux - discography - albums - big music".
  2. "Critic Reviews for Big Music". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  3. Jurek, Thom. "Big Music – Simple Minds". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  4. Brown, Helen (31 October 2014). "Simple Minds, Big Music, review: 'retro heartache made new-Millennial'". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  5. Bakare, Lanre (30 October 2014). "Simple Minds: Big Music review – epic, over the top, and all the better for it" – via The Guardian.
  6. Tyaransen, Olaf (31 October 2014). "Simple Minds 'Big Music' - Album Review". Hot Press. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  7. Clayton-Lea, Tony (31 October 2014). "Simple Minds: Big Music". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  8. "Albums of the week (Oct 31-Nov 6)". London Evening Standard. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  9. Hogwood, Ben (9 November 2014). "Simple Minds – Big Music". musicOMH. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  10. Easlea, Daryl. "Simple Minds – Big Music". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  11. "ALBUM REVIEW: Simple Minds – Big Music". Shields Gazette. Johnston Press. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. Clark, Graham (14 November 2014). "Album Review: Simple Minds – Big Music (Caroline Records)". The Yorkshire Times. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  13. "Simple Minds & B-52's – Horncastle Arena, Thursday 16 February 2017". vbase.co.nz. September 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  14. ""Big Music (Deluxe Edition)" von Simple Minds auf Apple Music".
  15. music, Guardian (28 October 2014). "Simple Minds - Big Music: Exclusive album stream" – via The Guardian.
  16. Drysdale, Neil. "The Neil Drysdale Interview: Jim Kerr's Big Music love".
  17. "Honest Town".
  18. "'Honest Town - Single' van Simple Minds op Apple Music".
  19. Jones, Alan (10 November 2014). "Official Charts analysis: Ed Sheeran pips Calvin Harris to No.1 on albums". Music Week. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  20. Big Music (booklet). Simple Minds. Sony Music Entertainment. 2014. 88875038622.CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. "Ultratop.be – Simple Minds – Big Music" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Simple Minds – Big Music" (in French). Hung Medien.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Simple Minds – Big Music" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  24. "Lescharts.com – Simple Minds – Big Music". Hung Medien.
  25. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  26. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 45, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  27. "Italiancharts.com – Simple Minds – Big Music". Hung Medien.
  28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – Simple Minds – Big Music". Hung Medien.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  31. "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  32. "Rapports Annuels 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

Sources
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