Cry (Simple Minds album)

Cry is the thirteenth album (of original material) by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, officially released on 1 April 2002 (despite the fact that it had already circulated on the Internet weeks before).

Cry
Studio album by Simple Minds
Released	1 April 2002
Recorded	2001; Sicily & Scotland (Glasgow)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	47:36
Label	Eagle Records
Producer	Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Planet Funk, Gordy Goudie
Simple Minds chronology
The Best of Simple Minds (2001) Cry (2002) Silver Box (2004)
Simple Minds studio albums chronology
Our Secrets Are the Same (2004) Cry (2002) Black & White 050505 (2005)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Canoe.ca	(favourable)[2]
Q	[3]
Uncut	(mixed)[4]

Overview

Cry was Simple Minds first album in several years after the hiatus that followed the release of Neapolis and the withdrawn Our Secrets are the Same. As a comeback, they decided to make a focused pop album with songs focused on melody and tight arrangements.[5]

As Jim Kerr stated at the time of the album release: «"I like the idea of very focused melodies, tight arrangements, commercial stuff. I said to Charlie: This is the only kind of music I want to make just now. Let's try and go on the edge and do some real pop stuff."»[6]

Recording

Cry was recorded in the last six months of 2001 in Sicily and Scotland (Glasgow). The album was the most colleborative Simple Minds written. Jim Kerr worked with several Italian musicians, multi-instrumentalist Gordon Goudie and others, while Charlie Burchill's input was down to two tracks. Included as the last tack on the album was also the instrumental "The Floating World", written by Vince Clarke.[5]

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews. While James McNair in Q magazine called it "a disappointing concoction of half-baked ideas and style ingredients" it also received some more favourable reviews. Jane Stevenson in the Toronto Sun wrote: "The epic-sounding numbers Spaceface, New Sunshine Morning, One Step Closer, Sugar and Sleeping Girl are particularly dance-floor-worthy, while the more stripped-down Lazy Lately and Cry Again are definitely worth a listen. Not nearly as well executed are the acoustic guitar number Face In The Sun, the disjointed Disconnected and Slave Nation, and the album-ending throwaway instrumental The Floating World." Uncut reviewer David Stubbs noted the band's attempt to rejuvenate their sound: "while it's heartening that Simple Minds have abandoned their windier stadium rock tendencies, this lacks the magesterial lightness of a New Gold Dream or Sons and Fascination." [7]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Cry"	Jim Kerr, Dino Maggiorana, (N. Morris,) Mike Nicita, Daniele Tignino, Pat Legato	3:57
2.	"Spaceface"	Sean Kelly, J. Kerr	3:54
3.	"New Sunshine Morning"	J. Kerr, Maggiorana, Nicita, Tignino, Legato	3:37
4.	"One Step Closer"	J. Kerr, Planet Funk	6:07
5.	"Face in the Sun"	Mark Kerr	3:58
6.	"Disconnected"	J. Kerr, Kevin Hunter, Gordy Goudie	3:38
7.	"Lazy Lately"	Charlie Burchill, M. Kerr	4:03
8.	"Sugar"	Charlie Burchill, M. Kerr	3:14
9.	"Sleeping Girl"	J. Kerr, Maggiorana, Nicita	4:12
10.	"Cry Again"	J. Kerr, Maggiorana, Nicita, Tignino, Legato	3:36
11.	"Slave Nation"	J. Kerr, Hunter, Goudie	3:02
12.	"The Floating World"	Vince Clarke	4:26

2019 "Rejuvenation 2001–2014 7CD+DVD box set" bonus tracks

Source:[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Type	Length
13.	"Lead the Blind"	Charlie Burchill, M. Kerr	Original bonus track	3:58
14.	"For What It's Worth"	Stephen Stills	Cover	3.43
15.	"The Garden"	Charlie Burchill, Jim Kerr, Kevin Hunter	Original bonus track	3.15
16.	"New Sunrise"	J. Kerr, Maggiorana, Nicita, Tignino, Legato	"New Sunshine Morning" acoustic version	4.17
17.	"Where Is the Max?"	Planet Funk	Planet Funk's "One Step Closer" alternate (instrumental) version	4.40

Left-overs

At least, another track was written (by Mark Kerr and Erikah Karst) during the Cry period: "Angel Under My Skin". The song was later worked on for Black & White 050505 (2005) and Graffiti Soul (2009) before it was finally recorded and released as a Deluxe edition bonus track on Walk Between Worlds (2018).[9]

Live performances

Many of the songs have been played live:[10][11]

• "Cry" during both 2002 "Floating World" & 2003 "Alive And Kicking" tours
• "Spaceface" during the 2002 "Floating World", 2003 "Alive And Kicking" & 2004 "Festival" tours (& during Lostboy! AKA's October–November 2010 "Electroset" tour)
• "New Sunshine Morning" only during the 2002 "Floating World" tour & 2004 "Festival" tour
• "One Step Closer" during a number of tours: 2002 "Floating World", 2003 "Alive And Kicking", 2004 "Festival", 2009 "Graffiti Soul", 2010 "Australian", 2010 "Festival Show" tours & 2010 Final Shows
• "Face in the Sun" only four times (in the UK & France) during the 2002 "Floating World" tour
• "Disconnected" only one time (in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK) during the 2002 "Floating World" tour
• "Sugar" only three times (in Germany) during the 2002 "Floating World" tour
• "Sleeping Girl" only during the 2006 "Black And White" tour (& during Lostboy! AKA's October–November 2010 "Electroset" tour)
• "New Sunrise" only one time during a session of the Billy Sloan show on Radio Clyde, broadcast on 14 April 2002
• "For What It's Worth" during the "Acoustic Live '17" tour in UK & Europe (8 April – 8 June 2017).

Personnel

Recorded in the last six months of 2001 in Sicily and Glasgow.

• Jim Kerr – vocals, producer
• Charlie Burchill – guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, effects, programming

Additional musicians

• Gordy Goudie – guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, effects, programming, additional vocals, producer
• Pat Lego – keyboards, drums, effects, programming
• Dino Maggiorana – keyboards, drums, effects, programming
• Mark Kerr – acoustic guitar on "Face in the Sun", additional vocals
• Daniele Tignino – additional vocals

References

1. Doerschuk, Robert L. "Simple Minds: Cry" at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
2. "Simple Minds - Cry - Articles & Reviews". Quebecor Media. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
3. McNair, James. "Simple Minds - Cry - Articles & Reviews". Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
4. Stubbs, David (May 2002). "Simple Minds - Cry - Articles & Reviews". IPC Media. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
5. Cry information Dream Giver Redux
6. "Rejuvenation 2001-2014 Five Album Vinyl Box Set (released 7/12/18) – Album 2 'Cry' was released by #SimpleMinds in April 2002 and was recorded in Sicily & Glasgow". Facebook. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
7. "Simple Minds - Cry - Articles & Reviews". Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
8. "Simple Minds / Rejuvenation 2001-2014 box issued on CD". www.superdeluxeedition.com. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
9. "Angel Under My Skin". simpleminds.org. 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
10. Cornwell, Simon. "Cry: Information". Dream Giver Redux. simpleminds.org. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
11. Cornwell, Simon. "Tours: Simple Minds". Dream Giver Redux. simpleminds.org. Retrieved 26 October 2011.

Sources

• Official Simple Minds web site
• Dream Giver Redux