Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Hardly content with fumbling around with the same sound, Simple Minds shifted gears once again for album number three, Empires and Dance. The "dance" aspect of the title needs to be emphasized, but it's apparent that the group's globetrotting and simmering political tensions in Britain affected their material in more ways than one. One gets the idea that Simple Minds did some clubbing and also experienced some disparate views of the world. The opening "I Travel" is the most assaultive song in the band's catalog, sounding like a Giorgio Moroder production for Roxy Music. Think "I Feel Love" crossed with "Editions of You," only faster; gurgling electronics, a hyperkinetic 4/4 beat, and careening guitars zip by as Jim Kerr delivers elliptical lyrics about unstable world affairs with his throaty yelping (this was still before he developed that predilection for foghorn bombast). The remainder of the album repeals the blitzkrieg frenetics of the beginning and hones in on skeletal arrangements that focus on thick basslines and the loping rhythms that they help frame. The hopping/skipping "Celebrate" isn't much more than a series of handclaps, a light drum stomp, some intermittent bass notes, and some non-intrusive synth effects. It goes absolutely nowhere, yet it's more effective and infectious than most verse-chorus-verse pop songs. The seven minutes of "This Fear of Gods," which boast another dense rhythm abetted by trebly atmospheric elements (distant guitars, percolating electronics, sickly wind instruments), come off like an excellent 12" dub, rather than an original mix. Just as bracing, the paranoiac disco of "Thirty Frames a Second" should have been played regularly at every club in 1980 and should live on as a post-punk dance classic. It's a true shock that this record was released with reluctance. The band coerced an unimpressed Arista into pressing a minimal amount of copies for release (fans still had trouble locating copies), but thankfully Virgin reissued it in 1982.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, ComposerLyricist - Derek Forbes, ComposerLyricist - James Kerr, ComposerLyricist - Charles Burchill, ComposerLyricist
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - James Kerr, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, ComposerLyricist - Michael Goldberg, ComposerLyricist - Derek Forbes, ComposerLyricist - James Kerr, ComposerLyricist - Charles Burchill, ComposerLyricist - Michael Joseph Macneil, ComposerLyricist
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, Composer - Mick MacNeil, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, Composer - Mick MacNeil, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, Composer - Mick MacNeil, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, Composer - Mick MacNeil, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - James Kerr, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Giblin, Composer - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, ComposerLyricist - Mel Gaynor, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
JOHN LECKIE, Producer - Simon Heyworth, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simple Minds, Performer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian McGee, Composer - Charlie Burchill, Composer - Derek Forbes, Composer - James Kerr, Composer - Mick MacNeil, Composer
(C) 2002 Virgin Records LtdThis label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved.(C) 2002 Virgin Records Ltd ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
Album review
Hardly content with fumbling around with the same sound, Simple Minds shifted gears once again for album number three, Empires and Dance. The "dance" aspect of the title needs to be emphasized, but it's apparent that the group's globetrotting and simmering political tensions in Britain affected their material in more ways than one. One gets the idea that Simple Minds did some clubbing and also experienced some disparate views of the world. The opening "I Travel" is the most assaultive song in the band's catalog, sounding like a Giorgio Moroder production for Roxy Music. Think "I Feel Love" crossed with "Editions of You," only faster; gurgling electronics, a hyperkinetic 4/4 beat, and careening guitars zip by as Jim Kerr delivers elliptical lyrics about unstable world affairs with his throaty yelping (this was still before he developed that predilection for foghorn bombast). The remainder of the album repeals the blitzkrieg frenetics of the beginning and hones in on skeletal arrangements that focus on thick basslines and the loping rhythms that they help frame. The hopping/skipping "Celebrate" isn't much more than a series of handclaps, a light drum stomp, some intermittent bass notes, and some non-intrusive synth effects. It goes absolutely nowhere, yet it's more effective and infectious than most verse-chorus-verse pop songs. The seven minutes of "This Fear of Gods," which boast another dense rhythm abetted by trebly atmospheric elements (distant guitars, percolating electronics, sickly wind instruments), come off like an excellent 12" dub, rather than an original mix. Just as bracing, the paranoiac disco of "Thirty Frames a Second" should have been played regularly at every club in 1980 and should live on as a post-punk dance classic. It's a true shock that this record was released with reluctance. The band coerced an unimpressed Arista into pressing a minimal amount of copies for release (fans still had trouble locating copies), but thankfully Virgin reissued it in 1982.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:45:57
- Main artists: Simple Minds
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Virgin Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2002 Virgin Records Limited ℗ 2002 Virgin Records Limited
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.