Universal | 4xCD+DVD | UK | 2015
Simple Minds: Sparkle In The Rain Mega Edition UK 4xCD+DVD [2015]
Disc 1 – Album
1. Up On The Catwalk
2. Book Of Brilliant Things
3. Speed Your Love To Me
4. Waterfront
5. East At Easter
6. Street Hassle
7. White Hot Day
8. “C” Moon Cry Like A Baby
9. The Kick Inside Of Me
10. Shake Off The Ghosts
Disc 2 – Singles
1. Waterfront (Edit)
2. Hunter And The Hunted (Live B – Side)
3. Waterfront (Extended Remix)
4. Speed Your Love To Me (Edit)
5. Bass Line (B – Side)
6. Speed Your Love To Me (Extended)
7. Up On The Catwalk (Edit)
8. A Brass Band in Africa (B – Side)
9. Up On The Catwalk (Extended)
10. A Brass Band in Africa Chimes (B – Side)
11. Waterfront (Single Version)
Disc 3: Live @ Barrowlands [disc 1]
1. Shake Off The Ghosts [Intro] (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
2. Waterfront (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
3. Up On The Catwalk (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
4. The Book Of Brilliant Things (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
5. Glittering Prize (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
6. The American (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
7. King Is White And In The Crowd (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
8. Speed Your Love To Me (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
9. Someone Somewhere In Summertime (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
Disc 4: Live @ Barrowlands/BBC Sessions [disc 2]
1. Promised You A Miracle (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
2. Big Sleep (LIVE – Barrowlands Glasgow 1984)
3. New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84) [Live] – Take Me To The River [Live]
4. Love Song [Live] – Glory [Live]
5. Waterfront (Radio One Session)
6. Kick Inside (Radio One Session)
7. New Gold Dream (Radio One Session)
Disc 5: DVD [5.1, 24/96, video]
1. Up On The Catwalk (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
2. Book Of Brilliant Things (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
3. Speed Your Love To Me (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
4. Waterfront (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
5. East At Easter (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
6. Street Hassle (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
7. White Hot Day (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
8. “C” Moon Cry Like A Baby (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
9. The Kick Inside Of Me (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
10. Shake Off The Ghosts (DTS 5.1 Mix Surround Mix)
11. Up On The Catwalk (High Res Stereo Mix)
12. Book Of Brilliant Things (High Res Stereo Mix)
13. Speed Your Love To Me (High Res Stereo Mix)
14. Waterfront (High Res Stereo Mix)
15. East At Easter (High Res Stereo Mix)
16. Street Hassle (High Res Stereo Mix)
17. White Hot Day (High Res Stereo Mix)
18. “C” Moon Cry Like A Baby (High Res Stereo Mix)
19. The Kick Inside Of Me (High Res Stereo Mix)
20. Shake Off The Ghosts (High Res Stereo Mix)
21. Up On The Catwalk (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
22. Book Of Brilliant Things (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
23. Speed Your Love To Me (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
24. Waterfront (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
25. East At Easter (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
26. Street Hassle (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
27. White Hot Day (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
28. “C” Moon Cry Like A Baby (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
29. The Kick Inside Of Me (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
30. Shake Off The Ghosts (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix)
31. Waterfront (Promo Video)
32. Speed Your Love To Me (Promo Video)
33. Up On The Catwalk (Promo Video)
34. Waterfront (TOTP)
35. Speed Your Love (Oxford Road Show)
36. Up On The Catwalk (Oxford Road Show)
We interrupt this Simple Minds Rock G.P.A. [yet again] for the most appropriate of reasons. The imminent release of the very first mega-deluxe edition that I will have to own. I’ve looked upon the trend of mega DLX EDs with a somewhat jaundiced eye over the last few years. After all, I’m not the kind of person who would want a U2 Album for free, much less three figures splayed across as many as ten discs. King Crimson are a band I admittedly love, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. They are recently putting out boxes like “The Road To Red” that feature 21 CDs, 1 DVD and 2 BluRays for a very solid three figures. Not my cup of tea. What I’ve been waiting for are potential mega boxed sets dedicated to the cream of my core collection albums, and realistically, with my tastes, your megaplatinum selling legacy classic rock acts [who barely figure in my Record Cell] are first in that particular queue. Until now.
The Simple Minds fandom underground has been abuzz for several weeks when über-fan Simon Cornwell [he of the must viewing Dream Giver Redux Simple Minds fan website] over his recent hints that the reason why his site has not been updated to reflect the buzz over the new Simple Minds album, “Big Music” is because he was curating and reviewing a series of mooted deluxe reissues for the band and the label. The full details drop on Monday, December 8th, but here’s what we know right now, courtesy of Amazon.co.uk:
The box for “Sparkle In The Rain,” which is having its 30th anniversary this year, will comprise four CDs and a DVD, in addition to various and sundry paper data entities. It’s due to hit the streets on March 15, 2015. The first disc will be the classic album, presumably remastered onward from it’s last version, which happened in 2003, a second disc consisting of all of the single tracks released from it, a third disc with the legendary Barrowlands free show that the band put on for their fan club at the time of the making of the “Waterfront” video, a fourth disc that finishes with the Barrowlands show, in addition to various BBC sessions relating to the album, with the DVD being the album mixed in 5.1 [yes!] surround sound as well as high-res [24/96] 2.0 in addition to the music videos and a few live UK TV appearances. Phew! Pretty thorough.
Of course, all of disc one has been on CD for 30 years. Disc two has been largely compiled on CD previously, though spread disparately across the band’s must-have “Themes” singles boxes of 1990 with the 7″ versions recently surfacing on the “Celebrate” greatest hits boxes. One B-side does make its digital debut the for the first time. “A Brass Band In Africa” was the 7″ edit of the nearly ten minute “A Brass Band In African Chimes” that appeared on the flipside of the “Up On The Catwalk” UK twelve inch. It was also on the US/UK 7″ B-side of “Don’t You [Forget About Me],” which was issued right after “Up On The Catwalk,” strangely enough.
It’s discs three and four which are the catnip. Live bootleg performances I’ve managed to hear from the tour that they did for this album are among the most exciting live recordings I’ve ever heard. I had hoped that the show in Werchter, Belgium might be picked. The US tour stop in Irvington, New Jersey makes my heart stop, it’s so awe-inspiring. The Show they picked from Barrowlands, Glasgow is not one I’ve heard previously, but at the very least, it will be in the ballpark with the previous two shows. The entire concert was included, which I appreciate. I like hearing the arc of performance across a single show rather than the notion of cherry-picking highlights from various sources for an overall best-of-breed approach. I’m glad they included a full show. Then they filled out disc four with other live tracks and radio sessions, some of which have appeared previously in the band’s 25th anniversary “Silver Box” in 2004.
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is the DVD. It’s a DVD-A with the album remixed into 5.1 surround sound in addition to 24/96 high-res 2.0 stereo files of the work for our listening pleasure. I bought the DVD-A of “New Gold Dream” previously, but passed on the “Once Upon A Time DVD-A. It’s nice to listen to, but is somewhat problematic since to hear it properly, one must be planted in the “sweet spot” in one’s living room, where almost none of my listening takes place. Your mileage may vary.
Finally, the box contains copious liner notes from Simon Cornwell, who oversaw the project that are said to detail every single track. As a “now how much would you pay” bonus, the band’s 1984 “Tour De Monde” program book, as designed by Malcolm Garrett, is included in smaller, facsimile form. Nice! What remains shrouded as of today are two salient facts: who is remixing the multitrack into 5.1. Will it be Ronald Prent, who did the earlier two DVD-As? Or has original producer Steve Lillywhite returned to the workstation? Perhaps it will be the ubiquitous Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree, who seems to have a monopoly on this sort of thing. Finally, how much will it cost? Tune in Monday for the follow up. Maybe we can return our focus back to side two of “Sister Feelings Call” while we’re at it!
– 30 –
![Chris Cross: 1952-2024 [part 2]](https://postpunkmonk.files.wordpress.com/2024/04/ultravox-cross.jpg?w=200&h=200&crop=1)
![Forty Years Ago Today, Simple Minds Changed Everything with "New Gold Dream [81,82,83,84]"](https://postpunkmonk.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/new-gold-dream-in-spotlights.jpg?w=200&h=200&crop=1)
Post-Punk Monk 
how bizarre – i don’t read any fan forums so wasn’t aware of this superdeluxe set but i had a vinyl reissue on my Amazon ‘want list’ for a few weeks now and wasn’t sure exactly why it was being re-issued so a big thank you for the heads up. I’ve certainly got the ’email when available’ from Amazon on this set as it will look kinda good next to the tears for fears boxes and the FGTH box.
LikeLike
nick – The vinyl reissue had surfaced weeks ago, but I’d go blind if I wrote about every vinyl reissue clogging the bins these days! The FGTH box was interesting, but verboten for those who were not citizens of the realm. TFF kind of bore me. There, I said it. The debut album is pretty good, but if I never hear “Big Chair” again it would be too soon. The TFF disc I enjoy the most is their B-side collection, “Saturnine, Martial & Lunatic.”
LikeLike
Putting the pennies (read dollars) aside for this one…
LikeLike
Echorich – This style of über-deluxe product always was something I had no passion for. I wondered what might be the first title of this kind to cross the 2xCD + DVD line in the sand that seemed to be very real [I’ve got lots of those but nothing at the next level]. I thought it might be “Vienna” one day, but The Minds won the race. 4 discs should be enough to dive deep into any album. I honestly can’t think of any title where I’d like more archaeology. The ZTT Act 3xCD was pretty amazing. Too bad it didn’t have a DVD as well. Scuttlebutt has it that the Roxy Music megadeluxe boxes are going to happen for each album. I’d be up for that. Anticipation of this has stayed my hand at the very thorough Roxy box thus far.
LikeLike
I agree that my trainspotting of music will always be the collecting of individual albums, singles, mixes. I do enjoy the odd box set, such as Sylvian’s Weatherbox or The Clash’s Sound System, but this is certainly another level all together. It’s a very “curated” package and I think I would want to fully redevelop my audio system before really playing the dvd audio.
LikeLike
Echorich – That Simon Cornwell was involved shows that someone is playing with a full deck. I’m just amazed that it took this long for the mega box trend to finally come to focus on an album I would want to hear such an endeavor taken for. Of course, with my budget, there are literally dozens of “medium sized” DLX RMs that I still pine for, but I try to negotiate a path forward with new music still entering the Record Cell. It would be all too easy to just completely give in to commercial stasis and buy nothing but DLX RMs of albums I already have known and loved for decades in this fallen world.
LikeLike
Boy, this one will be tempting. I have everything on the second disc, but I don’t have the Barrowlands show or the radio sessions. It will come down to the cash, I suppose. Looks really well done. Thanks for the heads up.
LikeLike
Brian – I predict $85, easy. Just keep in mind the costs of that NGD DVD-A when considering.
LikeLike
This is where someone like me, who collects bands/artists’ music but (with the exception of a precious few) has no desired to own every white-label/demo/alternative take/foreign pressing/et al come in. I’ve long admired this album and have owned a copy or two of it over the years, but have never bought new, always used. This release seems much more up my alley: all the songs, a nice live show, some BBC sessions and loose odds n sods. Depending on the price (which I would hope doesn’t creep into three figures), I would grab this and purge any “old” copies from this album I have unless I happen to have stumbled on some rarity.
LikeLike
chasinvictoria – I have made the error of purging earlier versions of albums… and lived to regret it in almost every case! Hell, even as late as 2006 I sold off several Simple Minds 1st issue CDs [nasty as they were in every way] when I got the 2002 remasters in kami sleeves. Never again.
LikeLike
I forgot to add that our Monk should offer his services to Mr. Cornwell, as clearly the man is swamped with work and could use all the aid he can get! Talk about a labour of love — oh wait, that’s Squeeze …
LikeLike
A practical problem I have with these sets is that they take up too much space! However I won’t hesitate for this one, sounds fantastic. Presumably we may get one for NGD…
LikeLike
Simon H – My problem is that they take up too much money! I’m shocked they did not begin with NGD, but they did release the DVD-A of that and the edition in X5 is packed with extras. I think it’s a good time to bring back SITR since it was a capper to an incredible artistic sweep and the new album is definitely the best once since. I am a bit shocked that they did not give the new album more “breathing room” in the commercial space before trotting out this megabox. That it reached 12 in the UK charts was not bad for this joke we call a music industry now, but I’m sure the band were gutted and were looking forward to top 10 bragging rights again. If Simple Minds want to move carloads of music they had better warm up to licensing deals as its the only way to reach a large public these days. Then again, look what that did to their pals U2 recently…
LikeLike
Yes, did forget the monetary drawback as well! I’m glad it’s not one of those huge sets over the £100 mark, I’m out at that point. I’m getting irritated by the new fashion to include vinyl and cd in one package, I have no interest in vinyl and it really pushes up the price…
Back to SM, would love some NGD era live stuff, there are some tantalising clips on You Tube.
LikeLike
Simon H – Yes, the mandatory vinyl really irritates me as well. Fortunately, with my tastes, this has not happened… yet! Ah! I see how you saw the price! That is a bargain!! Only $70 American!! Far less than I was anticipating. I guess the band earned enough shekels with that DLX 3D covered Hydro DVD+CD [which I still need to watch – memo to self]. I, for one, an thrilled to finally have a 1984 concert by the group out on CD. Phenomena like Peter Gabriel, The Grateful Dead, or Pearl Jam issuing dozens of CDs of an entire tour always made me wonder who in their right mind would want to spend huge sums of money to hear the same songs played dozens of times in different cities? Then I think of Simple Minds in 1982-1984 and would willingly part with the money for such luxury!
LikeLike
this is now live on Amazon UK @ £46.01
LikeLike
nick -I saw that this weekend. What has surprised me is that the official announcement on simpleminds.com merely links to the amazon.co.uk page and not their official web store. I expected a bit more info, too. We don’t know, for example, who has remixed it into 5.1.
LikeLike
its mooted Steve Wilson but look i’m getting that info from SDE….not sure how accurate this can be
LikeLike
nick – Wow. I was betting they stuck with Ronald Prent. How does Steve Wilson find time to sleep?
LikeLike
i take it you don’t read SDE then ?
LikeLike
nick – I have to admit that I don’t know what SDE stands for.
LikeLike
sorry……
http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/simple-minds-sparkle-in-the-rain-five-disc-super-deluxe-edition-box/
LikeLike
nick – Aaah. I only occasionally see that site, usually as a reciprocal link from elsewhere. I don’t get out of the Record Cell too often.
LikeLike