It was a few weeks ago that I received the CD of Simple Minds “New Gold Dream – Live At Paisley Abbey” that my good friend chasinvictoria ordered for me and while the last month or two has seen my blog writing time squeezed dry, I wasted no time in placing that into the laserdisc player for a few compelling spins upon receipt. It was not my intention to run close to three Simple Minds posts in succession here but it’s been a strange time and this is how things fell out. On the face of things, it almost seems ludicrous that Simple Minds have never released a live version of the album that transformed them from highly regarded cult act to a fixture on the Top Of The Pops.

There have been many live albums from this band. Even one where only material from the band’s first six albums were played. There was a tour in 2008, the “Celebrate 30 Years Tour,” where they finally played the album in full…but without a professional recording of it released. This failing has finally been redressed with the “New God Dream – Live From Paisley Abbey” album that captured the then current band and is the only album to feature synth player Berenice Scott, who had joined The Minds for the duration of their 40th anniversary tours and shows.

Simple Minds: Live From Paisley Abbey – UK – CD [2023]

1. Someone, Somewhere In Summertime
2. Colours Fly + Catherine Wheel
3. Promised You A Miracle
4. Big Sleep
5. Someone Up There Likes You
6. New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]
7. Glittering Prize
8. Hunter + The Hunted
9. King Is White + In The Crowd

The opening salvo of “Someone, Somewhere In Summertime” surprisingly stuck to the classic album version cold intro on the one. I had been expecting Charlie Burchill’s chunky, delayed Gibson riffage that was on the 12″ version and many a live performance…but not this day. Jim Kerr showed that his modus operandi of pushing and pulling the tension in the song with his phrasing and delivery was every present. Delivering the new wrinkle of rolling his “r” in the word “brilliant.” Well, he is Scottish. Another differing touch that manifested on this classic was the call and response between Jim and Sarah in the coda. The band delivered a satisfying take on a well-loved classic here to start this program off on a reliable foot.

They saved some new attacks for what is now one of my favorite songs from the album. Berenice swooped in to cover the horizon in her synth as the familiar rhythms and melodic loop of “Colours Fly + Catherine Wheel” began weaving their insistent and intoxicating spell. The synths then took flight as the enhanced intro made room for that athletic bass line in Ged Grimes’ hands. Charlie wove his way through the thicket of sound with his probing, soaring guitar lines. I have to think that this song is the stealth payload in this over 40 year old album. When I listen to it now, this song towers. The synth glissandos aiming upward at the start of the middle eight where Charlie and Ged began their circular dance. The live version here plateaued with a return to the intro as a coda before the dramatic cold ending.

Charlie’s ringing guitar lines managed to make the rhythmic juggernaut of “Promised You A Miracle” still sound fresh 40 years later as Cherisse Osei gave it the punch with the song’s drum rolls hitting the song’s soundstage with the impact of a runaway train barreling down a mountain. The dynamism of the song gleams now as it did then so it’s no wonder that this “secret weapon” was the band’s breakthrough single. If the charts didn’t respond to this, then it’s too late for help.

It was gratifying to hear Ged Grime’s bass lead with authority on “Big Sleep.” Charlie’s mournful guitar keening through the sky as this lamentation on mortality managed to stretch and pull the timing of the song for maximum impact. Then Gordon Goudie’s dusky melodica added new pathos to the extended coda which managed to thrill in new ways as the song evaporated into shadows of night. Giving Cherisse the last word with a delicate wash of chimes that would be the signature move of many of these performances.

I loved the sumptuous long intro to “Somebody Up There Likes You.” It could have lasted a few minutes more, but when the bass and rim hits began their march I was ready to go with them. This was a real treat to hear this song live as it’s one that has managed to miss my fervent listening to live Simple Minds over the last quarter century. This one is now getting stuck in my cranium for hours at a time and is a masterclass in Charlie’s ability to indulge in left-field, let lyrical soloing that really embellished the already potent material.

Speaking of potency, “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]”was reliably spine tingling as only the studio version ever used to accomplish. Like at the 2018 show we saw, I swear the title track never sounded as good live in years past because Kerr was now pitching his voice to a lower register as on the original recording, plus giving Sarah that cowbell to augment the drum machine for dominance makes a huge difference!

Kerr delivers strongly on the stirring song; surely the most spectacular composition the band had ever created. Managing to constantly rush forward with motorik energy while retaining a balance of poise that came close to the stasis of a rondo. Burchill was layering his guitar in effulgent cascades when Kerr surprised me by free styling new lyrics as Sarah Brown met him in a thrilling call and response climax. Then plateaued out with a drop that was new to these ears, eventually culminating in a dazzling new coda to the classic shot through with a sequencer loop from Ms. Scott. Exquisite!

A vibrant “Glittering Prize” followed. Sounding more genuine and lived in than the already fantastic album version. Next we got the rakish energy of Jim on “Hunter + The Hunted.” Singing on the balls of his feet; deftly dodging and lunging around the song like an expert boxer. And it was lovely not to hear him sing “tempta-shawn” on this version. Grimes’ bass tickled our solar plexus while Berenice found her own voice in the iconic Herbie Hancock solo at the song’s end. A chilling “King Is White + In The Crowd” ended the journey on a disquieting note; punctuated by Burchill’s angular wah-wah ganks in a sinister dialogue with Grimes’ fretless bass. Sarah Brown’s stentorian backing vocals in the dramatic cold climax yet another delight for our ears.

Recoding a live version of “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 23, 84]” forty years after the original could have been a huge embarrassment for this [or any other] band. But instead, it served as a reminder that few bands can touch Simple Minds for effectiveness on the live stage. They are my favorite band because of this. I revel in the live recordings [many bootleg] of the band over the years. While it’s not jaw dropping in the way of some “Sparkle In The Rain” bootlegs I have are, it nonetheless reeks of success. It’s hard to believe that there had not been a live NGD album before this, but I’ve nothing but applause for the results. Everyone here is working at peak effectiveness. The singer Jim Kerr is now runs rings around the young man on those tapes.

The nearly 50 years that Jim + Charlie bring to the table can’t be discounted, but their current band as captured here show that the newer blood bring their own rewards, though Grimes’ tenure is now in its 13th year; a record for bass guitar! They all treat “New Gold Dream [81, 82, 83, 84]” as a living, breathing entity here. Playing with the material and finding new nooks and crannies to explore while avoiding the taint of being a hidebound museum piece. With today’s technology, we know that the band could airlessly delivered the exact samples from the master tapes if they wanted to. It’s to their credit that they did’t.

-30-