This weekend commenter Mr G dropped a comment that alerted me to something I was certainly not on top of. The fact that Brian McGee, Derek Forbes, and Mick MacNeil have banded together once more to form a Simple Minds splinter faction called Th3 Minds. We can’t help but think that the Simple Minds proposition was at its strongest when these three musicians, along with guitarist Charlie Burchill and singer Jim Kerr were active at full speed, producing two albums of crack material a year during their [artistic] imperial phase.

It’s not uncommon for bands to have conflicting factions for various reasons. Sometimes it’s a power couple in a band situation that naturally forces and “us and them” scenario. With Simple Minds, there’s probably no getting over the fact that Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill have a friendship dating back to grade school. Things like that can’t be discounted. And over the years, these three musicians have left the Simple Minds mothership. Leaving just Jim and Charlie in control of the brand for over 34 years.

First McGee left on his own following the epic “Sons + Fascination/Sister Feelings Call” period when he was at the end of his rope and needed a break from the furious activity. Next, Derek Forbes fell afoul of the core duo and was fired before the recording of their best selling “Once Upon A Time” album in 1985. Though Jim Kerr has expressed regret at the decision over the years, variously. To the point of hiring Forbes back during the “Neapolis” period and various rumored, uncredited sessions with the band afterward. And MacNeil also tired of the touring schedule so he took his leave following the “Street Fighting Years” period. So the keyboardist and the world’s best rhythm section [there…I said it!] have been apart from Simple Minds for many times longer than they were intrinsic to it.

That’s not to say that there have not been re-groupings like this in the past. The 2005-7 period had FourGoodMen; a supergroup of sorts with MacNeil and Forbes joined by Big Country’s Bruce Watson and singer Ian Donaldson. The group’s live shows consisted of a blend of Big Country and Simple Minds material [naturally] with a few originals thrown into the mix. I never heard this band so I can’t really judge the effectiveness.

Forbes and McGee next formed XSM with three others following the FourGoodMen period. MacNeil was originally slated to join them but he didn’t want to tour. They have released only one track which I can find in iTunes; a cover of “The American” with the rhythm section as convincing as ever with the vocals failing the test. They lasted from 2009-2013.

Since then there has been the Derek Forbes Band as well Derek solo with a 2016 album of re-imagined Simple Minds songs with only him playing. The latest wrinkle was Derek Forbes + The Dark; a trio of Forbes with Brian MacNeill [ex-China Crisis] on keys with Tony Soave [ex-Silencers] on drums. Who released an album of their Simple Minds covers. So we get it. In the last 20 years various combinations of Derek Forbes and Brian McGee and Mick MacNeil have intersected with various attempts to work that legacy to varying degrees of success.

The difference this time is that all three of them are involved at the same time; perhaps giving TH3 MINDS the edge that earlier attempts lacked? The site for the band launched about a month ago but because this Monk is allergic to social media, I just found out about it now. Right now there’s not a whole lot at the band’s website, and to experience any of it, one must first register to login to the site to really see its content.

There are several long videos with the members discussing their plans and I’ve yet to sit down for the hour + to watch the results. And it’s not very likely with my schedule. But from what I gather at other sites the band will be [of course] performing the Simple Minds tracks that they helped to write while teasing new material going forward. We’ll adopt a wait-and-see posture. For the present they have released two videos [only available to registered members of the site] of a pair of Minds classics given their fresh perspective on, so we’ll discuss the results.

FILM CAREFULLY

First up was a great “Sister Feelings Call” deep cut with “Careful In Career.” The intro cheekily began with the opening chord to “Abuse,” the remix of “Dr. Mabuse” that the duo of McGee and Forbes must have played dozens of times in their years spent as the rhythm section of the band Propaganda. Before the traditional oscillating synth of the intro manifested. McGee’s drumming was as motorik and disciplined as ever here. As implacable and thrilling as it ever was. All melody was carried by MacNeil on synths, but with added modular synth loops being fed into the coiling energy of the track; judging from the video imagery. When Forbes flanged bass joined in it attained a kind of magic that gets this Monk’s blood flowing.

No vocals were here to intrude onto the peerless vibe so we could get lost in the proto-rave trance energy. It felt like one could mix this in a playlist with the Interference Mix of “The American” for a great Post-modern twofer of Simple Minds classic updated. Meanwhile, “Film Theme,” 2:27 in its original form, exploded to an epic 3:50…Prog length! It stuck fairly close to the script until the point where the original began to fade out featured a coda with decadent cocktail piano on the new version for an entirely new vibe. Not as dramatic as the instrumental re-think of “Careful In Career,” nor was it to be dismissable as “chopped liver.”

So on one hand we have the core members of Simple Minds making new music and touring furiously, as always. While they can be very on target in recent years, they can just as easily drift into a toxic zone as they did with the egregious “Acoustic” album, or even proffer material of indifference as with “Direction Of The Heart.”

Meanwhile TH3 MINDS have pedigree up the yin-yang yet I’ve not heard anything thus far from the with the exception of Simple minds retread material. And the history of the last 20 years is littered with such attempts on the part of all three members.

What do I want? Well, since I am certain that the entire quintet will never re-form for love nor money [they attempted in 2009 on the band’s 30th anniversary and it fell apart spectacularly] I’ll go on record as wanting this: for the two factions to try their best while apart to recapture the lightning in a bottle as represented by what I consider the best developmental arc of any band extant. The magic of Simple Minds ca. 1979-1984 is peerless to my ears. If either faction can come within spitting distance of that lofty goal, I’ll be a happy fan. And this is no zero sum game. I’d be delighted to have both factions proffering sublime musical goods. May the best fans win.

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