Real Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 April 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1990–1991 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 52:15 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Stephen Lipson | |||
Simple Minds chronology | ||||
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Simple Minds studio albums chronology | ||||
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Singles from Real Life | ||||
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North American cover art | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Martin C. Strong | 5/10 [4] |
NME | 1/10 [5] |
Rolling Stone | [6] |
Real Life is the ninth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds,released in April 1991 by record label Virgin Records worldwide apart from the US,where it was released by A&M. [7]
This was the first album without founding member keyboardist Mick MacNeil as he left the band to spend time with his family. Peter-John Vettese played keyboards on the album. The rest of the band included lead singer Jim Kerr,guitarist Charlie Burchill who also took up keyboards,and drummer Mel Gaynor. Bass was played by Malcolm Foster. Stephen Lipson,who had co-produced Street Fighting Years produced the album and also played some bass parts.
For the title track,the chord sequence was built up around a drum loop called the Bonham Loop Idea or Loop Idea,inspired by the rhythmic backing of "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin. It was one of the later demos,first appearing in March 1990. The opening intro was one of the last flourishes added to the album. (The edited version of the song,which appears on the single,was how early versions of the album opened).
"See the Lights" was first composed in November–December 1989. It was formally recorded (on 11 December 1989) and committed to a compilation tape of potential ideas. Unlike most of the ideas floating around at the time,the song had its final title and some working lyrics.
"Let There Be Love" first appeared during the writing sessions at Wisseloord between November and December 1989. The first demos were called "Anthem". It was premiered by national radio in February 1991 and confirmed that the post-MacNeil Simple Minds had not lost any vital musical elements. The song was a slick continuation of the sounds from Street Fighting Years,complete with celtic-sounding melodic pipes,but with modern drums and rhythms. (Trills and synth swoops came courtesy of Lipson which he borrowed from Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm").
"Banging on the Door" was formally demoed during the second Real Life writing sessions at Wisseloord in March 1990. Six takes of a new live arrangement was recorded at Loch Earn/Bonny Wee Studios on the 1st May;and this formed the basis of the various mixes and session recordings which took place at the studio during the following months. The opening intro,indexed separately on most CDs,was taken straight from a demo called "Dark Isle". The voice in the background was Kerr,directing changes within the song. (During the early stages of songs when the arrangement wasn't finalised,he'd direct the course of the song,often suggesting "Charlie. Go to the chorus" or "Repeat the verse.") The intro was one of the last things to be added to the album. A cassette from Olympic Studios (dated 16/1/91) has a different track order,but the songs are all in their final form,with the exception of "Banging on the Door",which had yet to gain this magical opener. The song was many of the highlights of the album and was played during the Real Life and Good News from the Next World tours. After other performances during the catalogue-spanning Alive and Kicking Tour,it enjoyed a comeback in the mid 2010s,becoming a staple of the various tours at the end of the decade.
"Rivers of Ice" was inspired by Ian Maclachlan's "Dr. MacKay's Farewell to Creagorry" although it gained prominence when adapted by David Silver for the BBC thriller The Dark Island. The programme was so popular that Maclachlan's melody also became known as "The Dark Island". It was well known to MacNeil,whose grounding in the musical celtic roots of Scotland made him familiar with the track. In a prophetic piece by Rapido in 1989,documenting Simple Minds preparing for Street Fighting Years at Loch Earn,Kerr opened the studio door to find MacNeil and Burchill working on an acoustic version of the song,and the narrator even described it as "the new Simple Minds sound". Perhaps it was being considered for the acoustic interlude for the tour,but got nudged out by "Gaelic Melody" instead. Burchill picked up the baton during the Real Life sessions. MacNeil may have left the band,but one of his remaining legacies was planting the seeds of this melody. The song was recorded as a demo at Olympic Studios in London as "Dark Isle". Opening with a haunting swirl of Burchill's keyboards and Kerr's ghostly studio directions ("Try this Charlie") the intro jumped into a bass heavy thudder,rising to crescendo after crescendo,with Burchill literally working up through the keys. Oddly,for an early demo,it also featured lyrics,which were avery close to the final recorded version. These gave the song its final title,and on some annotated cassette inlays,the title "Dark Isle" was crossed out and replaced by "Rivers of Ice". In the end,it was calmed down,the elements subtly redrawn and reworked,and it moved back to its original,gentler form. Session work took place at Loch Earn/Bonny Wee Studios from July through to December 1990,with final mixes at Olypmic in January 1990. The haunting intro from the demo actually survived,neatly snipped from its original placeholding,and added to the intro of "Banging on the Door". That brief opening is a rare occurrence of a demo recording slipped onto a commercial Simple Minds record. It appeared during the Real Life tour as a gentle ballad,serving as a brief intro to "Alive and Kicking". It was also later showcased (with a slightly different melody) during the Big Music tours where this time it served as the introduction to "Dolphins" and as a showcase for Catherine A.D. It appeared in the same pairing for the quickly aborted 40 Years of Hits Tour in 2020 and didn't reappear when the reorganised tour recommenced two years later.
"Let the Children Speak" is based on the 1981 Simple Minds instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" from Sister Feelings Call . A re-recorded version of that piece,called "Theme for Great Cities '91",appeared as a B-side of the "See the Lights" single.
"Travelling Man" bears some resemblance to the 1983 song "Waterfront" from Sparkle in the Rain .
"When Two Worlds Collide" is based on the title track "Real Life",as is the 1995 song "And the Band Played On",which subsequently appeared on the following album, Good News from the Next World . "Women and Ghosts" (included on the US edition of the 1995 single "Hypnotised") is a reworked instrumental version of the title track.
The album reached no. 2 in the UK, [8] and no. 74 in the United States. All four singles from the album were Top 40 hits in the UK,including the Top 10 hit "Let There Be Love". In the US,"See the Lights" reached the Top 40 and also reached no. 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. [9]
In America,the front and back covers were switched and the front was now the photo of the band on the white background. The US version of the cover is what has been used on reissues of the album.
Virgin Australia decided to create a limited "collectors'" edition of the album by packaging the album with five live tracks.
Virgin reissued the CD as part of the Simple Minds remasters in late 2002 and early 2003. On the remastered version,a couple of differences are apparent when compared to the first edition:the 2002/2003 remaster features an extended mix of "Let There Be Love",not the one used on the first edition of the album,although it is not mentioned on the cover or in the booklet;the segues between tracks have also been re-edited,so that the running time of individual tracks may differ slightly between the editions;also,the CD version of the first edition had "Banging on the Door" split into two tracks in the disc's table of contents (running time was 1:16 + 4:22),but the music as such did not indicate any break between the parts. On the 2002/2003 reissue,the track is indexed as one.
The album received mostly negative reviews from critics. In Rolling Stone ,Paul Evans said:"What might have been the band's most cohesive record misses,if only by frustrating inches." [10]
AllMusic's Alex Henderson opined:"Real Life isn't terrible,but play it next to any of [the band's previous three] albums,and you're reminded how much less inspired their writing had become by the early '90s." [11]
All tracks are written by Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr, except where indicated
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Real Life" | 4:53 | |
2. | "See the Lights" | 4:22 | |
3. | "Let There Be Love" | 4:57 | |
4. | "Woman" | Burchill, Kerr, Stephen Lipson | 4:40 |
5. | "Stand by Love" | 4:04 | |
6. | "Let the Children Speak" | 4:16 | |
7. | "African Skies" | 4:52 | |
8. | "Ghostrider" | 3:22 | |
9. | "Banging on the Door (Intro)" | 1:16 | |
10. | "Banging on the Door" | 4:22 | |
11. | "Travelling Man" | Burchill, Kerr, Lipson | 3:34 |
12. | "Rivers of Ice" | Iain MacLachlan (music), Simple Minds (lyrics) | 3:30 |
13. | "When Two Worlds Collide" | 4:01 |
All tracks are written by Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr, except where indicated
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Real Life" | 4:53 | |
2. | "See the Lights" | 4:22 | |
3. | "Let There Be Love" | 4:57 | |
4. | "Woman" | Burchill, Kerr, Stephen Lipson | 4:40 |
5. | "Stand by Love" | 4:04 | |
6. | "African Skies" | 4:52 | |
7. | "Let the Children Speak" | 4:16 | |
8. | "Ghostrider" | 3:22 | |
9. | "Banging on the Door" | 5:33 | |
10. | "Travelling Man" | Burchill, Kerr, Lipson | 3:34 |
11. | "Rivers of Ice" | Iain MacLachlan (music), Simple Minds (lyrics) | 3:30 |
12. | "When Two Worlds Collide" | 4:01 |
|
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Single | Chart (1991) | Position |
---|---|---|
"Let There Be Love" | Dutch Singles Top 100 | 7 |
Irish Singles Chart | 5 | |
UK Singles Chart | 6 | |
"See the Lights" | Irish Singles Chart | 16 |
UK Singles Chart | 20 | |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 40 | |
US Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | |
US Billboard Mainstream Rock | 10 | |
"Stand by Love" | Irish Singles Chart | 14 |
UK Singles Chart | 13 | |
US Modern Rock Tracks | 4 | |
"Real Life" | UK Singles Chart | 34 [27] |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [28] | Gold | 35,000^ |
France (SNEP) [29] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [30] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [31] | 3× Gold | 300,000 [31] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [32] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [33] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [34] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [35] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You " (1985), which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Other commercially successful singles include "Promised You a Miracle" (1982), "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983), "Alive and Kicking" (1985), "Sanctify Yourself" (1986), "Let There Be Love" (1991), "See the Lights" (1991) as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989).
Street Fighting Years is the eighth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in May 1989 by record label Virgin Records worldwide apart from the US, where it was released by A&M. Produced by Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson, the album reached the top of the UK Albums Chart.
New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) is the fifth studio album by Scottish band Simple Minds. The album was released in September 1982 by record label Virgin, and was a turning point for the band as they gained critical and commercial success in the UK and Europe. It is considered one of the defining albums of the new pop movement of the early 1980s.
Charles Burchill is a Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of Simple Minds. He is one of the founders of the group.
Good News from the Next World is the tenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in January 1995 by record label Virgin.
Once Upon a Time is the seventh studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 21 October 1985 by record label Virgin, Once Upon a Time topped the UK charts, and peaked at No. 10 on the US charts, spending five consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard and 16 weeks in the Top 20.
The Works is the eleventh studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 27 February 1984 by EMI Records just shortly after recording for the album had been completed in the United Kingdom and it is the band's first studio album to be released by Capitol Records in the United States. After the synth-heavy Hot Space (1982), the album saw the re-emergence of Brian May and Roger Taylor's rock sound, while still incorporating the early 80s retro futuristic electronic music and New York funk scenes. Recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, California, and Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, from August 1983 to January 1984, the album's title comes from a comment Taylor made as recording began – "Let's give them the works!".
Life in a Day is the debut album by Simple Minds, released in April 1979 by record label Zoom. It reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart. The title track and "Chelsea Girl" were issued as singles.
Real to Real Cacophony is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released on 23 November 1979 through record labels Zoom and Arista.
Empires and Dance is the third studio album by Scottish new wave band Simple Minds, released on 12 September 1980 by record label Arista.
Live in the City of Light is the first live album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released in May 1987 to document their successful worldwide Once Upon a Time tour, and charted at No. 1 in the UK. The album spawned one chart single release, a live version of "Promised You a Miracle".
Néapolis is the eleventh studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in March 1998 by record label Chrysalis.
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call is the (double-LP) fourth album by Scottish post-punk band Simple Minds. It was released in September 1981 and was their first to reach a wide international audience. It includes the singles "The American", "Love Song" and "Sweat in Bullet".
Sparkle in the Rain is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 6 February 1984 by record label Virgin in the UK and A&M in the US.
Graffiti Soul is the fifteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in May 2009.
Big Music is the sixteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released on 31 October 2014 by Sony Music. "Honest Town" was released as the lead single on 10 October 2014. The album was available to stream from 28 October 2014.
Acoustic is the seventeenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in November 2016 by Caroline International. The album features acoustic studio recordings of previously released songs. It received mixed reviews.
Walk Between Worlds is the eighteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in February 2018 by BMG.
Live in the City of Angels is the seventh (double) live album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in early October 2019 to document their largest ever North American tour.
Direction of the Heart is the nineteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 21 October 2022 by BMG.
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