Like a glittering prize
Dec. 2nd, 2010 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
undyingkingI've been listening to a load of Simple Minds just recently, in honour of Charlie Burchill's birthday, and am still bemused by the enigma that is their career path.
How can a band release as many as five (5!) albums that are at a pretty consistent standard of excellence, and then suddenly turn, more or less overnight, into complete drivel? One or two good albums before going down the quality tubes I could understand, but five? You'd think that by that stage you would have found your groove and would stick with it, not abruptly wrench yourselves into a vastly inferior version.
The sad thing, I think, is that people who only became aware of them via 'Waterfront', 'Don't You Forget about Me', 'Alive and Kicking', 'Sanctify Yourself' and other such flatulent stadium-fodder dross are probably not even aware that they had previously been a really good, interesting, thoughtful band, working more in the vein of Kraftwerk and the industrial pioneers. And it's not as if there had been a creative personnel change -- the drummers had a revolving seat policy, but Burchill and Jim Kerr persisted throughout.
Maybe it was because of Kerr taking up with Chrissie Hynde, which pretty much coincided with the change in direction. Hmm.
[Poll #1652043]
How can a band release as many as five (5!) albums that are at a pretty consistent standard of excellence, and then suddenly turn, more or less overnight, into complete drivel? One or two good albums before going down the quality tubes I could understand, but five? You'd think that by that stage you would have found your groove and would stick with it, not abruptly wrench yourselves into a vastly inferior version.
The sad thing, I think, is that people who only became aware of them via 'Waterfront', 'Don't You Forget about Me', 'Alive and Kicking', 'Sanctify Yourself' and other such flatulent stadium-fodder dross are probably not even aware that they had previously been a really good, interesting, thoughtful band, working more in the vein of Kraftwerk and the industrial pioneers. And it's not as if there had been a creative personnel change -- the drummers had a revolving seat policy, but Burchill and Jim Kerr persisted throughout.
Maybe it was because of Kerr taking up with Chrissie Hynde, which pretty much coincided with the change in direction. Hmm.
[Poll #1652043]
