''Acoustic'' is the seventeenth
studio album by Scottish rock band
Simple Minds, released in November 2016 by
Caroline International
Caroline may refer to:
People
*Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
.
The album features
acoustic studio recordings of previously released songs. It received mixed reviews.
Background
The genesis of ''Acoustic'' can be traced back to a rare live session the band recorded for the BBC Radio Two's Chris Evans Breakfast Show on 26 September 2014, then promoting their 16th studio album, ''
Big Music
Big Music (also known as Reliance Big Music) is an Indian record label owned by Anil Ambani. It is a part of Reliance Entertainment, a subsidiary of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
The label was started in 2005, along with several ot ...
''. To the band's surprise, the reaction was overwhelmingly favourable.
The band performed acoustic sets during some other one-off live appearances (radio sessions or showcase events) including one held on 22 November 2014 in Paris by French radio station RTL notable for a rare outing of "Mandela Day".
Besides Kerr and Burchill the band consists of Ged Grimes (bass), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), Gordy Goudie (guitars) and Cherisse Osei (drums).
Singles
The acoustic version of "
Promised You a Miracle
"Promised You a Miracle" is a 1982 song by Scottish band Simple Minds and was released as the first single from their fifth studio album '' New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)''. It was the band's first chart hit in the UK,''Glittering Prize 81/ ...
", featuring Scottish singer-songwriter
KT Tunstall, was released on 28 September 2016.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 16 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, selling 10,427 units, and becoming Simple Minds' 14th top 20 album.
Critical reception
The album received mixed reviews, with Timothy Monger from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
noting that the band "missed out on an opportunity to dramatically shake up their repertoire". Andy Gill in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' found it "a welcome spring clean" and noted the folk influences.
David Quantick
David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine '' NME'', his writing credits have included ''On the Hour'', '' ...
, writing for ''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
'', described it as "a strange album, seeking as it does to homogenise the Minds’ ever-changing sound" but concluded that it was "a consistent collection", highlighting the
Richard Hawley
Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...
cover "Long Black Train" as "movingly effective".
Track listing
Standard edition
Double LP bonus tracks
Notes
*Two different formats are released: a single compact-disc version and a double LP version including 3 exclusive extra tracks, the latter released only on 25 November 2016.
Personnel
;Simple Minds
*
Jim Kerr
James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish singer and the lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. Ot ...
– vocals
*
Charlie Burchill
Charles Burchill (born 27 November 1959) is a Scottish musician and composer, best known as the guitarist of Simple Minds. He is one of the founders of the group.
Style
During Simple Minds' early to mid-1980s period, Burchill's guitar had a dis ...
– guitar, accordion, programming, arrangements
*
Ged Grimes
Ged Grimes (born on 28 March 1962) is a Scottish musician, producer and composer. He is currently the bass player for rock band Simple Minds, and was a founding member of Scottish pop band Danny Wilson whose hits include "Mary's Prayer" (from ' ...
– bass, backing vocals
*Gordy Goudie – guitar, harmonica, additional arrangements
*Sarah Brown – backing vocals
*
Cherisse Osei
Cherisse Osei (born 23 December 1986) is an English drummer. Best known for her work with the band Simple Minds, Osei has also played with a number of acts, including Mantas, The Faders, Paloma Faith, Bryan Ferry, Kelly Jones, and Mika. In 20 ...
– percussion
; Additional personnel
*
KT Tunstall – vocals, guitar, bass, backing vocal arrangement on "Promised You a Miracle"
*Lewis Chapman – additional percussion, programming
*
Andy Wright – producer, programming
*Gavin Goldberg – producer, engineer, mixing, programming
*Simple Minds – producer
*Jean-Pierre Chalbos – mastering
*Stuart Crouch Creative – art direction, design
*Ruth Rowland – handlettering
*Alan Wild – photography
*Eric Misko – photography
*Paul Cox – photography
*Paul Khera – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
{{Authority control
2016 albums
Simple Minds albums