''Néapolis'' is the eleventh studio album (of original material) by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in March 1998 by record label Chrysalis.

Background and content

After being released from their contract with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

, Simple Minds decided to musically reinvent themselves yet again. Having worked since 1991 as a duo with session musicians,

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 ...

and

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 ...

reunited on a rehearsals-only basis with the band's original rhythm section,

Derek Forbes Derek Forbes (born 22 June 1956) is a Scottish bassist, vocalist, and occasional guitarist. He is mostly associated with the Scottish band Simple Minds, having joined in time to record their early demos in 1978 and stayed with the band during ...

and Brian McGee (returning after eleven & fourteen year absences respectively). McGee was not involved in the project beyond the rehearsal stage, but Forbes formally rejoined Simple Minds as bass guitar player in July 1996. To record the album, Simple Minds also reunited with producer Peter Walsh, who'd been responsible for their acclaimed 1982 '' New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)'' album. The resulting set of songs (written entirely by Kerr and Burchill) was a move away from the band's more recent stadium rock and funk approaches and a return to their early-'80s electronic pop days (inspired by European experimental pop such as Kraftwerk and Hansa-period

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

) as well as incorporating contemporary dance music influences. While the reinstated Forbes played all of the bass tracks, drums were handled either by session players Michael Niggs and Jim McDermott or replaced by programmed loops provided by

Hamilton Lee Hamilton Lee (born 7 September 1958 in London, England), also known by variations on Hamid Mantu, is an English musician. Lee is best known as the drummer, percussionist and co-leader of Transglobal Underground, under his "Hamid Mantu" alias. ...

Transglobal Underground Transglobal Underground (sometimes written as Trans-Global Underground) is an English electro-world music group, specializing in a fusion of western, Asian and African music styles (sometimes labelled world fusion and ethno techno). Their f ...

. In early 1997, the band brought in their former drummer

Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Biography Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother. He began drumming at age 11 and had ...

for a studio session, resulting in him playing the drums on one track "War Babies". In a March 1998 interview with '' Q'', Kerr would comment that ''Néapolis'' "wasn't created as some kind of spiritual successor o ''New Gold Dream'' but I suppose that in getting back together with the people we work best with, some kind of thematic similarity was inevitable."

Release

''Néapolis'' was released by Chrysalis Records in the UK, but charted poorly and received mixed reviews. Chrysalis refused to release the album in the US (citing lack of interest). The album produced two singles "Glitterball" and "War Babies", the former featuring a video which was the first production of any kind to film at the

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Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain. Videos for both singles were included on enhanced CD singles released for both tracks. In early 1998, Gaynor was reinstated as a full-time member in time for live dates. With Mark Taylor as live keyboard player, the band toured Europe between March and July 1998 to support the new album, but the tour was dogged by band members' health problems and contractual fiascos (including a pull-out from the Fleadh Festival). The band parted company with Chrysalis Records after the tour. In 1999, recording sessions for a new Simple Minds album saw Gaynor and Forbes dropped from the band once again in favour of Mark Kerr and Eddie Duffy (although Gaynor would return to the band later).

Reception

The album received mixed reviews. The ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Jim Alexander lamented the effort, describing it as, "still the same windswept rock posturing wrapped up in slightly glitzier clothes." In a more positive review for

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 ...

, Paul Fucito wrote, "It's nice to know that in the 1990s, one classic new wave band hasn't forgotten what it is all about."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. Simple Minds *

– vocals *

– guitars, keyboards, programming *

– bass guitar *

– drums on "War Babies" Additional musicians * Jim McDermott – additional drums * Michael Niggs – additional drums *

– additional programming * The Dukes – strings Technical * Charlie Burchill – producer * Peter Walsh – producer, engineer, mixing * Simple Minds – mixing * Alessandro R.A. Benedetti – assistant engineer (Capri) * Marco Della Monica – assistant engineer (Capri) * Dougie Cowan – technical assistance * Sandra Dods – coordination * Toorkwaz – art direction, design * Andy Earl – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1998 albums Simple Minds albums Albums produced by Peter Walsh Chrysalis Records albums