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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Waterfront |
| 2. Don't You (Forget About Me) |
| 3. Alive And Kicking |
| 4. Sanctify Yourself |
| 5. Love Song |
| 6. Someone Somewhere (In Summertime) |
| 7. See The Lights |
| 8. Belfast Child |
| 9. The American |
| 10. All The Things She Said |
| 11. Promised You A Miracle |
| 12. Ghostdancing |
| 13. Speed Your Love To Me |
| 14. Glittering Prize |
| 15. Let There Be Love |
| 16. Mandela Day |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This compilation album is fascinating in that it tracks the dramatic artistic decline (and parallel commercial rise) of one the most successful groups of the post-punk era. "Love Song", "Promised You A Miracle" and "Someone, Somewhere In Summertime" see Jim Kerr and co. teetering like a cat poised on a fence, their sound a skittering, graceful interplay of glittering keyboards and adrenaline guitars, with Kerr's lyrics epic yet ambivalent on top. Then around the mid-1980s, Simple Minds fell from the fence into lumbering stadium rock rifferama. "Alive And Kicking" and "Sanctify Yourself" were big scarf-waving anthems but lacked the tantalising panache of their earlier work. As Jim Kerr sank further into megastardom, the music suffered further as he indulged in piously cumbersome ballads like "Belfast Child" and "Mandela Day". But while critics sighed, the Minds' audience swelled regardless--their "New Gold Dream" had come true. --David Stubbs
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The first time that I ever heard Simple Minds was at Meadow bank Stadium, Edinburgh. It was 1989 and my mind and my ears couldn't believe what was going on. I have too admit that my favourite track has to be Someone somewhere, to me it just hands you pure Simple Minds on a plate. I love the beat of Waterfront, much to the annoyance of both parents and neighbours. Of there more recent tracks I have to favour See the lights and Let there be love. Let there be love just seems to be a subtle modern love song without all of that mush! I am a total fan and i have to say they don't really make what I would call bad music, I just think that some tracks shine stronger than the rest.Claireabelle
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I honestly had to laugh after reading some of the reviews of this album,the word cynical is quite frankly inaccurate. A greatest Hits LP is quite simply a greatest hits LP and all the hits in this collection are the bands most successful and well known songs, any real fans of the band would be happy with this album, infact it could and probably has generated new fans hence its charts success(rememder it kept Madonna of the no1 spot). Lets face it any band who has 2o years of music to pick from isnt going to pick the lesser known unsuccessful tracks for their first compilation this is not cynical just common sense.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Since this albums release there have been more inclusive, more complete and definitive collections of Simple Minds (and collect them all if you want to), but at the time of it's release in the early 90's, this album was never intended to be a definite Simple Minds ultimate collection, it was and is just a greatest hits collection of their commercially successful material up to that point. (it was the first time Don't you forget about me had been available on a Simple Minds album).
From the bombastic opening track Waterfront that is a heartfelt eulogy to Glasgow, to the gentle yet political motiviated closer Mandela Day, this collection shows what simple minds about during their most prolifically commercial period. It also serves as a introduction to the band which hopefully encourage new listners to investigate further.
I have to say some of the Amazon reviewers comments are way off the mark regarding the bands songwriting. Belfast child cumbersome? Passionate and hairs on neck raising more like.
From the bombastic opening track Waterfront that is a heartfelt eulogy to Glasgow, to the gentle yet political motiviated closer Mandela Day, this collection shows what simple minds about during their most prolifically commercial period. It also serves as a introduction to the band which hopefully encourage new listners to investigate further.
I have to say some of the Amazon reviewers comments are way off the mark regarding the bands songwriting. Belfast child cumbersome? Passionate and hairs on neck raising more like.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Should have bought this years ago.
How did I get to 2012 before having any Simple Minds tracks? This album is alive and kicking, it has so much good music and the wonderful lyrics, emotive involving entertainment at... Read more
Published 13 days ago by DP
Simple Minds Glittering Prize
This one is a golden oldie. It has a lot of the best of the Simple Minds Hits. Delivery was in 3 days. Great price too!
Published 7 months ago by Cork
Simple Minds
The only Simple Minds album I have bought and not disappointed. Some of the tracks were new to me but were excellent too.
Published 15 months ago by H. B. Harkins
the glittering prize
excellent album by this superb group,one of the best songs mandela about the imprisoment of the future president of south africa,and his release 25 years later also other memorable... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. Nigelecook
A Good Summary.
I would like to provide a counterpoint to an earlier review stating that this was a cynical rework. Of course its, cynical - you don't need to go any further than the... Read more
Published on 16 July 2001 by steven.crook-dawkins@cs.york.ac.uk
Oh-so-predictable Mind's compilation
As a fan of Simple Minds from their most embryonic work, 1979's Life In A Day and 1980's Empires & Dance/Real To Real Cacophony etc, I found the Glittering Prize compilation of... Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2001
Not bad but not great
The review David Stubbs gave is as accurate as you can get . At some stages of the album the music and the lyrics are nothing short of diabolical . Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2001 by filterite
Listenable collection of eighties pop.
When discussion comes to great British rock bands of the eighties, four names always crop up: U2, Dire Straits, Marillion and this group, Simple Minds. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2000
Great voice, shame about most of the songs.
Most of the songs on this CD do not rise above the terribly mundane bubblegum pop of the eighties. Only a few stand out: Waterfront, Alive and Kicking, All The Things She Said and... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2000
Not bad but many tracks lack distinction.
Simple Minds were one of the biggest rock acts of the eighties and were regarded as Scotland's answer to U2. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2000
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