Simple Minds

Walk Between Worlds

BMG Rights Management

IT HAS been 41 years since Jim Kerr and his crew came together in Glasgow and went on to become arena rockers vying for airtime with U2. Everyone has their favourite Simple Minds period. Mine was the art-rock of their carefree early period topped off with the seminal glam romanticism of the New Gold Dream album. It was then that the Minds appeared to take a twist in direction preferring to be U2 than Duran Duran.

Unlike U2, the Minds of recent years have made a real fist of a comeback with the return-to-form 17th studio album Big Music which embraced electronics and steered away from their mid-80s rock pomp.

Walk Between Worlds appears to take a more current approach to their predominantly rock sound, especially on the U2 vs Coldplay-esque album introduction Magic.

The grandstanding guitars of Charlie Burchill are to the fore, but there are times where the bombast of the production goes missing and there are moments I wondered whether it was actually Jim Kerr singing.

One of the album’s standout tracks is the orchestrally reflective Barrowland Star which lovingly and cinematically looks back at their shows at the iconic ballroom in Glasgow's East End.

Clocking in at a brief 42 minutes, Walk Betweeen Worlds appears to rein in excesses and provides more than enough to keep fans nodding.

Martin Williams