Real Life (Simple Minds album)

Real Life is the ninth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in April 1991.[7] This was the first Simple Minds album recorded without keyboardist and original bandmember Mick MacNeil, who left the band shortly after the previous tour completed in 1990. The core band on this album comprise only Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, and Mel Gaynor (who all appear on the rear cover), with the remaining personnel all being session musicians.

Real Life
Studio album by
Simple Minds
Released8 April 1991
Recorded1990–1991
Studio
GenrePop rock
Length52:15
Label
ProducerStephen Lipson
Simple Minds chronology
Themes – Volume 4: February 89–May 90
(1990)		 Real Life
(1991)		 Glittering Prize 81/92
(1992)
Simple Minds studio albums chronology
Street Fighting Years
(1989)		 Real Life
(1991)		 Good News from the Next World
(1995)
Singles from Real Life
  1. "Let There Be Love"
    Released: 11 March 1991
  2. "See the Lights"
    Released: 13 May 1991[1]
  3. "Stand by Love"
    Released: 12 August 1991
  4. "Real Life"
    Released: 14 October 1991[2]
Re-issue cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
NME1/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
Martin C. Strong5/10[6]

Content

The album features several songs that are reworkings of older material or were reworked into new songs on subsequent releases.

  • "Let the Children Speak" is based on the 1981 Simple Minds instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" from Sister Feelings Call. A re-recorded version of that piece, called "Theme for Great Cities '91", appeared as a B-side of the "See the Lights" single.
  • "Travelling Man" bears some resemblance to the 1983 song "Waterfront" from Sparkle in the Rain.
  • "When Two Worlds Collide" is based on the title track "Real Life", as is the 1995 song "And the Band Played On", which subsequently appeared on the following album, Good News from the Next World. "Women and Ghosts" (included on the US edition of the 1995 single "Hypnotised") is a reworked instrumental version of the title track.
  • "Rivers of Ice" is based on "Dr. Mackay's Farewell to Creagorry", an instrumental written by accordionist Iain MacLachlan in 1958. It gained prominence when adapted for the 1962 BBC thriller The Dark Island.[8][9]

The original album cover was replaced in later pressings by the original rear cover shot of the band (see infobox).

Release

The album reached no. 2 in the UK,[10] and no. 74 in the United States. Four singles from the album were Top 40 hits in the UK, including the Top 10 hit "Let There Be Love". In the US, "See the Lights" reached the Top 40 and also reached no. 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.[11]

Virgin reissued the CD as part of the Simple Minds remasters in late 2002 and early 2003. On the remastered version, a couple of differences are apparent when compared to the first edition: the 2002/2003 remaster features an extended mix of "Let There Be Love", not the one used on the first edition of the album, although it is not mentioned on the cover or in the booklet; the segues between tracks have also been re-edited, so that the running time of individual tracks may differ slightly between the editions; also, the CD version of the first edition had "Banging on the Door" split into two tracks in the disc's table of contents (running time was 1:16 + 4:22), but the music as such did not indicate any break between the parts. On the 2002/2003 reissue, the track is indexed as one.

Reception

The album received mostly negative reviews. In Rolling Stone, Paul Evans said, "What might have been the band's most cohesive record misses, if only by frustrating inches."[12]

AllMusic's Alex Henderson opined, "Real Life isn't terrible, but play it next to any of [the band's previous three] albums, and you're reminded how much less inspired their writing had become by the early '90s."[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr, except where indicated.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Real Life" 4:53
2."See the Lights" 4:22
3."Let There Be Love" 4:57
4."Woman"Burchill, Kerr, Stephen Lipson4:40
5."Stand by Love" 4:04
6."Let the Children Speak" 4:16
7."African Skies" 4:52
8."Ghostrider" 3:22
9."Banging on the Door (Intro)" 1:16
10."Banging on the Door" 4:22
11."Travelling Man"Burchill, Kerr, Lipson3:34
12."Rivers of Ice"Iain MacLachlan (music), Simple Minds (lyrics)3:30
13."When Two Worlds Collide" 4:01

Personnel

Charts

Singles
Single Chart (1991) Position
"Let There Be Love" Dutch Singles Top 100 7
Irish Singles Chart 5
UK Singles Chart 6
"See the Lights" Irish Singles Chart 16
UK Singles Chart 20
US Billboard Hot 100 40
US Modern Rock Tracks 1
US Billboard Mainstream Rock 10
"Stand by Love" Irish Singles Chart 14
UK Singles Chart 13
US Modern Rock Tracks 4
"Real Life" UK Singles Chart 34[28]

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[29] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[30] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[31] 3× Gold 300,000[31]
Netherlands (NVPI)[32] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[34] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[35] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "press release".
  2. "press release".
  3. Henderson, Alex. "Simple Minds: Real Life > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  4. Dudfield, Simon (13 April 1991). "Long Play: Life in a Daze". New Musical Express. p. 32.
  5. Evans, Paul (13 June 1991). "Simple Minds: Real Life". Rolling Stone. No. RS 606. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007.
  6. The Essential Rock Discography – Volume 1: 970. 2006. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Real Life". simple-minds.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 April 1997.
  8. "Rivers of Ice". simple minds. Dream Giver Redux. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  9. "Iain McLachlan - An Island Heritage". Springthyme Records. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  10. "Real Life". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  11. "Real Life > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles" at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  12. Evans, Paul (13 June 1991). "Simple Minds: Real Life: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone.
  13. Henderson, Alex. "Simple Minds - Real Life". AllMusic.
  14. "Australiancharts.com – Simple Minds – Real Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – Simple Minds – Real Life" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Simple Minds – Real Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  17. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Simple Minds – Real Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  19. "Charts.nz – Simple Minds – Real Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Simple Minds – Real Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Simple Minds – Real Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Simple Minds – Real Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  24. "Simple Minds Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  25. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1991". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  26. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  27. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1991". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  28. "Simple Minds". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  29. "Les Certifications depuis 1973: Albums". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 26 May 2019. (select "Simple Minds" from drop-down list)
  30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Simple Minds; 'Real Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  31. "Simply Gilded" (PDF). Music & Media. 26 October 1991. p. 7. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  32. "Dutch album certifications – Simple Minds – Real Life" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Enter Real Life in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1991 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle statussen"
  33. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
  34. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  35. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Simple Minds; 'Real Life')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  36. "British album certifications – Simple Minds – Real Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 May 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Real Life in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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