Search - Simple Minds :: Neapolis

Great late 90s effort from Simple Minds

Kirk Lott | adrift on the seas of life | 01/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neapolis is another strong album from Scotland's supremely talented Simple Minds.



For this 1998 effort, the producer's seat is taken again by the gifted Peter Walsh, who helmed the Simple Minds classic "New Gold Dream." He draws on every phase of the band's rich history, and embellishes it with a unique, very modern sound that could be called Italian Futurism (the album was recorded in Italy).



And the result is a diverse effort that offers something for fans of every phase of Simple Minds.



For fans of 80s Simple Minds, there's the ethereal, haunting "Song for the Tribes," the quirky, skip-along "Superman V Supersoul," or "Tears of a Guy," with its instant-classic guitar riff.



If you like the band's early techno roots, check out the terrific instrumental "Androgyny," or the fantastic, wall-of-sound jungle rhythms of "Killing Andy Warhol," perhaps Simple Minds' best song of the 90s.



There a couple weak tracks; the go-nowhere "Glitterball" was a strange choice for a single. It's the weakest track on the album, and probably caused a lot of fans to not bother checking out the rest of the album.



That's a shame, because "Neapolis" is the group's best effort since "Once Upon a Time," and will delight any fan of Simple Minds or 80s music."