A buried treasure
randall max jimenez | los angeles , california , u.s.a. | 07/19/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"there is a risk of reviewing a cd that has the history of this one and is yet unreleased. why virgin records backed out on this album is a mystery to me. pooor sales of previous simple minds albums is their response. but that reflects u.s.a. sales, not world sales. much like the hollies, simple minds are not into style over substance that we here in the states are into. "our secrets are the same" could very well be the best album that this band has ever done. it certainly can hold its own to previous efforts such as "sons and fascination" , "new gold dream" , "sparkle in the rain" , "street fighting years" , "good news from the next world". those are my personal bests of this band. as for "osats" as its called these days... "space", "death by chocolate" and "hello" are the stand outs of this album for me. "space" sounds like a cross between something from u2's achtung baby and the beatles magickal mystery tour. the acoustics of "death by chocolate" are so in your face that you can almost clamp your teeth onto them while "hello" sounds as if it came from verves "a storm in heaven" masterpiece. it may sound as if this is an album of theft. but isnt that what all great artists do? they use past influences to help themselves and be inspired by the work of previous artists to expand the works of their own. this album is simple minds as youve never heard them before. i couldnt believe it was them at first. and this comes from someone who has nearly everthing that they have released including the import eps., the themes box sets, etc. lead singer jim kerr describes this album as their great unknown van gough. i call it a crime that this album is not out to the general public! this could be the great simple minds world comeback album ! also , charlie burchill is at his usual world class best on this cd which what i have is a rough cut ! augggg! this cd was to be released in the u.k. in may and then in the u.s.a. in june. now its to be released as part of a box set by virgin records in november. we shall see and hopefully hear the official album....someday"
Simple Minds at their best
Oliver Hilscher | Germany | 05/26/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After new signs of life with recent tours and the album "Cry" the Minds return with an unexpected release of "Our Secrets Are the Same", a long story with some legal background that ended with the break between the band and the record company. It is well known that the album once leaked to the public when a DJ in Barcelona played it on the radio. But the crappy broadcast is nothing compared to this high-quality version (and I had a chance to listen to the clear studio master). It is worth every penny and it is fair to say that this is one of the best albums of the band ever. It basically sums up all the strengths of previous recordings and enhances the Minds experience by unprecedented vocals and sounds. Unfortunately it will only be part of the CD-Box Set "A History", to be released in the summer of 2004."
