Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call

Sometimes one generation's vision of what is new and strange seems quaint thirty years on. This music, which is a picture of the strangeness of the modern world of 1980-something, is as vivid now as it was when it was first released.Part of this is that the sound is so intelligently structured and presented -- the production is a model of clarity. Partly it's the strange palette of tone colors that combine so well with Jim Kerr's rich yet hollow voice.But most of all, I think, this is because there is something haunting and mysterious about the combined clarity, intelligence, and color that is so perfectly set off by the propulsive bass and drums that drive track after track and that sustain this record over the long haul. The contrast is what makes Sons and Fascination's vision of modernity fresh and evocative even if it is so clearly a thing of its time.Their later music tends, I think, to sound like Chicken Soup for the New Wave Soul, and their older music seems almost to document Simple Minds groping their way towards this record. If you are a fan of the later stuff for the sake of the allusive qualities that remain in it, you may just find there is more of that here, and better.

'Not Ready For Prime Time'? The taste of someone who prefers the leaden 'New Gold Dream' or the uneven 'Sparkle In the Rain' - or any of the later sad-in-various-degrees attempts at stadium fillers - to this (double) album can only be wondered at. 'Sons and Fascination / Sister Feelings Call' was the release of an influential and (among the post-punks of Britain) revered band at the height of their powers, and it has aged very well. The pretentious title was by far the worst thing about it. After the triumph of the 'Empires and Dance' album - a guitar-and-keyboards martial stomp through European music of all stripes from Kraftwerk to Georgio Morodor - Simple Minds kept the peddle to the metal and released this collection of otherworldly dance anthems that popular music has either not caught up with yet or branched off from, leaving it in its own little singular universe - but crucially, a universe we can all visit, and one we all should.

This is a great album of songs that were originally released as 2 seperate vinyl lps.This collection was their last before they went all 'Stadium rock'. Some classic songs like Sweat in Bullets and the American.

Long before The Breakfast Club came along and ruined a great band, Simple Minds were making great records. There are 4 CDs that deserve a place in any collection:  Empires & Dance , Sons & Fascination / Sister Feelings Call , New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)  and  Sparkle in the Rain .This CD is actually 2 albums in one. Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. They were released simultaneously and both are presented completely here. Excellent euro post-punk. Jim Kerr's song writing was at it's best during this period and the band is excellent, especially bass player Derek Forbes.

So many great songs! Love the "Big Music" sound of Simple Minds! Every song is so different, but unmistakably Simple Minds. As with all Minds CD's, there is never a need to skip a track. So unique and talented.

This CD serves as the transition from Simple Minds early works to a more jazzy avant garde new wave sound. It is two separate albums compiled as one. Sister Feelings Call was never released as its own CD. So the band/record company combined it with Sons And Fascination. Great release from 1981.

Simple Minds is by far one of the best bands from the 80s. Great music. They put a lot of effort in their work and it shows.

Yeah, I am seriously on a MISSION. "Sister Feelings Call"[...] contains some of the best new wave/eurodisco sounds, songs, and performances of the early 80's. I have the vinyl LP for "SISTER" which originally contained these songs:I TravelIn Trance as MissionSweat in BulletLove SongLife in a day30 Frames a second(I think these are all of the tracks. Not sure on the track order, either - my LP is packed up at the moment. Either purchase the 2 compilation albums, or download the mp3's to reconstruct the tracks from "Sister" - Amazon gives you lots of options.)When I lived in the Washington DC area in the early 80's, you could hear these songs played at clubs (One Step Down, and Cagney's - both gone now I'm pretty sure) and on the late great lamented WHFS radio station. I have been remiss; this has to appear on my "Best Albums You Have Never Heard" list. There is nothing like this. It is more brilliant than "Gold" or "Sparkles!"All you have to do is play this album along with Gang of Four's "Brief History of the 20th Century" and every New Order pre-1986 dance single and you have got yourself one whiplash-inducing hellacious dance party.Doing this would be the best weight-loss regime I could recommend. I dare you to play these albums and not vibrate every muscle from head to toe. Just have your heart checked before you start!Now, in light of full disclosure, I must admit that I also have the vinyl LP's "New Gold Dream" & "Sparkle in the Rain" and I like them both. The "New Gold Dream" album is a fetish-inducing transparent gold vinyl with purple swirls (Oh My Precious, I must have the Prrrecciousss!) I was a rabid Simple Minds Fan - guilty as charged. But the only album that I absolutely had to have on a cassette until I wore it thin was "Sister."What I do remember is how heartbroken I was when the very forgettably shallow "Don't You Forget About Me" single came out. I'm not saying that it's a bad song. It's quite pretty and Kerr could sing a cookbook and it would sound delicious. It is just that it lacks the physical and emotional intensity of their earlier work. It's pretty much what you have to do if you're going to go commercial, but I was not having it! I was running around in circles and tearing my hair out, yelling "This is NOT Simple Minds - You people have no idea!!!" It was so horrendously sappy that even Jim Kerr wanted to disown it!I really can't think of many bands that went through such a radical stylistic change after their first few albums. I think a lot of people hearing the early stuff and then the mid-career albums would not recognize them as coming from the same band, except for the unique stamp of Jim Kerr's amazing voice. I beg to differ that all of their early songs were sung in the electronica-robot voice (although Kerr's version of this had more color, depth and complexity than you would typically expect. I just contrast his vocals with say, DEVO or Gary Numan). His passionate soulful yelping on "I Travel" is an amazing vocal performance. Just try to sing it! I know I have - too many times and way too loud. Kerr is like the Robert Plant of Scottish new-wave.In 1985 I moved back to Charleston SC for a few years and got to see Simple Minds performing with the Bangles at the fairly small venue of Galliard Auditorium (2700 peeps). This was when each of them had their one big hit: "Walk like an Egyptian" for the Bangles and of course Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me." Both put on a great crowd-pleasing show. I had seen the Bangles at the 9:30 Club in DC on their first tour ('83-ish), wearing what appeared to be bad vintage-store apparel and sporting dirty, stringy coiffs but putting out a great sound nonetheless. The Bangles' new slicked-up Hollywood styling was as big of a 180 as the new slicked-up sound of the Simple Minds.If the Simple Minds had not had this one really big hit they probably would not have gone on tour and I probably never would have seen them live, so I will stop kvetching now! Jim Kerr is a mesmerizing performer. He dances around the stage a lot like Chris Martin of Coldplay does - or the other way 'round. I would bet that Chris Martin and band are Simple Minds fans.If you haven't heard the early stuff, you haven't really heard Simple Minds. The short mp3 samples will not do them justice. I would suggest you sample a song or two. "Love Song" or "I Travel" (or both) would really give you a taste. I can think of few albums as euphoria-inducing as these. Trance out and Dance!

Dit album vind ik altijd een van de drie of vier allerbeste albums van deze band. En in elk geval het album dat ik het meest beluister. Toevallig kwam ik erachter dat een paar jaar geleden er een geremasterde versie uit was gekomen van dit bijzondere 'combinatie' album Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call. Ooit twee aparte albums maar vanaf het begin eigenlijk samen verkocht. Toen het in de jaren tachtig op CD uitkwam was de techniek nog niet zover dat er ruimte op 1 CD was voor alle nummers ban de 2 LP's. Daarom werden 2 nummers weggelaten. Niet de allerbeste, maar je mist wel wat. NU is dat anders. Een CD kan tegenwoordig veel meer muziek in hoge kwaliteit bevatten en staan alle nummers erop. En het album is geremastered, waardoor de dynamiek en de geluidskwaliteit een stuk beter is. Ik ben er erg tevreden mee! Een prachtig album om rustig te beluisteren!

Ho altri c’è dei Simple Minds ,Questo l ho comprato solo per un brano , League of Nations .Un pezzo poco conosciuto ma davvero unico .Da solo vale tutto il CD

I have the Sons & Fascination vinyl album, which is my favorite Simple Minds recording. The CD has a mix of Sons & Fascination plus Sister Feelings Call. It's a very good recording and the sound is very good for a CD. I always prefer vinyl, but I'm very happy with this CD.

Me ha gustado todo el album en su conjunto, es excelente

this album changed my musical world after first hearing it .i became aware of the diverse and free flowing spirit that is this album.at the height of their sublime musical powers the work seems odd disjointed strange otherworldly .but sounds fantastic is compelling and mysterious.and like nothing i ever heard before .and i loved it .im certain that this is musical genius .certainly cut edge 80s .it wasn't till the late 80s 90s that other bands influenced by this emerged .all of their albums until alive and kicking had their merits .and simple minds had progressed successfully occupying musical territory making it their own.to me this album or albums represents a period of musical creation which flowed out without much conscious effort that formed this work .i highly recommend this work to anybody that likes good music.most of the early stuff is in my opinion.the better work but this does stand out .its real shame they turned into u2 stadium lookie likeies .they never regained their credibility or won back the fans .hard to comprehend that the same people made this became souless popsters .atb