Once Upon A Time (Simple Minds Album)
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''Once Upon a Time'' is the seventh studio album by Scottish
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...
, released on 21 October 1985 by record label
Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
( A&M in the US), ''Once Upon a Time'' topped the UK charts, and peaked at No. 10 on the US charts, spending five consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of ''Billboard'' and 16 weeks in the Top 20.


Background

The album paired the group with
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...
. He had worked with artists featuring an aggressive guitar-based sound, including singer-songwriters
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
and
Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...
, and he brought that approach to the band. Iovine particularly pushed frontman
Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include " Don't You (Forget About Me)", " Glittering Prize" (1982), " Someone Somewh ...
, aiming for more energetic vocals. Although already successful in their native U.K. and various countries in Europe and Oceania, Simple Minds had also recently become popular in the U.S., mainly due to the
Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The Spectrum and as the drummer in Udo Lindenberg's Panik Orche ...
and Steve Schiff-penned "
Don't You (Forget About Me) "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song by the Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. It was written and composed by the record producer Keith Forsey and the guitarist Steve Schiff for the film '' The Breakfast Club'' ...
". That track appeared on ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
'' soundtrack and had become a No. 1 hit there. However, the band deliberately left the track off the album due to their reluctance to record it. Still, the euphoric
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
sound proved influential in the construction of much of ''Once Upon a Time'', particularly the arena-friendly single " Alive and Kicking". ''Once Upon a Time'' also shared many influences with their previous studio album, '' Sparkle in the Rain'', which explored a similar songwriting style. This was the first album without founding member, bassist
Derek Forbes Derek Forbes (born 22 June 1956) is a Scottish musician. He is mostly associated with the Scottish band Simple Minds, having joined in time to record their early demos in 1978 and stayed with the band during their rise to mainstream success a ...
, who left the band after recording "Don't You (Forget About Me)". He would later rejoin the band in 1998 for the album '' Neapolis''.


Reception

Music critic MacKenzie Wilson has retrospectively praised the album for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, stating that it provided listeners with a "raw energy and solid composition not entirely captured on previous albums." He also particularly lauded singles "Alive and Kicking" and "Sanctify Yourself."
Armond White Armond Allen White (born 1953) is an American film and music critic who writes for ''National Review'' and ''Out''. He was previously the editor of '' CityArts'' (2011–2014), the lead film critic for the alternative weekly '' New York Press ...
at ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' said, "Every cut is neat and punchy pomp in the name of
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
. Kerr works up a cheerleader rock star's mechanical pep, displaying good-time intentions in the same dumb, obvious way. The album sucks up love, politics, and religion into a swirling vacuum of show-off musicianship."


Singles

Four singles were taken from the album: " Alive and Kicking" was released as a foretaste of the album in September, reaching no.7 in the UK and no.3 in the US. " Sanctify Yourself" in January 1986, reaching no.10 in the UK and no.14 in the US. "
All the Things She Said "All the Things She Said" is a song by Russian music duo t.A.T.u. from their first English-language studio album, '' 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' (2002). The song was first released in the United States as a DVD single on 13 August 2002, then ...
" in March 1986, (UK no. 9, US no. 28), and " Ghost Dancing" in November 1986 (UK No. 13). All the proceeds of the latter two singles were donated to
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
. "Oh Jungleland" had been planned to be released as the second single, but Virgin changed their mind and "Sanctify Yourself" was chosen instead. A 7" edit, an instrumental version and an extended 12" remix of "Oh Jungleland" were prepared and the latter two tracks subsequently appeared on the "Ghost Dancing" single releases.


Releases

''Once Upon a Time'' was available with two covers upon its original LP release. The alternate cover uses the back image for the front and vice versa. It also moves the Simple Minds logo to the right of the cover. The two cover images fit together when placed side by side or above each other, and the release of the album in British record shops saw the two covers placed in a grid, alternating like the two colours on a chessboard. The album cover was standardised for the original CD release and this version has since been used for the various reissues of the album. A collectable
picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...
LP was also produced. Housed in a luxury gatefold die-cut sleeve, the record featured the mottled gold effect of the sleeve. A unique lyrics sheet was also packaged in the gatefold. A magnetic
jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is comple ...
was also produced by
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
to promote the album. The album has been re-released in remastered form on several occasions, most recently in 2015. Virgin Records reissued the album as a remastered edition in 2002 (cardboard vinyl replica edition) and early 2003 (jewel-case). It was released on SACD in 2003. In 2005, Virgin released another reissue of the album: a DVD-Audio version (actually, the disc bears a DVD-Audio/Video logo), which is notable for being a completely remixed album. All the tracks were remixed in 5.1 surround sound, and additionally, a downmixed 2.0 stereo version was created for compatibility with non-surround DVD-Audio set-ups. The tracks on the remixed album differ in length in comparison to the original version. In most cases, they are longer than in the original mix. All the tracks on the remixed album contain material that has frequencies above the CD-Audio cut-off frequency, reaching beyond 30 kHz (a tribute to the original analogue multi-track tapes, and to the producers). In 2012, the original 8-track album was included in the box set ''5 Album Set'', which also included four other Simple Minds albums: '' Sons and Fascination'', '' New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)'', '' Sparkle in the Rain'' and ''
Street Fighting Years ''Street Fighting Years'' is the eighth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in May 1989 by record label Virgin Records worldwide apart from the US, where it was released by A&M. Produced by Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson ...
''. On 4 December 2015, multiple formats of the album were re-issued as Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions, including a Deluxe double CD digipack and a Super Deluxe 5 CD / 1 DVD boxset.


Track listing

;Note *The 'deluxe edition' of ''Once Upon a Time'' consists of disc 1 (''The Original Album'') and disc 2 (''B-Sides and Rarities''). *The 'super deluxe edition' of ''Once Upon a Time'' consists of all 6 discs.


Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. ; Simple Minds *
Jim Kerr James Kerr (born 9 July 1959) is a Scottish musician and lead singer of the rock band Simple Minds. Commercially successful singles released by Simple Minds include " Don't You (Forget About Me)", " Glittering Prize" (1982), " Someone Somewh ...
– lead vocals and backing vocals *
Charlie Burchill Charles Burchill (born 27 November 1959) is a Scottish musician and composer. He is the guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Simple Minds. Style During Simple Minds' early-to-mid-1980s period, Burchill's guitar had a distinctive a ...
– electric guitars * Michael MacNeil – synthesizers, sampler and electric piano *
John Giblin John Giblin (26 February 1952 – 14 May 2023) was a Scottish musician who worked as an acoustic and electric bass player spanning jazz, classical, rock, folk, and avant-garde music. He was a member of Simple Minds from 1985 to 1988, and w ...
– bass *
Mel Gaynor Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, singer and recording artist, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Gaynor has also released a solo album titled ''Come With Me'', released as a digital cop ...
– drums and backing vocals ;Additional personnel *
Robin Clark Robin Clark is an American vocalist known for her work as a vocalist on David Bowie's 1975 album ''Young Americans'' and Simple Minds' 1985 album ''Once Upon a Time''. Clark was born in New York. In 1967, when Clark was 17, she and future s ...
– additional lead vocals and backing vocals * Michael Been – backing vocals *The Simms Brothers – backing vocals *
Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician. History The son of a Pentecostal mi ...
– backing vocals * Sue Hadjopoulos – timbals on "All the Things She Said" ;Technical *
Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...
– producer *
Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born Chiaramonte, January 15, 1953) is an American mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan A ...
– producer *Moira Marquis – engineer *Mark McKenna – engineer *Martin White – assistant engineer *
Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
– mastering *
Mick Haggerty Mick Haggerty is an English graphic designer, illustrator, art director, video director and artist. Haggerty has received four Grammy Award nominations for Best Recording Package for the album Worship and Tribute and in 1980 was jointly awarded, w ...
– artwork *
Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...
– photography


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Singles


Certifications


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Once Upon A Time (Simple Minds Album) 1985 albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Bob Clearmountain Albums produced by Jimmy Iovine Simple Minds albums Virgin Records albums