Graffiti Soul


Graffiti Soul is the fifteenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 25 May 2009.
On 31 May 2009, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 10, becoming Simple Minds' first UK top ten album in 14 years, since the release of their 1995 album Good News from the Next World.
In early April 2009, the video for the single 'Rockets' was made available via the band's official website.

Overview

Graffiti Soul was released on 25 May 2009 and continued Simple Minds return to the top, charting at #10.
During the recording of Graffiti Soul, Jim Kerr stated: «We really are flowing with ideas at the moment and I do feel that we are possibly writing two albums simultaneously at present.» Several tracks were omitted from Graffiti Soul so that the album had more focus. Possible candidates include "Six Degrees Of Separation", "Lotus Effect" and "Shaman".
At the time of the album release, Charlie Burchill stated about the new album: «We would create ideas and work on those ideas for hours. That's the way we worked upon Graffiti Soul's tracks; we worked upon ideas and just let them evolve over long periods of time.»

Recording

An e-mail announcement by Simple Minds stated that Graffiti Soul was initially written on location in Rome, Sicily, Antwerp and Glasgow. The band then returned for the first time in almost three decades to Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales, where the group originally recorded their earlier albums Real to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance and New Gold Dream. The album was mixed in Los Angeles by Bob Clearmountain.

Release

Graffiti Soul is also available as a Vinyl LP and a 2-CD Deluxe edition, both including a second album called Searching for the Lost Boys, actually a covers studio album made up of cover songs of Neil Young, Massive Attack, Magazine, The Stranglers, Thin Lizzy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Call and The Beach Boys.

Track listing

Standard edition

Deluxe Edition – Bonus tracks

Vinyl LP / 2-CD Deluxe Editions – Bonus album ''Searching for the Lost Boys''

Personnel

At least, four other tracks, "Six Degrees Of Separation", "Lotus Effect", "Shaman" and "Angel Under My Skin" were demoed for Graffiti Soul. Originally written by Mark Kerr and Erikah Karst during the Cry period, "Angel Under My Skin" was previously worked on for Black & White 050505 before the song was finally recorded and released as a Deluxe edition bonus track on Walk Between Worlds.

Live performances

Many of the songs have been played live: