I feel as if I have had a lot of time to reflect on the past 12 months. It’s been time for reflection, particularly in my relationship to being a Simple Minds fan.
Recently I uncovered a copy of a letter I had sent to Jim dating back from the end of 2016. There was a theme running through it. Namely, that I felt I had ‘found’ myself. I gave Jim the brief background of my life up to that point. Brevity was easy because in the near 53 years I have been on this planet…there hasn’t been a lot going on!
I spoke of the bullies that I blamed (in part) for my near entirely useless life and thanked him for helping me to “find my wings”. Wings that have subsequently gone through a bit of trim of late.
I couldn’t help but think of ‘First You Jump’. This letter was from 2016, after all. The first time I heard the song when it was released as a single off the album, it immediately made an impact on me. I played it over and over and over. As much as I enjoyed ‘Act Of Love’ – the old song that was a new song because it wasn’t completely an old song (though I bloody hated the bv’s and I’m not a big fan of the synths on it), and ‘Vision Thing’ – and all that it conjured up…the desire to find that “thing” – a life’s vision, focus, drive, ambition. ENDURANCE. It was ‘First You Jump’ that was seeing me through. Reinforcing that, at this late stage in one’s life, it isn’t too late.
Except it is. I’m 53 (bar 11 days) and my measure of success is… taking up resources in quite a stunning fashion and having very little to show for it.
So, what else have I learned in the year that has passed since Simple Minds released ‘Direction Of The Heart’? Firstly, it hasn’t got any easier to listen to. I think I’ve managed a total sum of two album rotations since November 3rd, 2022.
‘Planet Zero’ is a definite grower. (Grower! Not growler…you need glasses if you saw it like that! Lol.) I still love the “only, only, only, only” section of ‘Human Traffic’ – and still can’t fathom why when it came out as a single it was called just ‘Traffic’.
I think I have come to the conclusion that the one song I can’t warm to at all is ‘Who Killed Truth?’ Nup. It just grates on me.
‘Solstice Kiss’ is probably my second favourite track on the album. Again, it stems from my ridiculous wish of there being some personal connection to the song. My dreams of wanting conversation with Jim and having actual sleep dreams in which my dwam was filled with scenes of me meeting Jim and having a conversation with him that was longer than a “Hi, did you get to have a look around Paris?” stand there .snap.snap. “Bye.”
‘Natural’ I would place above ‘Who Killed Truth?’ on my list, but by how much? Perhaps above ‘Direction Of The Heart’ itself. ‘Wondertimes’ was another song that I felt a more immediate affiliation with. I know ‘The Walls Came Down’ pissed a bunch of fans off like “Why do you insist on doing a cover?”, ya da ya da. Pffft! It’s in the best held tradition of popular music. Cover songs have always been and always will be. I like it. I like it more than ‘Let The Day Begin’ in all honesty.
Almost 365 days down the line: this is my tracklisting. From least favourite song, to favourite song (in descending order):
Who Killed Truth?
Direction Of The Heart
Natural
Act Of Love
The Walls Came Down
Wondertimes
Vision Thing
Planet Zero
Human Traffic
Solstice Kiss
First You Jump
Unlike Big Music and Walk Between Worlds before it, Direction Of The Heart, for me, really is not a Simple Minds album I have come back to again and again. With that said, I don’t know when the last time I listened to either Walk Between Worlds or Big Music was. But I can sure as hell tell you that I have listened to Sons And Fascination, Sister Feelings Call, Empires and Dance and, New Gold Dream within the last 6 months – at least once each.
Personal tastes? Better music? My hang-up with Jim as a 22/23 year old? Who knows!
All that aside – Happy Anniversary, Direction Of The Heart!