Life in a Day (album)

Life in a Day
Studio album by Simple Minds
Released 1 April 1979 (1979-04-01)
Recorded December 1978–January 1979, Rolling Stones Mobile, Abbey Road, Townhouse
Genre Post-punk
Length 43:10
Label Zoom
Producer John Leckie
Simple Minds chronology
Life in a Day
(1979)		 Real to Real Cacophony
(1979)
Simple Minds studio albums chronology
Life in a Day
(1979)		 Real to Real Cacophony
(1979)
Singles from Life in a Day
  1. "Life in a Day"
    Released: 20 April 1979
  2. "Chelsea Girl"
    Released: 29 June 1979
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Martin C. Strong(7/10)[2]
NME(favourable)[3]
Smash Hits8/10[4]

Life in a Day is the debut album by Simple Minds, released in 1979. It reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart.[5] The title track and "Chelsea Girl" were issued as singles.

History

The band's first album, Life in a Day, was produced by John Leckie and released by Arista on 5 May 1979 in the UK, spending six weeks in the UK LP charts and reaching number 30.[6] The title track was released on 12 May as Simple Minds' first single and reached No. 62 in the UK Gallup charts, spending two weeks there.[6] However, the next single ("Chelsea Girl") failed to chart at all. A tribute to Nico and the Andy Warhol film Chelsea Girls, it was a popular live song for the band.[7]

Reception

Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album the lowliest of Simple Minds' first five album releases, remarking on its derivativeness from Magazine and Roxy Music, and ranked "Someone" as the best and "Pleasantly Disturbed" as the worst track.[7] NME's Tony Stewart praised the lyrics and arrangements despite noting the overt influences of 1970s music, and rated "Murder Story" the standout track. Although noting the album as overproduced and undermining the band's sound, he rated the album favourably.[3]

In a 2012 interview, the band's frontman Jim Kerr has expressed regret that the album's production had resulted in the tracks lacking "a real spark" that was part of their live performances, and described his feelings about the album as "bittersweet".[8] He recalled at the time, " as we were about to drive up to Scotland, someone gave me a cassette of Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division... and I thought, we've completely blown it."—ruing that their live material had sounded more like Velvet Underground and less like the Boomtown Rats.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Jim Kerr, all music composed by Charles Burchill and Jim Kerr.

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Someone"   3:42
2. "Life in a Day"   4:05
3. "Sad Affair"   2:45
4. "All for You"   2:51
5. "Pleasantly Disturbed"   7:59
Side B
No. Title Length
6. "No Cure"   3:34
7. "Chelsea Girl"   4:34
8. "Wasteland"   3:45
9. "Destiny"   3:38
10. "Murder Story"   6:17
Total length:
 43:10

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Simple Minds: Life in a Day > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  2. ↑ The Essential Rock Discography - Volume 1: 970. 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 1 2 Stewart, Tony (21 April 1979). "Secondhand Simplicity (Life in a Day)". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Starr, Red (17–31 May 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits: 25.
  5. ↑ "A Life In A Day". ChartStats.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  6. 1 2 Simple Minds. OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 Thompson, Deve. "Chelsea Girl " Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Hogwood, Ben (2012). "Interview: Simple Minds". Music OMH. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Stubbs, David (21 February 2012). "A Glittering Prize - Jim Kerr Of Simple Minds Interviewed". A Quietus Interview. Quietus. Retrieved 31 January 2013.

External links

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