Once Upon a Time (Simple Minds album)

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Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time cover
Studio album by Simple Minds
Released October 21, 1985
Genre Rock
Length 40:12 (41:16 on the 2005 DVD-Audio)
Label Virgin- V 2364(ROW)
A&M Records(US)
Producer Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain (additionally, Roland Prent on the 2005 DVD-Audio)
Professional reviews
Simple Minds chronology
Sparkle in the Rain
(1984)		 Once Upon a Time
(1985)		 Live in the City of Light
(1987)
Alternate cover
UK cover
UK cover
UK picture disc cover
UK picture disc cover

Once Upon a Time is the eighth album by Simple Minds, released in 1985. Due to the popularity of the Keith Forsey-penned "Don't You (Forget About Me)" on The Breakfast Club soundtrack, interest in Simple Minds was at an all-time high by the time this album came out.

Some say it was to spite the song's success, but the band decided to leave the career-defining cut off the album, and instead let singles like "Alive and Kicking" (UK #7, US #3), "All the Things She Said" (UK #9, US #28), "Sanctify Yourself" (UK #10, US #14), and "Ghost Dancing" (UK #13) speak for themselves. It was a ploy that seemed to pay off as the album topped the UK charts, and peaked on the US charts at number 10.

Virgin reissued the album on a remastered CD in 2002 (cardboard vinyl replica edition) and early 2003 (jewel-case). The remastered edition is noticeably louder in the low-end.

Virgin reissued the album on SACD in 2003.

Contents

[edit] 2005 DVD-Audio version

2005 saw yet another reissue of the album. This time Virgin released 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 listener has a choice of playing the album from the following audio streams:

  • DVD-A 5.1 surround - essentially, a discrete six-channel 24-bit linear PCM stream sampled at 96kHz (this stream may not be compatible with DVD-Video equipment),
  • DTS 5.1 surround - a 24-bit DTS stream sampled at 96kHz (this stream may not be compatible with some DVD-Video equipment),
  • PCM 2.0 stereo - a linear PCM stereo stream (presumably included for compliance with the DVD-Video format).

Although the sleeve describes the 2.0 stereo stream as being a 48kHz 16-bit PCM (which would make the disc compatible with mandatory audio requirements for DVD-Video discs), the stream itself turns out to be a 96kHz 24-bit PCM, thus making the disc unplayable on all the DVD-Video equipment that cannot play 96kHz 24-bit DTS (some older players would only accept a 48kHz format) or is not DVD-Audio compliant (for the 96kHz 24-bit PCM streams). Some DVD-Video players will only play the 2.0 stereo stream, but with distorted sound, and at wrong speed (if taking the 96/24 stream to be 48/16).

The remixed version of the album was mixed and produced by Roland Prent in 96/24 PCM. Apparently, the original production team (Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain) had nothing to do with this version. Still, both receive the producers credit on the disc label itself.

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.

The stereo mix on the new version is noticeably different from the original one, not just in terms of length. Different takes of particular tracks may have been used for their new mixes. The bass seems slightly more prominent, while the drums seem just the opposite. Regrettably, the new stereo mix, despite being presented in a 24-bit format, which technically gives dreater dynamic range than the CD-Audio, appears less dynamic than the old mix issued on the 2002/2003 remastered CD. Aggressive level compression seems to have been applied (especially to the drum tracks), greatly diminishing the pleasure of listening to the new mix. The above criticism is less apparent in the surround mix, where the overall loudness is distributed over more channels.

All the tracks on the remixed album contain material that has frequencies above the CD-Audio cut-off frequency, reaching beyond 30kHz (a tribute to the original analogue multitrack tapes, and to the producers).

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Simple Minds.

LP

  1. "Once Upon a Time" – 5:44
  2. "All the Things She Said" – 4:16
  3. "Ghost Dancing" – 4:46
  4. "Alive and Kicking" – 5:25
  5. "Oh Jungleland" – 5:12
  6. "I Wish You Were Here" – 4:42
  7. "Sanctify Yourself" – 4:57
  8. "Come a Long Way" – 5:09

DVD-Audio

  1. "Once Upon a Time" – 6:19
  2. "All the Things She Said" – 4:22
  3. "Ghost Dancing" – 4:45
  4. "Alive and Kicking" – 5:14
  5. "Oh Jungleland" – 5:24
  6. "I Wish You Were Here" – 4:45
  7. "Sanctify Yourself" – 5:00
  8. "Come a Long Way" – 5:23

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Additional personnel

[edit] Singles

  1. "Alive and Kicking" (20 September 1985 / VS817) - #7 in the UK / #3 in the USA
  2. "Sanctify Yourself" (27 January 1986 / VS830) - #10 in the UK / #14 in the USA
  3. "All the Things She Said" (19 May 1986 / VS860) - #9 in the UK / #28 in the USA
  4. "Ghost Dancing" (10 November 1986 / VS907) - #13 in the UK

[edit] Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1985 The Billboard 200 10

Singles

Year Song Chart Position
1985 "Alive and Kicking" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
1986 "All the Things She Said" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 9
1986 "Sanctify Yourself" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 3

[edit] Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold January 31, 1986

[edit] Miscellanea

  • The alternate cover art for the UK LP was created by simply swapping the artwork on the front and back of the album.
  • A collectable picture disc 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 was produced by Virgin Records to promote the album. This is one of the most sought after Simple Minds collectables.
  • This was the third Simple Minds album in a row not to have the same line-up as its predecessor. Bass player Derek Forbes had left after recording the preceding 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' single.
  • This is the only Simple Minds studio album to have John Giblin (bass) credited as a full-time member. It is also the first Simple Minds album on which the bass seems to play a fairly unimportant role (when compared to, for example, 'New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)'.
  • On the 2002/2003 edition, the track "Oh Jungleland" has its beginning cut by less than a second, while the opening (title) track starts playing (1 second) after its starting index, not before it, as was the case on the original Virgin CD (CDV 2354), due to a presumed mastering error.
  • The 2005 DVD-Audio version of the album has many of the percussion parts dropped from the mix (compare, for example, the tracks 'Once Upon A Time' and 'All The Things She Said' between any of the DVD-Audio mixes and the 1985 original mix)
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