With the pairing of "Sons And Fascination" and "Sister Feelings Call" in 1981, success began to smile on Simple Minds. The singles 'Love Song' from the former and 'The American' from the latter made it to the charts in various countries. The tour in Australia with Icehouse was a triumph. However, the Scottish quintet had to face its first line-up change with the departure of drummer Brian McGee. His replacement, Kenny Hyslop, will only make a lightning passage, just the time to record 'Promised You A Miracle', title inspired by the enthusiasm generated by the famous tour in the antipodes. While Mike Ogletree enters the studio for the recording sessions of the new opus, his style does not convince his colleagues with whom he finally participates to three tracks before being replaced by a certain Mel Gaynor.
If the identity of Simple Minds is still recognizable in this "New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)", the experimental cold wave of the beginnings fades away behind a more accessible and commercial new wave. The first two singles ('Promised You A Miracle' and 'Glittering Prize') integrate pop/rock elements giving them a positive energy that is confirmed by hyper catchy choruses. The success will be there on the airwaves for these two tracks that fit perfectly with the overall quality of an opus that links the tracks as for a necklace of finely cut gems.
Between the bewitching 'Someone Somewhere In Summertime', rich and melancholic, and the dark and just as captivating 'King Is White And In The Crowd' which closes the set on nearly seven minutes, the Scots make us travel through landscapes mostly aerial and melancholic but never sinking into depression. The hazy atmosphere of 'Big Sleep', the soaring instrumental 'Somebody Up There Likes You' and the catchy eponymous track with its gradual rise in intensity represent the heart of an opus that never loosens its gentle embrace. We will also note a guest of mark in the person of Herbie Hancock who offers a jazzy solo on the subtle and experimental 'Hunter And The Hunted'. In the middle of the layers and ritornellos concocted by Michael MacNeil's keyboards, Jim Kerr is a real master of ceremony captivating the attention of the listener while Charlie Burchill distils with precision the luminous interventions and Derek Forbes offers beautiful dynamic bass lines.
It is thus the first faultless album of the Glasgow quintet which clearly marks its territory. The commercial success will be equal to the critics' one and will allow Simple Minds to change dimension. "New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)" is at the same time an essential of the discography of the group, but also of the new wave, and even of the pop/rock in general. The following will prove that Jim Kerr and his band will be regularly able to renew themselves without betraying themselves, to the point of succeeding in crossing the decades and to obtain the status of cult formation.