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OK, next up we have something rather different - the first solo album by the frontman of Simple Minds, Jim Kerr. I must admit I wasn't at all keen when this project kicked off. The album starts with the first single, "Refugee". At the time of writing there is a free mp3 of this track on Jim's site as part of the "Free Download Twin Pack - Welcome Gift" at: http://www.lostboyaka.com/found/index.php . The other featured free mp3 is a very good cover of the Velvet Underground number "What Goes On" which is not on the album. However, I've always felt that "Refugee" was a very weak track - in fact, I found it quite annoying! I do know other people who love this track though... Perhaps because of this, I have only just got around to buying the album. I was surprised how good it is, although it does sound a lot like recent Simple Minds. The producer also had a hand in the last couple of Simple Minds albums: "Black And White 050505" and "Graffiti Soul", which may account for this.
There are some very strong cuts on the album. My favourites are "The Wait", "She Fell In Love With Silence" (a rather better single) and "Remember Asia". Another track "Red Letter Day" reminds me of early solo John Foxx stuff, with its insistent synth hook.
There are several editions of this album. I have the standard jewel-cased one, but there is also a collectors edition with three extra tracks, a version with a red vinyl 7" featuring "What Goes On", and an LP. My advice would be to shop around as the prices do seem to vary wildly. The album is released via Edel.
I think this album promises greater things for the future. Jim's site now has a third free mp3 - a completely new track "Kill or Cure" which is amazingly good. It reminds me of Adamski/Seal collaboration "Killer". With talk of a greater pool of co-writers and Simon Hayward's involvement, the next Lostboy album could be very special indeed.
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