Good News from the Next World
Good News from the Next World is the tenth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released in January 1995 by record label Virgin. The album's recording started in the band's own studio in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1993, and finished in Los Angeles, US, in summer 1994. The two original band members – singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill – wrote all nine tracks on the album. They were joined by a number of guest musicians for recording sessions. Keith Forsey, who had previously worked with Simple Minds on their breakout single "Don't You (Forget About Me)", shares producing credits with the band.
The lead single from the album, "She's a River", was released in January 1995 to international commercial success, and the album, in some markets, performed somewhat better than their previous record, Real Life, but it quickly faded from public attention, producing only two moderately successful hit singles.
Commercial performance
The album garnered moderate commercial success. In the UK, it reached number 2 and produced two UK top 20 hits: "She's a River" and "Hypnotised".- "She's a River", inspired by Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha, was also a commercial success worldwide, reaching number 3 in Canada, number 6 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was their first hit in the United States since "See the Lights" in 1991.
- "Hypnotised" was less successful globally, though it charted in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Italy.
Critical reception
Good News from the Next World received favourable reviews among critics in the United States. In the UK, it received mixed reviews. John Harris wrote in Melody Maker that the album "approximates the noise that would be made if the entire contents of a music shop were strapped to an Empire transport ship from Star Wars", adding "for all its cod-Wagnerian vastness, there are no tunes." A positive review appeared in Q magazine: "Good News From The Next World is as good as they'll ever get. It's a scream, in the best possible sense", John Aizlewood wrote. Good News from the Next World also received a favourable review from Time Out, while Vox gave an unfavourable review.Personnel
Simple Minds- Jim Kerr – vocals
- Charlie Burchill – guitar, keyboards
- Mark Browne – bass
- Malcolm Foster – bass
- Marcus Miller – bass
- Lance Morrison – bass
- Mark Schulman – drums
- Tal Bergman – drums
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Stefani Spruill – backing vocals
- Pat Hodges – backing vocals
- Maxann Lewis – backing vocals
- Julia Walters – backing vocals
- Keith Forsey – producer
- Simple Minds – producer
- Brian Reeves – recording
- Tom Lord Alge – mixing
- Chris Fogel – assistant engineer
- Sean O'Dwyer – assistant engineer
- Rob Kirwan – assistant engineer
- Gil Morales – assistant engineer
- Kenny Polakovich – assistant engineer
- Doug Cowan – technical direction
- Tony Donald – equipment
- Clive Banks for CBL – worldwide representation
- Alan McBlane – coordination
- Stylorouge – art direction and design
- David Scheinmann – band photography
- Rob O'Conner – textural photography
- Stuar MacKenzie – textural photography