Life in a Day (album)

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Life in a Day
Simple Minds - Life In A Day-front.jpg
Studio album by
Simple Minds
Released1 April 1979 (1979-04-01)
RecordedDecember 1978 – January 1979
Studio
Genre
Length43:10
LabelZoom
ProducerJohn Leckie
Simple Minds 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

Life in a Day is the debut album by Simple Minds, released in April 1979 by record label Zoom.

It reached number 30 in the UK Albums Chart. The title track and "Chelsea Girl" were issued as singles.

Release and reception[]

Life in a Day spent six weeks in the UK LP charts and reached number 30 on 5 May 1979.[1] The title track was released on 12 May as Simple Minds' first single and reached No. 62 in the UK charts, spending two weeks there.[1] 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.[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2.5/5 stars[3]
Martin C. Strong7/10[4]
NMEfavourable[5]
Smash Hits8/10[6]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic rated the album the lowest of Simple Minds' first five album releases, remarking on its derivativeness of Magazine and Roxy Music and ranking "Someone" as the best 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.[5]

In a 2012 interview, the band's frontman Jim Kerr 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 are written by Jim Kerr; all music is composed by Charles Burchill and Jim Kerr.

Side A
No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
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[]

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]

Simple Minds
Technical

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Life in a Day. OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved on 5 April 2021
  2. ^ Thompson, Deve. "Chelsea Girl " Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  3. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Simple Minds: Life in a Day > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Life in a Day". The Essential Rock Discography – Volume 1: 970. 2006.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Stewart, Tony (21 April 1979). "Secondhand Simplicity (Life in a Day)". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  6. ^ Starr, Red (17–31 May 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits: 25.
  7. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Life in a Day " Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  8. ^ Hogwood, Ben (2012). "Interview: Simple Minds". Music OMH. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. 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.
  10. ^ "Simple Minds official website - Studio albums: Life in a Day". simpleminds.com. Retrieved 21 April 2021.

External links[]

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