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.

Good News from the Next World
Studio album by Simple Minds
Released	30 January 1995
Recorded	1993–1994
Studio	Bonnie Wee (Scotland) Windmill Lane (Dublin, Ireland) Conway, Westlake & Track Records (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Pop rock rock
Length	48:20[1]
Label	Virgin
Producer	Simple Minds Keith Forsey
Simple Minds chronology
Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992) Good News from the Next World (1995) The Promised (1997)
Simple Minds studio albums chronology
Real Life (1991) Good News from the Next World (1995) Néapolis (1998)
Singles from Good News from the Next World
"She's a River" Released: 11 January 1995[2] "Hypnotised" Released: 27 March 1995[3]

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.^[4] 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.

In some markets the album performed somewhat better than their previous record, Real Life (1991), but it quickly faded from public attention, producing only two moderately successful hit singles.^[5]

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" (number 9) and "Hypnotised" (number 18).

• "She's a River", inspired by Hermann Hesse's novel Siddhartha,^[6] was also a commercial success worldwide, reaching number 3 in Canada, number 6 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart (now the Mainstream Rock 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.^[7]

• "Hypnotised" was less successful globally, though it charted in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Italy.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Canoe.ca	[9]
Q	[10]

Good News from the Next World received favourable reviews among critics in the United States.^[11][12] 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."^[13] 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.^[10] Good News from the Next World also received a favourable review from Time Out,^[14] while Vox gave an unfavourable review.^[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"She's a River"	5:32
2.	"Night Music"	5:24
3.	"Hypnotised"	5:53
4.	"Great Leap Forward"	5:56
5.	"7 Deadly Sins"	5:11
6.	"And the Band Played On"	5:32
7.	"My Life"	5:16
8.	"Criminal World"	5:03
9.	"This Time"	4:58

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Celtic Strings"	5:15

Personnel

Simple Minds Jim Kerr – vocals Charlie Burchill – guitar, keyboards Additional musicians 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

Technical 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

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Good News from the Next World Chart (1995) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 20 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 21 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 11 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] 37 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 5 European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)[22] 2 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[23] 10 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 4 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 8 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 5 Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 2 US Billboard 200[31] 87

Year-end charts 1995 year-end chart performance for Good News from the Next World Chart (1995) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 47 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 46 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 19 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[35] 84 European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)[22] 22 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[36] 41 Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 94 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 22 UK Albums (OCC)[39] 81

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Good News from the Next World

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA)[40]	Gold	25,000*
France (SNEP)[41]	Gold	100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[42]	Gold	250,000^
Italy	—	150,000[43]
Norway (IFPI Norway)[44]	Gold	25,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[45]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46]	Gold	100,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.