Real to Real Cacophony


Real to Real Cacophony is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds. It was released in November 1979, through record labels Zoom and Arista.

Recording

Real to Real Cacophony was recorded and mixed in five weeks at Rockfield Studios. According to producer John Leckie the band had only four songs, the rest of the album was written in the studio.

Release and reception

Real to Real Cacophony did not chart, nor did its only single, "Changeling".
The 2002/2003 re-issues by Virgin Records incorrectly render the album's title as Reel to Real Cacophony, and the opening track as "Reel to Real". The new spelling also appears in the discography section of all the inlays in the 2002/2003 Simple Minds remastered edition series. Subsequent editions render the title of both the album and track correctly.
Real to Real Cacophony has been generally well received by critics. AllMusic praised the album, describing it as "where Simple Minds ventured beyond the ability to mimic their influences and began to manipulate them, mercilessly pushing them around and shaping them into funny objects the way a child transforms a chunk of Play-Doh from an indefinable chunk of nothing into a definable chunk of something", calling it "an achievement that's on a plane with other 1979 post-punk landmarks like Metal Box, 154, Entertainment! and Unknown Pleasures". Bob Stanley wrote in Record Collector: "Real To Real Cacophony should be hailed as a singularly strong post-punk-into-synth-pop bridge but the shadow of 'Belfast Child' looms over their legacy."

Track listing

Personnel

Simple Minds
Technical