Mick MacNeil – reissue People – Places – Things

Along with an advance track from a brand new album, Mick MacNeil is releasing a reissue of his 1999 solo album People – Places – Things. As he himself says: “The album was released in 1999 and features 27 tracks. It is very difficult to get hold of a copy of this and many fans have asked us if it could be reissued.”

The double album consists of two parts: By night and By day. In the artwork Mick MacNeil writes:

“I am pleased to present to you this compilation of ideas taken from a collection I started with ‘Berlin Blitz’ in January 1990.

Day and Night was the simplest way of separating the various styles of music.

Some of the tracks were commissioned for specific projects but were all inspired by experiences … images, feelings, and moods.

People, Places, and Things'”

By Night begins with PPT and, looking back, is very similar in atmosphere to the Real Life period (1999). Ben-ami shows where Simple Minds could have gone if they had welcomed Mick MacNeil back. The way he plays: it’s vintage Mick MacNeil. It’s strange to hear this music again more than 25 years later. I only ordered it from Mick MacNeil himself in 2016; before that, I had no idea it existed – sorry! Digi-doo clearly shows the influence of Steve Hillage – who happens to be the producer of Mick MacNeil’s new album (to be released sometime early next year). That sounds promising. Digi-doo is an exciting piece of music that sounds timeless. Skye sounds fantastic – there is so much variety in the songs. It’s not always clear to me who is playing alongside Mick. In Skye you can hear a guitar, but who is playing it? It doesn’t matter. The accordion weaves itself into the keyboards. Why on earth did I never pick up on this in 1999? Too busy in another life, apparently. It doesn’t feel dated at all.

Dawn is wonderfully recorded. The music fills your room as if you were sitting in the studio, even without headphones. Mick MacNeil himself seems to have found peace and happiness in his later years, as evidenced by the family photo in the artwork. Footsteps of our ancestors is a very cinematic song, dark and mysterious. If it had been released in 2025, it could have been the soundtrack to any suitable film – amazing. Joyride – another gem, albeit far too short. An orchestra opens up – only Mick MacNeil can do this. Need Someone transports us to a smoky jazz club atmosphere. What do you mean, variety? The Paris Accordion (link to listen) takes us to, of course, Paris.

Memories is reminiscent of a Simple Minds song, but which one? Is it an adaptation or a further development? Emotion is the feeling that comes to mind here. The emotion that departed from Simple Minds. You can be reminded of that very strongly – and Memories does just that. Psalm OB/X would, indeed, sound beautiful in a church. M-X-M – does this stand for 1990 and the feeling Mick had that year – when he left Simple Minds? Or is this too much interpretation on my part? It exudes a calm and space that makes the listener feel peaceful. Here again, the beautiful “interplay” of keyboards and accordion. Don’t forget: Mick MacNeil is so devilishly good on the keys because he gained his “finger dexterity” from playing the accordion. Just listen to his skills on New Gold Dream.

Interlude also sounds like part of a Simple Minds song, but again: which song is that, damn it? It radiates an enormous sense of calm, and you can only be glad that he rediscovered it in the late nineties. The last century—it seems so long ago now. Main Beach is almost classical. The song opens grandly. A cautious conclusion from By Night is that Footsteps of Our Ancestors is the prize song. But the other songs are also a surprise – because of the enormous variety. And, again, no song sounds dated. Timeless music. On to the day…

By Day starts off intensely with Genny, as if we’ve arrived at the Electric Light Orchestra of the 1970s. Amazing! It’s incredible what Mick pulls out of the closet here. The atmosphere: totally different, but captivating every second. You wonder again – just for a moment – where Simple Minds would have gone in the nineties if Mick had stayed in the band. But hey, that’s how it goes: he probably would never have been allowed to go “full throttle,” and that’s how Peoples. Places. Things also sounds like a candy box where he could do his own thing. Festival sounds like a complete band – it’s great that P.P.T. is being re-released. If it hasn’t been overlooked by many, it has certainly been underrated – by many. Party Boyz is a delightful march with soul. A Simple Minds song that was never to be. Somewhere between a demo and a distant memory of an existing song. Exciting.

Berlin Blitz is great in its exciting bridge between keyboards and a driving bass. Is this a song – written in January 1990 – that was intended for Real Life? Or something he wrote himself and unconsciously formed the basis for Peoples. Places. Things? What a song. What grandeur. You said the soul of Simple Minds? Here it is. In person. Sovereign. The Alpine accordion has something of, yes, of what… Simple Minds – a demo of Sparkle in the Rain? A brass band in African chimes? Help me out here, Mick MacNeil.

Walk on Fire seems to take you back to the experimental keyboard playing of Simple Minds’ early albums. The way it’s played. It’s great how a saxophone is added here. For the last time: rarely have I heard such a varied double album, from any artist. It surprises you, it’s mysterious, exhilarating. Red Square is a dramatic-sounding piece that could easily be used in a documentary or film. Shuggy—what does that mean?—could be a demo for a Simple Minds song. There is and remains plenty for Simple Minds fans to discover on Peoples. Places. Things. The keyboard playing combined with the drums give it a demo feel. May I remind you that demos are not inferior to a final product? I recall the demos of Sparkle in the Rain (1984). Every true Simple Minds fan wonders what that album would have been like if Steve Lillywhite hadn’t interfered. I’m not saying it would have been better, but perhaps more exciting, with Mick in the lead role.

Glencoe is a very short song that ends before you get into it. Trancedance is a march through the Highlands. I’ve heard it before, on YouTube. Great. NRG is exciting again because it’s totally different from the rest, with a nervous, rousing guitar and exotic vocals and rhythm. You can feel the sand between your toes. Route 77—how do you get this sound out of keyboards—is completely different again. A meandering bass takes us to a film we don’t know and have never seen. It’s a bit experimental—Steely Dan-esque. Surprising. My Town concludes By Day and is another earworm. Very few artists are a band unto themselves. Mick MacNeil is one of them.

I don’t need to explain here that Mick MacNeil had and still has a lot to offer. To say that Peoples. Places. Things still surprises us after more than 25 years and is an indispensable link in his life and our music collection is an understatement.

It comes highly recommended.

I’ll leave the superlatives to the listener.