Forget "Don't Forget about Me", skip the corny, boisterous "Mandela Day" of the late eighties... if you really want to know what Simple Minds are all about, slide "Sparkle in the Rain" in your CD player and you will know at once. Released after the critically and commercially acclaimed "New Gold Dream", this album catches the group at the height of its might. Jim Kerr's energetic singing, combined with the soaring guitar work of Charlie Burchill and impressive, thunderous drum work, excelling in tracks such as "Waterfront", "Upon the Catwalk" or "Speed your Love to Me", this is the closest the Minds ever got to their Irish brothers in arms and eternal rivals U2. The lyrics on this album are more straightforward than on its predecessor, more personal, but the music still carries some traces of the mystifying experience that was "New Gold Dream". Though less impressive than the breathtaking A side, the B side of the album sports a nice cover of Lou Reed's "Street Hassle", enhanced with choir chants (a technique which would be further explored on the rather pompous "Once upon a Time"). Score: 9 out of 10