Real to Real Cacophony

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 ("Premonition", "Factory", "Calling Your Name" and "Changeling"), the rest of the album was written in the studio.[3]

Real to Real Cacophony did not chart, nor did its only single, "Changeling".

The 2002/2003 reissues 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.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[4]
Smash Hits	8/10[5]

Real to Real Cacophony has been generally well received by critics. In Sounds, John Gill wrote: "Real to Real Cacophony shows a considerable – and brave – progression. It captures some of the shock-effects of the avant-garde, some of the emotional power of outfits like the Pop Group, yet still retains the best of the Minds tight and trebly riffing. File under impressive."[6] Eric Chappe of CMJ New Music Monthly highlighted Simple Minds' "determination to constantly add unexpected touches to the arrangements".[7]

Retrospectively, Andy Kellman of AllMusic praised Real to Real Cacophony, saying that it marked the point "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", and calling it "an achievement that's on a plane with other 1979 post-punk landmarks like Metal Box, 154, Entertainment! and Unknown Pleasures".[1] Bob Stanley wrote in Record Collector that the album "should be hailed as a singularly strong post-punk-into-synth-pop bridge but the shadow of 'Belfast Child' looms over their legacy."[8] Trouser Press was more lukewarm, remarking that the album "lives up (or down) to the clever title".[9]

All lyrics are written by Jim Kerr; all music is composed by Simple Minds (Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Derek Forbes, Brian McGee, Mick MacNeil).

Simple Minds

• Jim Kerr – vocals
• Charles Burchill – guitar, violin, saxophone
• Derek Forbes – bass guitar
• Brian McGee – drums, percussion
• Michael MacNeil – keyboards

Technical

• John Leckie – arrangements, recording, mixing
• Graphyk – sleeve graphics
• Sheila Rock – sleeve photography
• Trevor Rodgers – sleeve photography
• Paul Henry – sleeve packaging
• Mariella Sometimes – tape operation

• Real to Real Cacophony at Discogs (list of releases)