Soul Mining is one of those albums I really should have got around to buying back in the early 80s. I finally did get to own a copy on CD a couple of years ago. As ever with my ever-growing pile of CDs, I’ve yet to play it.
It’s also one of those albums that already feels familiar. The tracks were pretty much the soundtrack to me growing up. You heard them nonstop on the radio and also whilst out and about at the youth clubs. This Is the Day is the perfect pop song from the period and brings back incredibly strong memories of early teenage years in 1983.
What’s telling about this album is that many of the issues addressed are still relevant 40+ years later: social isolation, economic breakdown, and a general feeling of despair, yet with some personal hope always being there to see you through.
A very decent debut.
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