TROUBLE - Simple Mind Condition LP HRR 102, gatefold cover, lyric sheet, 150 x blue vinyl, 300 x colour in colour blue/ silver + 300 x black vinyl Eric Wagner - vocals Bruce Franklin - guitar Rick Wartell - guitar Chuck Robinson - bass Jeff Olson - drums -Goin' Home -Mindbender -Seven -Pictures of Life -After the Rain -Trouble Maker -Arthur Brown's Whiskey Bar -Simple Mind Condition -Ride the Sky (Lucifer's Friend Cover) -If I Only Had a Reason -The Beginning of Sorrows SOLD OUT!

For the follow-up album to "Plastic Green Head" Trouble fans had to wait for more than a decade. I can't judge what kind of company Bullet Proof was (an offshoot of the German Intercord label I reckon) but one thing is for sure: They raised the status of Trouble in Europe. Trouble guitarist Bruce Franklin reflects: "I really don't know. We are an American band and at the time Europe was the secondary market to us. I think at that time we had never been bigger in Europe. So Bullet Proof must have helped to some degree." As mentioned, it took twelve long years for "Simple Mind Condition" to see the light of day. It was originally released only on CD in 2007 (via Escapi Music). Guitarist Bruce Franklin explains what had happened after "Plastic Green Head": "Trouble called it quits in 1996 just a few months after 'Plastic Green Head' was released in the U.S.There were too many problems and some of us really needed to do other recording projects to enjoy music again." The mid-90's were a difficult for Metal bands in general. Grunge was all the rage. Bruce Franklin: "The mid-90's weren't good in America. Grunge had taken over and Metal had become out of style. Europe is different. New fads aren't as important. If people like a band, they continue to support them in Europe." However, Bruce Franklin does dig a few Grunge bands: "I do like Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, but don't really like any other so called Grunge bands. The music to 'Going Home', 'Pictures Of Life', 'Simple Mind Condition' and 'If I Only Had a Reason' were all written before the 'Plastic Green Head' album in '92 and '93." Which means Trouble had influenced the Grunge movement (if it could be called that) and not the other way round! As mentioned earlier, there was a gap of twelve long years between "Plastic Green Head" and "Simple Mind Condition", so how would Bruce compare the two albums? "I think most of us in the band prefer 'Simple Mind Condition' over 'Plastic Green Head '. That includes Eric", is his honest answer. For some fans, "Simple Mind Condition" was the hardest Trouble album to get into. Bruce Franklin, however, begs to differ: "No, I wouldn't agree at all. I think 'Run To The Light' is by far the hardest album to get into and judging by record sales the fans agree. I think 'Simple Mind Condition' is either our third or fourth best record, depending on what style you like more." It might come as a surprise that "Plastic Green Head" did include two cover versions and "Simple Mind Condition" one. Three cover tunes on the last two studio album. Is there a specific reason behind this strategy? Bruce Franklin does not think so: "The covers for 'Plastic Green Head' were 'The Porpoise Song', a psychedelic 60' song by The Monkees, and 'Tomorrow Never Knows', a psychedelic 60's song by The Beatles.The cover song on 'Simple Mind Condition' was 'Ride The Sky' which was a heavy proto Metal early 70's song by Lucifer's Friend." Matthias Mader