I was introduced to this album when I was around 4 years old. My recently divorced dad would play this album pretty much every morning I would go to visit him. I made no connection to music back then, but I remember singing "This is the Day" with him and always enjoyed counting off the opening track "I've Been Waitin for Tomorrow (All of my Life)" with the song. But the music always played in the background while I would go about my child-like ways. My dad was in love with the album so it was on constant repeat.

Over the years I would rarely hear it until I was about 12 or so when it came up and I realized I had completely forgotten about it. A wave of nostalgia came over me and I listened to it constantly. As strange as it sounds, I came to a realization that this music had clicked into me over the years. The lyrics, though I did not understand them at all when I was that young, rang true to my life perfectly. The music defines who I am. They reflect and bring out my emotions and defined all my music appreciation to this day.

To summarize, Soul Mining is a masterpiece. And while many others will never see it on the same level I have, I have seen similar feelings from other reviewers on this site. From the crushing birth of "I've Been Waitin' for Tomorrow", the beautiful sentimentality of "This is the Day", the philosophical reflection in "The Sinking Feeling", the beautiful love story in "Uncertain Smile", the counterbalanced hardships of love in "The Twilight Hour", "Soul Mining", the title track of the album that says it all, and the grand finale of "GIANT", symbolizing death and sorrow in a monumental way that gives me chills everytime I listen to it, all wrapped up wonderfully in the epilogue of "Perfect", which is a great reflection of it all.

From rediscovering this album at 12, to now at 19, this album continues to remain my all-time favorite album by my all-time favorite band. All of The The's other work is just as beautiful and amazing, and all reflects my life equally, but this one is the definitive that has truly mined my soul like no other.

Launched in 1983, this album is a perfect bookend along with the later The The album "Dusk" (1993). It is a brilliant and seminal work that grabs a hold of you when you are young doesn't let go, even though decades may pass. Soulful pop at its finest, with a touch of lounge dance beat thrown in. Share it with your kids when they are old enough to appreciate it.

I just finished listening to Soul Mining for at least the thousandth time and I knew that I finally had to write my first Amazon review. Soul Mining is definitely on my top five albums list, and I am generally pretty reluctant to list favorites (just too hard to choose). This album hits home every time I listen. I probably have no business writing a review, because I don't know enough about music to be able to explain how it is that this music is so great. The fact is that I enjoy this album so much that I feel compelled to add my voice in its praise. One word that applies to Soul Mining is atmospheric. It also feels timeless. Soul Mining feels as fresh to me now as it did in the 80s when I heard Uncertain Smile for the first time. A friend gave me a mixed tape and I rewound and fast forwarded constantly to get back to Uncertain Smile. When I learned where Uncertain Smile came from, I went out and bought the album. It has been on my "regularly listen to" list ever since. I love the whole album, but I have my favorite tracks: This is the Day, Uncertain Smile, The Twilight Hour, Soul Mining and Perfect. So, if you are thinking of checking this album out, go for it. You won't regret it.

I can't remember how this album came into my collection, but I do remember the first time I listened to it. There are just a few albums that have had a similar jaw dropping effect on me (Stop Making Sense, Definitely Maybe (can't quite believe it now) and Hunky Dory to name a few. Although the songs are often melancholy, for me they are also oddly uplifting. Thanks Matt.

Not surprisingly i'm just another in a long line of people who absolutely loved this album back in the 80's. Here is a fine example of why the 80's had some of the best music of the past 4-5 decades. Matt johnson's deep soulful voice perfectly complemented by the music, which included the wondrful ivory tinkling talents of Joolz Holland, shown to best effect on 'Uncertain Smile' with a blistering heart-pulsating piano finale. 'This is the Day' is a defining moment for a lot of people's 80's musical experience. It's a song i took very much to heart as a younger man back in the 80's 'this is the day, your life will surely change' fuelling the enthusiasm of the 80's which on retrospect was a pretty upbeat decade. This is without doubt one of the top 10 albums to be released in the 80's. This was one of those albums that you would constantly try to inflict on your friends and relatives trying to turn their feeble music listening experience around & showing them what great music they were missing out on. Looking at the dirge that's out there now i spend more time listening to 80's stuff and not for nostalgia's sake but just because the music was better. If i ever gave out a guarantee i would apply it to this CD for i seriously can't believe anyone would be dissapointed with this