Simply Red Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Given his long history of smooth, classy blue-eyed soul, it's easy to forget that Mick Hucknall was inspired to make music by the Sex Pistols. While it's true that Hucknall's Simply Red has never, ever sounded like the Pistols -- or any punk for that matter -- there is an obstinate independent streak that runs throughout his music that's led him to such strange detours as Love and the Russian Winter, as well as his position as an independent artist in the new millennium, releasing Simply Red albums via his own label, Simplyred.com. That independent spirit also surfaces on some of the songs on 2007's Stay, his third release on Simplyred.com, but it's subtle and buried toward the end of the album. For the first half of Stay, Hucknall remains in his trademark upscale blue-eyed soul territory, sounding smooth and stylish whether he's singing ballads or snappier songs like the effervescent "Oh! What a Girl!" Although this sounds familiar, it sounds fresher than it has in a few years: Hucknall isn't trying to compete with such modern U.K. retro-soul phenoms as Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone, but he's looser and lighter than he was on 2003's Home, which is quite welcome. Just as the vibe feels just a bit too comfortable, Stay takes a couple of sly left turns. First, there's a quite wonderful and unexpected cover of Ronnie Lane's "Debris" that's understated and a bit rougher than the norm from Simply Red. After this, the album opens up a bit. There's one more standard soul song in "Lady," but it's a stronger, tighter, sexier single than much of the rest of the record, and then there comes a trio of angry, social comments that offer strong reminders of Hucknall's past as a punk. Not that they sound punk -- apart from the school children's choir that sings along on the closer, "Little Englander," they're recognizably Simply Red -- but with "Money TV" and "The Death of the Cool," he strikes out at the commercialization of culture. Now, some could argue that swaddling these sentiments in such smooth soul undercuts their power, but there's a palpable anger to Hucknall's message and a sly subversiveness in his method that makes this half of Stay interesting -- and when combined with the solid soul of the first half, it adds up to one of his strongest latter-day records. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Live in Cuba, Vols. 1-2'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 20
Label The Mail
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As the second release on Simply Red's own label, Simplified finds the smooth soulsters reworking classics of their back catalog as well as introducing some new songs all in a stripped-down and stylish manner. Featuring such Simply Red classics as "Holding Back the Years" and "More," Simplified works well as a reintroduction to the band. And that's probably the main intention here. Although lead vocalist Mick Hucknall -- whose burnished vocals sound superb here -- and the band have largely kept a low profile since the early '90s, they haven't stopped touring and recording and as such have cultivated a devoted fanbase. One can only assume that the band has changed its sound over the years and felt the need to present its classic tracks in a fashion more representative of the band as it is now rather than when it debuted in 1985. The result is a lush but uncomplicated album featuring an organic mix of acoustic instruments including various pianos, organs, and horns that updates Simply Red's classic soul sound while still bringing to mind the best of their output. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Most people expected Simply Red to have popped up on VH1's Where Are They Now? at any moment, but Home is their eighth proper album. Finding a niche as Jamiroquai for the smooth jazz set, they've released album after album while living off the worldwide success of Stars. Home looks like a return to form with Mick Hucknall taking over a good amount of the production and releasing the album on his own label, Simplyred.com, although an outside producer might have given them an extra kick in their velour pants. However, despite the album's weak moments, there's the genuine sweetness of "Home," the lavish funkiness of "Fake," and the profound and moving "Home Loan Blues." When the band masterfully slinks its way through Dennis Brown's "Money in My Pocket," all sorts of Picture Book flashbacks appear. Home gives half an album's worth of reasons to cheer for Simply Red. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Love and the Russian Winter'
Release Date 11/1/1999
Tracks 11
Label Eastwest
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Simply Red entered a holding pattern after 1991's Stars, turning out two records in a row that essentially replicated its charms, only with diminishing returns. Mick Hucknall must have realized he was stagnating, since 1999's Love and the Russian Winter is the first time since Stars that he's shaken up his sound. It's still recognizably Simply Red, as it trades in '70s soul and jazz-pop influences, but there are a number of reasonably contemporary influences added into the mix. As it turns out, these influences are largely based in house music, which means that Simply Red took some weird middle ground between Everything But the Girl and Soul II Soul. Still, these changes are welcome, since they've revitalized Hucknall and his collaborators, Andy Wright and Gota Yashiki. They're willing to try different sounds and write in different idioms. Occasionally, they might sound as if they're forcing matters somewhat, but there's also a number of gems that pop up on the album, from "The Spirit of Life" to "The Sky Is a Gypsy." And while the title may imply that Love and the Russian Winter is a concept album of sorts, that's not true -- Hucknall and company have reserved their ambitions for their refurbished production instead of channeling them into a song cycle. That's for the best, actually, since Simply Red works the best on a song-by-song basis, particularly when they rely on love songs (the millennium farewell "Wave the Old World Goodbye" is one of the more awkward moments on the record). Love and the Russian Winter doesn't quite rise to the level of the group's strongest records, but it's a refreshing change of pace from an outfit who seemed to have gone stagnant. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For Life, Simply Red retain the basic influences that fueled their earlier albums, especially American R&B of the early '70s, specifically the Marvin Gaye of What's Going On? and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes-era Teddy Pendergrass. Mick Hucknall's singing has calmed down and smoothed out on such songs as "You Make Me Believe" and "So Many People," but that only makes them sound more like the product of Philadelphia International Records. On "Fairground," he opts for a Latin-tinged sound that ends up evoking Herb Alpert more than Milton Nascimento; reggae turns up on "Out on the Range," and the big-time closer, "We're in This Together," is a South African-style anthem, complete with Hugh Masekela's flugelhorn. Stripped of the international superstar trappings, Life is, of course, pretentious, but it does have a couple of promising songs, notably "So Beautiful" and "Remembering the First Time." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although it doesn't have a single as strong as "Holding Back the Years" or "If You Don't Know Me by Now," Stars is Simply Red's best album since their debut. It's smoother and more polished than their previous work, yet Mick Hucknall is singing better than ever and his songwriting is improving. That is a good thing, too, since Stars is the first Simply Red album not to contain any cover songs. Having absorbed his pop, soul, and reggae influences, Hucknall is now successfully writing songs in his own style, something that, with the exception of "Holding Back the Years," he hadn't managed previously. The result, in Europe and especially the U.K., was a massive commercial breakthrough for the group. Stars even outsold Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at home. In America, where the band had never established much audience continuity beyond its two number one hit singles, it was a different story, which, given the band's highly American-influenced sound, was a confirmation of the overall decline of English bands in the U.S. in the early '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although Hucknall tries to resurrect soul in his own original songs, he's most successful at evoking the past, notably on Simply Red's second number one, a remake of the Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After a monster debut, Simply Red's follow-up album...featured an uneven batch of songs and lacked the kind of standout single Hucknall had enjoyed on the previous album with "Holding Back the Years." It wasn't a half-hearted effort by any means; Mick Hucknall's crackling vocals were just as exuberant, and the band's Stax/Volt-influenced lines were effectively played. They did turn in an interesting version of "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
