Simply Red

I would like to thankyou for my order! I'll be making more purchases in 2009!

This is a really great cd and everyone who loves music should get one.It arrived in great condition.A speedy delivery and what more can I say.I absolutely love it.

This album is Simply everything you need in a greatest hit album. Every song is a hit!!!!!!!!!! you will not regret this purchase. I highly recommend it!

This man has such talent! He writes a majority of his songs and they are all good! Simply LOVE it!

If you can imagine being trapped in the most awful, hideous cheese and wine party surrounded by chinless shallow yuppies with no taste or interest in real music then this is music from hell playing on their stereo to bore all their guests to sleep or insanity. A very bad record by a very bad singer, go check out Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding or Sly & The Family Stone to hear real soul music.

Mick Hucknall celebrates 25 years in the industry with the release of the Simply Red greatest hits compilation "25: The Greatest Hits", a two or three-CD package that takes you in everything from their start era and their most recent material (depending on how long you want to spend with him).
Simply Red's roots go back to 1976, when original members of Joy Division, the Smiths and the Buzzcocks met with Mick Hucknall in Manchester. The joining created the band called the Frantic Elevators, which lasted seven years. A few years later, Hucknall went on to create what we now know as Simply Red, with the release of their first single - "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)" - reaching number 13 in the UK charts. The band then went on to release 32 more Top 40 songs, with ten songs making the top ten.
Formed in June 1984, the soul-based pop group last performed twinkling smoothies which have provided defining musical moments for many couples and lovers and love songs fans.
The songs it includes are real classics that you can either sing along to or shed a tear to.
It has been a long, strange and sometimes stormy ride for flame haired, politically outspoken, Simply Red founder, songwriter and frontman Mick Hucknall. With his Celtic rasp and easy flowing croon control that effortlessly ebbs and flows with the music, rarely has a British vocalist touched the blend of impeccable technique and emotional resonance that characterises the legendary American soul stars.
As this collection proves, Hucknall is no slouch when it comes to songwriting. From the careworn introspection of his undisputed classic "Holding Back The Years", the righteous strut of "The Right Thing", the exuberant infatuation of "A New Flame", the tender admiration of "You've Got It", the amorous flight of "Stars", these are songs that get under your skin and stay there.
A music fan through and through, Hucknall has also proved an excellent judge of a cover version. Simply Red announced themselves with the gritty reworking of The Valentine Brothers blue collar attack on the economic injustices of Reagonomics, "Money's Too Tight To Mention" and have crafted hits from songs as diverse as Harold Melvin's beautiful ballad "If You Don't Know Me By Now", reggae legend Gregory Isaac's lilting "Night Nurse", the Hollies' pop epic "The Air That I Breathe" and The Stylistics sweetly sentimental "You Make Me Feel Brand New".
Like any great singer, Hucknall always makes the song his own and his brand new version of The Moody Blues heart-rending farewell ballad "Go Now" is no exception.
It may be not a great idea that Simply Red released a greatest hits album and then repeated their actions eight years later - as this compilation is still in the shadow of its predecessor.
Many of the songs on the original album are included in this CD - though the older version will be soon about half the price in your local used CDs bargain bucket.
This 2/3 CD set is certainly for the die hard Simply Red fans, or of course the music listeners that have heard of the band and don't have the previous greatest hits compilation.
It's a CD that will be great for background listening or for Dad in his car, or Mum in the kitchen.
Also, if you are stuck for a present for your lover/partner this Valentine Day, it would be highly recommeded.
Nonetheless, the album is great on its merit.
Featuring loved-up hits such as "Holding Back The Years" and "For Your Babies", as well as more upbeat songs like "Stars" and "Fairground", the greatest hits "25" compilation is what every Simply Red fan could want for musical nostalgia.
Simply Red's music will always be a part of my life and so I feel that shunning such an album because of its similarities to its predecessor is in fact quite harsh.
Behind the set, there's Mick's will to stop performing under the "Simply Red" hat.
"I made the decision almost a year ago to stop working under the name Simply Red", says Mick. "We've done 10 albums, and it would be 25 years in 2010, So starting out now, with this compilation and all-over-the world "25 Greatest Hits" tour, gives us the time to get around the world and celebrate the enormous support we've had".
Is this the end of Simply Red?
"It is for the Simply Red style. The phrase that is used erroneously is splitting up, but I never say that", says Hucknull. "It's a silly phrase to use when you apply it to Simply Red, because I've been effectively the band leader since the start and the principal songwriter - it's not really a band in the traditional sense, its more like a jazz setup. Stylistically I want to move into a new arena".
That said, there's still plenty to appeal to his diehard fanbase, or even more recent fans, on "25: The Greatest Hits", making this career retrospective a fascinating journey that serves to show why Mick has remained at the top of his profession for so long.
All in all, I would say that the set carries the obvious advantage of being more up to date than the original collection released eight years ago.
The DVD is a compilation of 25 wonderful videos. And this over one hour of pure musical and visual delight !
Simply Red - Greatest Hits
Simply Red The Greatest Hit's 25 (Deluxe 2 CD/DVD Edition) (PAL/Region 2)
Simply Red: A Starry Night with Simply Red
Tribute to Bobby

This is just a great album. I had a copy from LP, cassette and now CD. I've made a copy of the CD and play that so the orignal doesn't get scratched.

This is one of Simply Red's first productions and it is sublime. I never get tired of listening to it. It takes me back to the '80s when it was released and the vocals are superb. I would recommend this recording to anyone who loves blusy-jazz. JSW

This cd is one of the very best first recordings by any artist and it is issued here in this amazing Collector's Edition. Simply Red has always been underrated here in the US. They have had the random huge single but overall successs here has not happened. Such a loss. This is quality r@b, jazz and pop in its purest form. Mike Hucknall has very emotive vocals and a very intense range.

Sadly, Simply Red has said that they shall be recording no more new sets. A great loss but these excelent collector's editions of their best albums helps ease the pain. This, their first album, is presented here digitally remastered for superior sound quality. It also introduces us to the group with hits such as MONEY'S TOO TIGHT TO MENTION, HOLDING BACK THE YEARS and HEAVEN. There are also some other excellent cuts such as SAD OLD RED and LOOK AT YOU NOW. The cd also contains 5 bonus tracks which are remixes of the albums top cuts. Quality music and an excellent introduction to the group.

But this is not all. There is also a dvd of Simply Red performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1986. It's an amazing dvd with 19 cuts. The sound and picture are amazing and Simply red are even better live. This collector's edition is a must have for any Simply Red fan or fan of quality jazz/r@b.

Highly recommend.

I don't understand what the story about a deadbeat dad and raising his kid has to do with this album, but hey.

They just don't make music like this anymore. "Jericho" and "Look at You Now" are just as worthy of praise as this album's more famous hit singles. The former of these I truly missed during Simply Red's last European tour, though Mick's great stage presence and repertoire surely made up for it.

At least in America,the British-based Simply Red debuted in 1985,spawning three Top 20 hits from this album,COME TO MY AID,HOLDING BACK THE YEARS and MONEY'S TOO TIGHT TO MENTION. I have to admit that frontman Mick Hucknall is a vocal clone of Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane/Starship fame. It is possible that Simply Red was nominated for a Best New Artist of 1985 Grammy. I'm sure Sting,Freddie Jackson and Whitney Houston were nominees as well. Simply Red's Elektra Records labelmates included The Cars and Motley Crue.

Being dropped by a major label in 2002, Mick Hucknall promptly formed his own net-based company.
Simply Red's hopelessly misguided decision to go their own way as a cottage industry without record company backing may have killed their career at one suicidal stroke, but luckily Mick watched his next two records hit the bestsellers' chart.
Most likely this third self-release will undoubtedly repeat the feat.
Reduced budgets and concomitant cheap packaging notwithstanding, it finds Mick Hucknall at his most vocally seductive in years, although at one English-mangling point, he manages to rhyme "tirade" with "laugh".
His music hits the spot and touches the heart and this album has many charms.
Not that there is a dull track on Hucknall's self-financed latest tour de force, but as ever it is the token cover version that ticks every box.
The likes of "So Not Over You" and "Stay (Just The Way You Are") articulate, simply and succinctly, complex adult emotions in one shot.
However, rather than raiding yet another slice of Philadelphia, Red tackles Ronnie Lane's "Debris" to devastating effect, and audiences are further stretched on the Santana-style "Money TV" and on the folksy "Little Englander", complete with a school choir stolen from Pink Floyd's "The Wall".
He's even upped his songwriting game, with the impossibly romantic "The World and You Tonight" and the title track.
Meanwhile "The Death of the Cool" and "Little Englander" suggest a sense of humour and a still smouldering fire respectively.
For all the gorgeous renditions of heartbreaking ballads, tender love songs and uplifting anthems, he retains a lyrical spikiness unusual in the genre. His music may have drifted inexorably towards the middle of the road, yet his outspoken politicism lingers. It is hard to imagine any of his American contemporaries delivering the kind of state-of-the-nation addresses that appear on his new album - out and out polemics such as "Money TV" or "The Death of the Cool".
He ends his new album with a delightfully scabrous waltz, "Little Englander", deriding the nation's over-inflated sense of itself. "Judge me, go on - it amuses me," he announces, before concluding, surprisingly sweetly, "Let me smash the plastic face of my lovely country".
Very interesting, isn't it?

STAY is an excellent release from the very underrated Simply red. The band has always provided quality jazz with an inventive r@b style. And lead vocalist Mick Hucknall is a genious. His vocals are a true gift. His voice is so unique and he has an awesome range both musically and emotionally.

This is the third release by their own production company and the set shines. They in no way rest on their laurels and the songs are a little more mature than their previous work. Many artists of their caliber sing music that begins to sound repetetive. Not the case here. Mick Hucknall always has a cohesive purpose with each album.

There are many standout cuts here. THE WORLD AND YOU TONIGHT, OH WHAT A GIRL, GOOD TIMES HAVE DONE ME WRONG and STAY are all electric. Sadly, Simply Red is not going to record any more new music (as of 2008) so if you don't have this as a part of your collection it is a must have.

Quality jazz again from Simply Red.

love the one song, & the rest are ok. he has a unique sound of his own. but glad he has a new album out, its been a long time

What a great and pleasant CD. It is up there with one of Mick's best, not forgetting the talent backing him. Can hardly wait for the Live in Cuba DVD I ordered. Another "must have".

Always been a fan of this group. I love the song "Still Not over You."

I give this album five stars because it is so awesome! Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall has such a beautiful voice that someone might think it's Jefferson Airplane/Starship's Marty Balin singing(they are soundalikes). The track I love most of all is FOR YOUR BABIES. I actually thought once that Balin was performing the song because as I just said,he and Hucknall are soundalikes. The title track is pretty cool and so are the other tracks. FYB was recorded in the same style as Jimmy Ruffin's hit recording(not Paul Young's cover) WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN-HEARTED.

Having only been familiar with the hits, I decided to give this album a try. Man, I am so glad I did!! Mick Hucknall has such a great, powerful, emotional voice!! I agree that he could sing the phone book and make me cry (and I'm a guy! HAHA!) "For Your Babies" and "How Could I Fall" are just gorgeous, and the rest is...breath-taking. Please do yourselves a favour and buy this album. You'll thank me later.

Mick at his best. He had it all going on this one. What a voice. His songwriting was light years above anyone writing even similar stuff. I consider this part of the soundtrack to my life at that time. Do not hesitate to get this CD!

Great CD! I love almost every song! One of my favorites!

I agree with the previous reviewers-- it may, quite simply, song for song, be the BEST pop album ever.

I personally believe the song "For Your Babies" is the most beautiful song ever written.

This is not cd for old fans of simply red, is a great cd for fans, new fans, because new versions sounds new, sounds like another group plays for Mike Hucknall. Buy it now and enjoy it

It's not easy to strip a song down, leaving only what's needed to make a great tune sound even better. Great guitar, sax, and a little background female vocals sets up a wonderful and magical musical moment with Mick Hucknall. What a voice! Nothing simple about it. The arrangements are so good on every song. I love the latin flavor brought to some of the songs. Holding Back the Years is stripped to the basics, and that VOICE! I was in London in May of '86, on Holiday/Vacation, traveling on my own. These were pre-internet days, unless you were in the armed services, or Al Gore (had to throw that in), so I didn't know what was up with some of the music that was local, and had not hit the states, or if it had, I was oblivious. I remember distinctly hearing that voice when I got home, finding out who THAT was and just being besides myself that I did not go see the band that had a small flyer posted for a concert. I remeber thinking when I saw the poster, what's a Simply Red? I found out!

Adair

Wonderful new arragements of Simply Red's classic songs plus great new songs. This is a great album and a must have for every fan.

Stripped down jazzy slower versions of old songs from The SImply Red catalog. Fans LOVE things like this, I LOVE this album, perfect for a rainy day alone with some songs that are like old friends. But older, wiser, mature, just wonderful. I Simply LOVE the stripped and simplified version of "Fairground", I love the orginial dearly...the sad slow melody over the Goodmen's drumming. But here it is sung as a ballad. This could have been an old standard that someone like Ella Fitzgerlad would have sung. can't say enough good things aabout this album, it is called "Simplified", but should be called "Timeless". This is the Greatest Hits for the fans, hits ethought. Again, rain falling outside makes this even better. Then again, we are all SR fans here, give it a try.

The music has a variation of sounds and themes extremely diverse and exciting. This is a great CD -a fan can certainly appreciate the voice and themes, a new listener will turn into a fanatic right after this.
Excellent choice.

I have owned about about five copies of this album over the years. They were worn out, borrowed, given away and maybe even stolen! Lol! Honestly, this Simply Red album is one of the best kept hidden secrets ever. Somehow, some way this superb collection of lush, slow songs and upbeat can't-help-but-dance grooves was overlooked by the public and robbed of a Grammy win. It's quite simply THAT good. If you've not heard it, prepare yourself to go nuts. Enjoy!

Simply Red has had a career of inventive, original high quality music under the supervision of highly gifted lead vocalist Mick Hucknall - a truly gifted jazz and blues singer. Sadly they have said no new music is to come. So we must relish the great music they have already provided us. After a huge success with their first album PICTURE BOOK they had a lull with their second. Then came this, A NEW FLAME and Simply Red came back to life. What an amazing set which provides the group the ability to showcase all their assets. Their music is truly original which is rare. Mick Hucknall takes a song and wraps his emotive vocals tenderly around the lyrics. He can swoon, he can jam, he can do it all.

Hits here are IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME BY NOW, IT'S ONLY LOVE and A NEW FLAME. There is no filler on this cd. All the songs are great. Other standouts are YOU'VE GOT IT and ENOUGH. Simply Red has had longevity but has also been very underrated. This cd show how great they are and the stamp they have put on the history of music. Definite quality jazz/r@b here and a highly recommended must have.

I purchased this album in 1989. Now in 2007, i'm ordering it again. Why?
Because it is perfect. Musically, it's something I've NEVER HEARD BEFORE. It takes you on a smooooooth, glowing ride of sounds--jazz,rock and soul. Comparing this work to Barry White is pretty good, as I am a
fan of his as well. Mick & company have done a real great album and it
sounds better as a CD.

I have and always will LOVE Simpley Red. The cd is awesome.....My favorites is ENOUGH.....Try it, I'm sure you'll like it.

These guys have such a rich sound. I still love the idea of traditional bands. And they still have the heart of the old school band. It sounds like they've known each other for years. 'The New Flame,' has this soothing, vintage quality that's unmistakably cool.

I have been listening to this cd for 1 week now and it is all thta. Couple remakes I am not found of. Tracks 3, 5, 7 are incredible.

I picked this cd up on a whim because I haven't heard anything out of Mick and his band for quite some time. It is now the favorite in my collection. There isn't one song that needs to be skipped over and `Sunrise' is absolutely infectious.

I hope I don't have to wait so long for a follow-up and that sooner or later Simply Red will tour the west side of this country as well!

Wow, this CD is simply awesome. "Sunrise" will make you shake out of your chair! Couple remakes I am not fond of, but overall a great listen!

I have enjoyed simply red in the past, but had not heard anything in a few years. Heard one track, and had to hear more. Its a great CD, with a couple cover tunes. Such an enjoyable cd to listen to at any time, especially in the car driving! Pick it up!!!!

Thank you Amazon.com for providing the public with this CD. This is impossible to find in the stores in my area and my husband just loved the new song "Home." Without Amazon.com, I could have never gotten this CD for him for our anniversary. Anyone who loved Simply Red in the '80's will love this CD. If you like a Jazzy type sound you will also love this CD.

I never get tired of listening to this CD. I highly recommend it. We also have the DVD and watch alot. We are even luckly enough to go to LA in March to see them at the Nokia Theatre. Can't wait. Always a fan.

The last Simply Red album I purchased was Stars. DirecTV offered this album as a concert. I recorded it and have been watching it ever since. Don't know what bothered anyone else, but this is the best album ever that I have heard from them. His voice and the backups are excellent!! I continue to listen to my recording and hope more will!! There is not a song that I do not like on this album.

I don't care for what I read about Mick Hucknall, but in "Home", there is a song, SUNRISE--the best part of the album. I've purchased this album only because of this song(from Hall & Oates, soulful background track)With his words and voice added along with a beautiful girl in the background, he cannot miss with this song, NOT the album. Not a Bob Dylan fan either, but when I receive it, will try the other songs as well. the 5 STARS are for SUNRISE!!!

There are not too many good ones on this one.. BUT. BUT BUT BUT-
You NEED SUNRISE. Just like De La Soul sampled 'I can't go for that' -Hall & Oats - with much success-- so does Red on Sunrise. Such a great song. It is so amazing.
Red also covers Bob Dylan on this one and it is really good.
With the exception of 'Pocket Book'--Like all Simply Red albums-- I am totaly blown away by one or two songs. Antother one or two are pretty good-- one or two are very ok, and the rest are kinda tired (like old red himself).

I am giving this album 3 stars because I only like track 3 on this album "Sunrise".
My friends mom told me that she heard this new song at the time by Hall and Oates and she said it sounded like they made an updated version "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" which is one of my all time fave songs. She said it was really good but could not find a single for it. I just happened to be watching VH1 and caught a new video by Simply Red called "Sunrise" after watching the video I realized that it sounded a lot like the Hall and Oates song... I was thinking this is good...has a good beat to it...and the singing is incredible on this song...so I decided to go out and buy the album... my friends mom listened to it and she was like yeah this is the song! So she went out and bought the album...but I was a bit disappointed with it.

The first track "Home" wasn't a good placement for an opener because it's not strong and upbeat and doesn't draw you into the album ...but it is beautifully sung and I like the piano in it.

"Sunrise" and "Money In My Pocket" don't even fit on this album. These 2 would fit better with maybe "Love And The Russian Winter" after the track "Ain't That A Lot Of Love".
The rest of the album lacks anything unique...way too mellow for my taste.

So again 3 out of 5 stars.