Customer Reviews

Men & Women

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply Red just simply soars on this album. There's not a weak moment in this collection; all are very good. I really like all the songs but I must said that the song "Suffer" is an instant classic, great song. Then the rest is as good as Suffer, specially the reggae anthem "Love Fire" just awesome. Go and get this CD.

Fans of Sly Stone, Average White Band, Sade, and Swing Out Sister, to name a few, will all find something appealing about Simply Red's sophomore release, "Men And Women", originally released in 1987. After enjoying a worldwide smash and instant standard in the single "Holding Back The Years", the temptation to produce a clone had to be on the band's mind. That clone is "Maybe Someday...", but let's put that aside a moment.

Delightfully, the rest of the album finds the band confident, exploratory, and exuberant. Lyrically, Mick Hucknall has love on the mind. Specifically, the lustful kind. The working class Brit viewpoint, especially on matters of the heart, is still intact and at its zenith here. The band sounds incredible too. From horns, piano, synth, and hearty background vocal, these are just the right bandmates to match Hucknall's take-no-prisoners mood.

The songs : "The Right Thing", a fine eighties pop tune. "Infidelity", an ode to that cheating mood. "Let Me Have It All", hands-down funk exercise a la AWB and Sly. "Love Fire", touches elements of reggae and ska. "Move On Out" and "Shine", smooth soul with slinky minor chords.

The good news : there's not a dud in the bunch, and this import adds six more tracks to the original album.

The bad news : the US didn't take to "Men And Women" as this great work merited. "The Right Thing" scraped the top forty; the rest was virtually forgotten. It put Simply Red in the position of slicking it up way too far on their next release, "A New Flame". The reward was another #1 in the form of a tame Philly soul cover on a tame release.

Here, they weren't yet playing safe, the results are spectacular. I'm not big on giving anything 5 stars, but I have no reservations about how highly I recommend this to fans of true soul music.

Simply Red's initial success with the and "Holding Back The Years" is something that caught my attention early in my life. After that most people consider it a bit of a hit or miss affair when Simply Red put out albums.And this tends to be one of the reasons.It was greeted with all the warmth of...well a sophmore slump. The fact is the main difference here is use of style. Wheras the bands debut Picture Book showcased a group who were able to blend soul and songcraft in the finest way possible this album showcases the band working it's way through a set of primarily uptempo tunes with a heavy soul/dance/funk bent;not far at all from the debut but somewhat less mellow. The emphasis on that Stax/Volt/Memphis funky soul influence really showcases itself very well on "The Right Thing",a single I saw the band perform on David Letterman at the time,"Infidelity","Suffer","Move On Out" and the excellent "Shine". There's also a high octane cover of Sly's "Let Me Have It" and "I Won't Feel Bad",the original 45 B side to "Holding Back The Years" and one of the best songs on the entire album. "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye".....well I love Cole Porter but this is delivered with a little too much sudlty.While there is nothing there that crossed over to the strong extent that the debut album did or would go on to become a standard it's definately an underated album especially if your a lover of Memphis style Brit-Funk.

I have had this CD for over ten years and I still enjoy it as much as the first time I listened to it. It is pretty typical Simply Red/Mick Hucknall, which means it is simply good music, a mixture of rock, blues, and jazz. The songs are richly recorded, thanks partially to the late genius engineer and producer Barry Mraz.

There is at least one layer to cut through when listening to 1980s music: that gleaming production and those big drums automatically mark any 1980s music as such, and you have to get past that to tell your Prefab Sprout from your Debbie Gibson. The pearls from the swine.

Simply Red falls into the pearls camp: this is unmistakeably smooth pop soul in a 1980s wrapper, but soul none the less. Men And Women is comprised of funky tracks and smooth ballads that have gospel vocals, fresh chord changes, and well placed instrumental surprises--dig on the trumpet. The singer is one of the best blue-eyed spokesmen of the genre.

For me, this music works on a lot of levels. I had a terrible time as a disabled person in 1980s high school. But my father also passed this year, and the better class of 1980s pop brings me back to a more innocent, secure time. Simply Red is a conflicted and emotionally complex listening experience for me, and that makes it a rich and edgy ride.

But beyond my subjectivity and the Regan Era production, this is good music, whether you yearn for 1980s sounds or have to work your way past them to hear the substance. We listen to all kinds of music for all kinds of reasons and bring all types of emotions to an album before the stereo even clicks on. If you can't feel music, why play it at all. But if are going to play music, you simply can't get higher class than Simply Red.

I had this ALBUM year's ago & loved it for one song (Infidelity)....

FINALLY heard the song again after all these years & know I know why it always stayed with me....

Track Listings
Side One
1. Right Thing
2. Infidelity
3. Suffer
4. I Won't Feel Bad
5. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Side Two
1. Let Me Have It All
2. Love Fire
3. Move on Out
4. Shine
5. Maybe Someday...

Simpley Red is underappreciated in USA. This album goes from ballad,in Maykbe Someday to, driving, big brass sound, Let Me Have it All.
Move on Out, is another big , attention getting sound, and The Right Thing make this one outstanding album. The fill ins are mostly ok

If you look at the list of Simply Red's recordings this one is often overlooked and it is a shame. They started out with a bang and had some glorious recordings. After a little lull this masterpiece appeared.

Mick Hucknall is in great vocal form and there is a true r@b, jazz spirit here. THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, THANK YOU and AIN'T THAT A LOT OF LOVE are highlights. I agree that the title makes it sound like it is a concept, themed set and it is not. It is merely a great collection of songs and a must have for any Simply Red collection. Don't overlook this one.

I am very fond of "Simply Red", and the content of this CD is superb classic Simply Red at Mick Hucknall's finest. I recommend this to everyone that is a Simply Red fan, and if you are not familar with Simply Red, and you like crooners and jazz pop rock, you need to try this CD. It is just excellent!
This is the first time that I have purchased a used CD. It arrived in horrible condition. It is filthy and I have gotten a lesson in just how nasty some people live. I am very fond of Simply Red, and for anyone to abuse one of Mick Hucknall's CDs is sad to me.