Customer Reviews

New Flame

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For the life of me, I can't understand why "A New Flame" was so widely panned; call me crazy, but this was my favorite Simply Red album. Where "Men and Women" was somewhat uneven and "Life" gets a bit dull by the end, "A New Flame" really seemed to flow as an album without ever losing steam. How could critics ignore the sheer beauty of "You've Got It" or "Again"? What's wrong with "Turn it Up"? The one false note (in my opinion) was "If You Don't Know Me By Now"; there was no reason to re-make the original, and Mick Hucknall made no particular improvements to it. But on the strength of "You've Got It" alone, this album deserved much more respect than it got.

I am a big big fan of Simply Red. I have got all their albums, from Picture book to Blue. However, this is the strongest one of all Mick's production. Just listen to 'You've got it', 'More', 'Love lays its tune' and the masterpiece: 'Enough'.
You will not find something comparable in other cd,believe me!
Jazz, soul, pop, all mixed together in such an elegant way...
Perhaps,another 'must'for a real fan is 'Mountreaux ep'.

I agree wholeheartedly with 'Music Geek'; this is the most consistent 'Simply' CD. I've owned this album for over 10 years now (a couple of those years I had vynil, then purchased the CD when it became available). 'It's Only Love' is perhaps one of my all-time fav tunes. I also like 'You've got it' very much, co-written with the legendary Lamont Dozier (of Motown's The Enterprise Fame). I also like 'Enough', co-written by Joe Sample. Though there other fine moments on this CD, those are my fav tracks. The songs are sung effortlessly, the tracks are flawlessly recorded, and the instrumentation is exquisitely mixed. Kudos to the musicians and engineers; oh, and to what's his name, Mick for thick vocals. It's truly a must have.

Mick Hucknall's best album and one he is unlikely to repeat. This album has never dissapointed me even after all these years and after many more albums by Simply Red. Some of his best songs are in this album i.e. "It's only love", "You've got it", "If you don't know me by now"... There are just so many good songs here and I think it is the most polished album by Simply Red. The songs here are beautifully written, perfectly arranged and performed with much gusto. It is an all round great effort and the product is simply superb.
Unsurprisingly and unfortunately, Mick has never got to repeat this feat in his later albums. So forget about all those Greatest Hits albums and get this one, if you have to choose. Why? Because the jewel in this album is the last track not available on the other albums (I think) ... "Enough".
But, we have not had enough, Mick!!

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 are given the gift of these collector's editions of their best works. 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 provided 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. This cd is digitally remastered and provides amazing sound quality. There are also 5 essential bonus tracks included.

As with all the collector's editions there is the great added addition of a dvd and here we have Simply Red filmed live in Manchester, England in 1990. It is an amazing set of 13 songs and again, the video and audio are superb.

Simply Red has had longevity but has also been very underrated. These editions show how great thet were and are and the stamp they have put on the history of music. Definite quality jazz/r@b here and a highly recommended must have.

This may sound totally pedestrian and vapid on my part, but the remake of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" is actually better than the original! Please forgive me Blue Notes, but Mick Hucknall and Company manage to update this 70's soul classic with the perfect amount of polish, elegance and soul. The choruses have a yearning, slow burning, gospel feel that makes the love song sound like a spiritual reaffirmation. The rest of this 1989 release shouldn't be neglected either, but "If You Don't...." is the crown jewel here, a remake that actually works and improves on the original. The guys are terrific!

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 listened to 'a new flame tonight,' as i finally found the copy i lost long ago. it blew my mind, just as it did the first time i ever listened to it when it first came out. i can't say enough about this cd. it is beautifully done - mick's vocals are flawless - he can make his voice do absolutely anything! it is so rich and soulful, powerful and gentle all at once. there is honestly not one bad track on this cd. i agree, SR's version of "if you don't know me by now," is incredible, but the rest of the songs deserve just as much attention and praise. really - i can't pick one song that outshines the rest, because they are all that good. it is a perfect mix of jazz, r&b, blues, rock and a bit of pop thrown in, just to keep things interesting. along with "picture book," "a new flame" has got to be simply red's best.

Yes, I loved this one. The CD has two real killers - "Love Lays It's tune (which may be Mick's best song ever - absolute genius), and "You Got It". I rank it in a 4th place tie with "Russian Winter" as an overall ranking compared with the other Simply Red stuff. Mick has never had a bad offering and anyone should love this one. I am partial to his "newer" stuff so this is going back a ways for me.

Just can't get enough of Simply Red!
Good dancing music. The good old dancing music that you can dance to, not one of those static house music.