Simplified

Simply Red

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 18, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 18, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Verve Forecast
• ASIN: B000B0WO0I
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,481 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Perfect Love

2. Something Got Me Started

3. Holding Back The Years

4. More

5. A Song For You

6. Your Mirror

7. Fairground

8. My Perfect Love

9. Smile

10. Sad Old Red

11. For Your Babies

12. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Simplified features both stripped-down versions of Simply Red's classic songs and fresh recordorm some material with only a piano as accompaniment. "What struck me when I listened back to the performance was just how much the song leapt out at you in those circumstances," he says. Classic Simply Red songs such as "Something Got Me Started," "Sad Old Red," "Smile," and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" are reinvigorated thanks to these sophisticated, even jazzy, new arrangements. One of the group's most popular hits, "Holding Back The Years," is beautiful and still lush; recognizable, but with an added timeless maturity. Other songs featured on Simplified include "More," "Your Mirror," "Fairground," and "For Your Babies."

The lead-off track and first single from Simplified is the irresistible, upbeat, and distinctly Latin-flavored "Perfect Love." The Cuban vibe of this sensual new song is amplified by the vocals of Havana-based singer Danae. A Latin feeling runs throughout Simplified, inspired by the band's recent visit to Cuba. In fact, Simply Red is the first English pop band to have played in Havana, as they appeared at the landmark Gran Teatro early in 2005.

Simplified is the follow-up to 2003's highly successful Home, which sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. That release helped push the band to a level of over 50 million albums sold since forming 21 years ago. Although Simply Red's lineup of musicians has rotated throughout the years, the one constant has been Mick Hucknall, one of the finest male vocalists Britain has ever produced, and also one of its most accomplished, melodic, and prolific pop songwriters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's as simple as that!, November 16, 2005

By	Blue Boy (Champs sur Marne, France) - See all my reviews

It's as simple as that: following the recording of acoustic versions of his STARS-album classics for the DVD Classic Albums, Mick Hucknall decided to record other Simply Red classics in an acoustic way to make a whole new album. And he was right to do so because it's truly a great album. His last album, HOME, was already a success and instead of making a new album with new songs, he decides to make a stop in his discography and takes a look at his past albums.
The new versions of FAIRGROUND and FOR YOUR BABIES (already in the Classic albums Stars DVD) are really the best tracks here but it's quite relaxing to hear all this acoustic music in a musical environment where everything you hear is rap music or loud guitars.
Mick Hucknall truly shows (although it wasn't necessary) his talent here and in a very beautiful and pure way.
Maybe in America, Simply Red is not as popular as in Europe (where the group still reaches the top spot each time) but simply listen to the beauty of the melodies and the lyrics and you'll understand why Mick is still here more than 20 years after the Simply Red adventure began.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old favorites rethought and reinterpreted!, October 28, 2005

By	Adam "Adam" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Simply Red's new album is a fantastic blend of their older hits reinterpreted and including a new song (Perfect Love) in two versions. While the album title suggests that the songs have been "simplified", it might be true for the arrangements but the vocal performance of Mick Hucknall shines as on the original recordings (all of the songs were recorded in 2005). A great album for next year would be an "amplified" remix album, maybe it will happen! My favorite song is the stripped down version of Your Mirror and the Latin-flavored "Something Got Me Started".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An older, wiser, mellower Simply Red, October 27, 2005

By	S. W. Hsu (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been a huge fan of Mick Hucknall's and Simply Red's since "Picture Book" debuted in 1985, so I rushed out and picked up "Simplified" the day it was released (as I have for each CD they've released in the past 20 years).
The first track, the high-energy, rhythm-infused "Perfect Love," is a new song on an album made up mostly of favorite SR songs revisited. The song inclues some spectacular guitar work and additional vocals from Cuba's Danae and the SR girls, Sarah Brown and Dee Johnson. It is absolutely brilliant. So is, in my opinion, "A Song for You" (not a new song, but new to SR) which is goosebump-inspiring and just the perfect song for Mick to sing at this point in his career and his life.
The other new song on the album is "Smile," which fans know was inspired by Mick's new love, and is indeed, sung with tremendous passion. Not a favorite song of mine, but there's no disputing the quality of Mick's voice. Like the finest of wines, it has aged very, very well.
The revisits, including the classic "Holding Back the Years," along with other favorites like "Sad Old Red," are a mixed bag. Some fare well in the new recordings and others, like "Fairground," disappoint fans who loved the original, more rhythmic and fast-paced versions. But Mick did remind us all that this is how he chooses to sings these songs today...not as a young, inexperienced artist, but as an older, wiser and more thoughtful singer. They are honest and heartfelt recordings. "Simplified" truly is Mick's gift to Simply Red's true-blue fans. It may not be on par with 2003's "Home" or the acclaimed and utterly stunning "Stars," but here's a word of advice (which I've taken myself)...don't spend too much time comparing the old with the new, the slower versions with the fast. Instead, listen to these with a fresh ear, pour yourself a nice glass of red and enjoy.