Reviews (page 5 of 7)
My dad used to listen to Simply Red in the car, alot. Brings me back.
I had heard Simply Red before but never this album. It’s ok, but never really reaches greatness
1985 - British Pop rock; soft rock; blue-eyed soul
Decent.
2 good songs. One very bad song
no strong feelings, some is decent but not overly catchy to me
Always a little dubious of the so-called blue eyed soul, particularly (and this is an unfair prejudice) when it originates in the UK - similar feelings on the blues. You can’t argue this guy’s got a Voice though, yet I don’t think that quite carries it for me. It’s best when the accompaniment is more traditional, some of this has a kind of light-jazzy-pop vibe that magnifies the whole “but is it really authentic?” issue.
не оставило впечатлений
Good storytelling
This album was alright. At times had elements of disco, pop, jazz and always had an 90's feel to it. Standout was the catchy "Come to My Aid"
A good album, I hadn't heard of them before. Really enjoyed the use of jazz instruments, the flutes, horns, stand up bass. Would listen again. Sound was British 80s pop, but jazzy and soulful.
I feel like I've had a series of these middle-of-the-road, three-star albums lately. Like nothing bad or offensive about them, I could even say I somewhat enjoyed listening to them, but also nothing really special or super-interesting about them. Maybe it's just me. It's a decent album, but that's about it. 3 stars.
Pretty solid album with a well balanced tracklist and quite interesting songs.
It’s new wavey duran duran style pop rock with the flavour of soul… It’s quite good but if I were to be honest nothing really stuck too much on me and the album can feel fairly uninteresting and samey at points. Take the first side for example it goes faster song, slower song,faster song, slower song then Jericho a song that for the most part I’ve already herd through the first 4 songs being a very middling type track in every aspect instead of it’s length and the “ you won’t go to the ball” bit feels kinda cringeworthy. Maybe that’s a bit to mean to brand the first 4 as faster song and slower song but it’s fair. To be more detailed about the 4 come to my aid was forgettable, sail old red was also a bit dull, Look at you now was fun but nothing special and heaven is very good but a cover. The groovy moneys too tight to mention starts off side two with a banger (the kinda track all side two track one’s should be) still though it’s a cover track so not much of the songs best moments are their original ideas. Holding back the years is a nice middle of the road single it apparently charted really well but I don’t think I’ve ever herd this maybe because it’s forgettable. I don’t really like the vocals in the chorus of open up the red box but the rest of it is just eh mid side 2 filler. The penultimate track no direction is full funk if it was on side one I think it’s inclusion would’ve felt more valid. Picture book is a solid closer though one of the only tracks I rate highly on this album. It’s a 3 maybe if the album was sequenced better I would’ve liked it but it’s just a bit bland. I would’ve sequenced it like this: 1 Come to my aid 2 sad old red 3 No direction 4 look at you now 5 holding back the years 6 Moneys too tight to mention 7 Heaven 8 Jericho 9 picture book (Yes I know I cut out open the red box but I just kinda felt it was a bit filler)
Good album. Didn’t go mega hard but solid
I don't think I've heard of them before this but it's enjoyable. Very 80s pop. Gives me Steely Dan vibes.
Very diverse album. Straight 80s to lounge Jazz.
Sensual vibes
3 1/2
Read voice
Surprisingly good and funky. Felt like the music over powered the voice at times but it’s alright
rock suave com pegada anos 80, divertido mas não especial
It's okay.
Chrerlin
Groovy. The cover of ”Heaven” stands out as particularly effective, otherwise the music is very of it’s time
The New Wavish songs on this album are bangers, but the other jazziest ones are pretty weak. It's a good album, just not an excellent one.
A love/hate album for me. So many brilliant synthesizer lines and very catchy sounds that defined the 80s, but at the same time, half of the songs make me think Simply Red were trying too hard to be popstars by clumsily borrowing soul music or jazz aesthetics. Glad to know them better anyway!
some funky stuff but in the end it's soft rock. You know what you getting, and it doesn't excite me.
I didn't have cable growing up, but my grandparents did and we'd visit them a couple times a year. I wanted them to have MTV, but the cable tier they had only had Vh1. So I got a big dose of this, Tracy Chapman and Swing Out Sister. And I'm all the better for it. Holding Back the Years is a great song. Hoo boy, though, Jericho. That one almost broke me. Yeah, nothing really gets to that same height as Holding Back, but this isn't hack work. They're putting their backs into it.
This album has moments of where everything seems to line up and the instrumentals and vocals complement each other well. However, when mixing a timeless style like soul, and a very dated synth sound, it’s bound to be jarring when listened to 35 years after its release. The lyrics occasionally express economic anxieties that were prevalent at the time especially in the UK, but there’s such a disjunction between the music and words being sung that it doesn’t quite have the same effect as a new wave album for example that expresses the same sentiment. Overall, not bad, not great, but an interesting clash of styles.
Actually enjoyed this a fair bit more than I thought I would. Those initial expectations were pretty low mind ...
I like the hits from this album, but the whole thing is a bit much.
Dangerously close to liking a Simply Red album here. Money's too tight to mention still slaps.
Nice enough album, a couple hits and the rest were pretty chill.
I know a few Simply Red songs, but only recognised one here (didn't catch the name) and I didn't even know it was Simply Red. Definitely wasn't a worldwide smash hit like STARS was in the early 90s - boy do I remember that!! Overall, I really don't have anything bad to say about this album. If you're a hipster you'll hate how well written, cleanly produced and nicely pulled off it is (did they not even know just what groundbreaking garbagey talentless noise dinosaur jnr were making at the same time?!), but if you're not a complete toss it'll just come across as well written, cleanly produced and nicely pulled off. Not my fav genre by any stretch but totally ok for 45min on a Sunday morning. 3/5.
Not a bad pop album. Definitely have some mixed feelings as some songs were catchy and good and others were almost skippable. Definitely a product of its era as well which made this one just ok. 5.8/10
This was good as background music. Nothing really stood out to me.
I thought this was peak 85, then a sax solo started..... Very enjoyable tunes
Before Mick Hucknall went full tosser.
Very good music for drive time home just as night is falling
6/10 some jams but the 80s overproduction and corny vocals detracted at times
Fun(ky) - very 80s and funny fairlight i guess trumpet but yea so far quite pleasant melodies. 'sad old red' is jazz n nice. it's all quite pleasant but idk if it's for me in the foreground...
There is another challenger for the battle against the mediocrity of '80s synthpop. Equipped with elements from jazz and soul, as well as a pretty good vocalist, Simply Red made a pretty nice effort in it in their debut, "Picture Book". But unfortunately, they lost the battle. The generic sound of the '80s synthpop didn't engulfed them, but it knocked them to the ground. "Come to My Aid" is such an early triumph. The banger sounds generic, but they used the sound well and produced such an electrifying synth pop song. After it comes a live (?) jazz infused song. While the instrumentals here are great, the overall sounds are unremarkable and even boring. It's not really downhill from here. Some songs, especially the slower ones, are pretty good. But it's all dull and boring. Not exactly generic, but still terrible. Not a really bad album though. An easy listen, at least for the first time.
3/5 okeyish but no
Easily a good album in its own right, but not my style, so I probably won't return to this one. Some fun groovy motown 80s-ness, but also a bit of excess cheesiness that described many 80s songs. Love the singer's voice a lot; sorta a mix between Phil Collins and George Michael and Elton John?
11/24/2021 Today's Album: "Picture Book" by Simply Red - I like this album decently well. I think the sound is really clean and emblematic of what was going on with pop rock in the 80s. Some moments sound like Michael Jackson, Prince, Alan Parson's Project, The Police, and maybe even some Van Halen? There's some really nice stuff on the opening moments of the album, like the Paul Simon like anthem that is Come to my Aid or the soultry bassline that backs Sad Old Red. I think that there are some very forgettable songs on this album, but that isn't to say there isn't great musicianship throughout the rest of the track list with some catchy hooks and groovy basslines. Overall, I had a good time when I was listening to it. It definitely had a coherent feel and consistent vibe throughout Score: 6.5/10 pretty good. Highlights: Come to My Aid, Sad Old Red, Heaven, Holding Back the Years, Open up the Red Box, Picture Book
These guys are a better band than I remember. There are some really good tunes on here, but all of it is just outside of my style preferences. It's very dated to the eighties.... instrument choice and production wise
Better than I expected.
Very nice smooth production made for easy listening.
easy listening, typical 80s synth style with a smooth voice. Nice!
Better than I had expected.
This guy has a crazy powerful voice, but to listen to him for an hour straight is made me a bit nauseous.
This album surprised me. Loved it.
Heel erg soulfull album. Begon wel een klein beetje te vervelen na een tijdje
If you don't know simply red by now, you may never, never, never know them. Pretty good debut album.
Some tracks sound embarrassingly dated but Holding back the years and Moneys too tight manage to hold up well. Credit to Mick Hucknall for his strong vocals and for a good effort for a debut album.
Good music, although the most repetitive sections really stood out for me (No Direction) and put me off. 80% of it I liked but 20% of it was working against me.
Liked more than I thought I would
Simply ok
I don't hate this album. I just prefer Style Council.
Funky music Pop dance genre 3/5
I liked Money's Too Tight (To Mention)
I've heard of Simply Red but never listened to their music. Not what I was expecting, actually enjoyed their music though the album wasn't very exciting.
Funky tunes, enjoyed it but not memorable enough
This feels like a combination of disco or soul music with sprinkles of indie or blues thrown in depending on the song. It really defies categorization. Unfortunately, most of the songs aren't very good. Heaven is the best song from a bluesy standpoint and money's too right is like a generic disco song. Overall, this is a 5/10 album. I would say it doesn't belong on the 1001 albums list.
Favourite Song: Holding Back the Years
The pop tracks are great, the lounge tracks are not
Great voice but only a couple of songs really caught my attention, predictably "Holding Back the Years" and "Money's too tight (to mention)
not to bad.
Enjoyable, but wasn't in the mood.
If feel like the artist doesn't know what genre to play so he plays them all.
Holding Back the Years was a beautiful serenade. Kept thinking I was listening to Carly Simon or Annie Lennex. Had some good song… If you don’t Know Me By Now….then listen to their best
“Picture Book” by Simply Red (1985) One of the benefits of doing daily reviews of music selected randomly by someone else is that every once in a while, you across music that is good, but that somehow you missed over the years. This is one of those good albums. Good grooves, tight but colorful rhythms, thoughtful lyrics. Lead vocal is good, marred only by airy lows and tinny highs. Arrangements are elaborate enough to sustain interest, featuring well executed keyboards and trumpet. If I had heard this in 1985, I’d like to think I would have been a fan of Simply Red. That's all I have today It's all I have to say 3/5
This felt like something I would have heard when I was younger, a sort of poppy soft rock. Kind of felt like Peter Gabriel at moments but also like other 80's pop/rock. I really enjoyed the opening song and it immediately was stuck in my head. Some of the others were skips but overall I enjoyed this one. Creepy album cover.
It's one of my mom's favorite bands. I don't think extended versions should be evaluated the same way. Maybe I would prefer to listen to the original album.
Pop. Soul. Agradable.
This was alright, easy listening
Decent quality guilty pleasure. But if i think of him, i need to listen to something else.
80’s stuff. Kinda boring
Had a hard time making sense of this one, especially after the first track was super 80's synthy and then the second track was jazz/big band. Overall I didn't like the album that much but it did make me curious about them. Loved their Talking Heads "Heaven" cover, it made me appreciate the lyrics in a way that I hadn't in the TH version.
How is this essential? This is easily the most dated album I’ve gotten so far.
Surprisingly good. I'm definitely now of the right age to really appreciate this record. Younger me would have hated this.
Simply Adequate.
First song was 80s cheese. Then 2nd is sorta Soul and live? What the hell is Jericho's lyrics? Personal enjoyment would be a like a 2. But it's to be objective I guess a 3. He's not a bad singer and nothing is bad, but absolutely not my music.
A este disco también le tuve que dar dos pasadas. Casi todo el disco tiene como una onda melancólica, no tanto por el ritmo, sino por los acordes/escala que utilizan. En mi mente, este disco suena como un Maroon 5 ochentero.
Not bad for background. Somewhat boring though
cuando aún no usaba la voz tan chillona, buen soul y blues para ser blancos
Quite a nice album, not sure if it's for me but I have a feeling I will give it another go
This was okay to listen to. Only a couple of songs were standouts.
The opening of the album is heralded by an extremely dated synth line which immediately suggests the worst, but the rest of the songs fail to follow through with that promise. The Birks' Works quote is a particular high point, and while the title track is a rather indulgent note to end on, the musicianship is high-quality all the way through.
I remember driving in the back of Nanny's car in the late 80s, "Holding Back the Years" came on, it was raining and that AC was working great. Was one of the best naps of my life.
Soul music, minus the soul
Just OK for me. Positives: 1. His voice. 2. The horn charts can almost distract one from remembering that this is, in essence, 80’s Britpop. Negatives: All that jelly and no toast - this kind of does a slow burn to nowhere.
Very much an 80s album. The vocals are impressive, but nothing stands out.
Non mi ha detto niente
Как будто прослушал саундтрек к фильму 70-х годов
Holding back the yawns
This album is pretty dated. And most of the songs sound alike with just a few lyrics repeating over and over. Not very creative. If I heard just one or two songs, I might think they have a cool sound.
Clearly a gifted, distinctive vocalist that much like Adele I can't quite put my finger on why I don't enjoy them. Other than Holding Back the Years this album is a testament to its times, dated sounding and the quality plummets once you get past the single. It sounds like half of the instrumentation was created on a Casio keyboard every kid had in 1985. I can think of 15 albums from 1985 better than this off the top of my head. I understand that everyone has wildly different taste in music but I would like to sit down with the person that decided that THIS album was one of 1001 albums you MUST hear before you die. 1 solid single doesn't save this.
Didn't do much for me. 4/10
not for me.
Competently made, but offered nothing to interest, excite, or inspire me. Sounds like a retread of music that predates it. Their soulful take on Talking Heads’ “Heaven” is a good example of how much the arrangement matters in making songwriting shine: it’s one of my favorite TH songs, but was an absolute snoozer here.
I don't think that I'd ever purposefully sit down and listen to this band again.
This is the most epically alright thing I've ever listened to
I tend to enjoy this 80's blend of soul, funk, city pope etc. This, while having decent prodcution and performances, feels a little less memorable on the songwriting and overall just a littlee cheesier. I'll give simply red the single "Stars" since I remember my coworker sent me the music video and I thought it was amazing in a meme kind of way. She also showed me APO Hiking Society so if you want some good cheesy music hit those guys up.
Sigh, the sounds of a promo for Smooth FM....... There is SOME redeeming features on here - the cover of 'Money's Too Tight To Mention' is good, and Holding Back The Years has been a staple on FM radio for years. But the rest of it just kinda sucks. Taking 'Heaven' by Talking Heads and turning it into a boring dirge should be a hanging offence. And the rest is mostly just jazzy nonsense with terrible 80s production. No thanks.
Wanted more from this one. Starts off really strong and I was prepared to actually like it quite a bit, but just sort of meanders through a lot of other slower tracks that are trying to be jazz or soul and don't quite hit the mark. Not really sure why Holding Back the Years is their biggest song? It's just sort of a lite AM radio jam and a little schlocky honestly. Jericho is OK, the closer is OK. His voice is sort of interesting in parts, but yeah, this one wasn't for me.
Imagine the raw emotion and personality all the greatest soul singers have brought to their music, and now imagine a soul album with none of that. There are some talented musicians here, but the album falls flat because there is absolutely nothing to make the music here stand out from just about any other bland pop album. It wasn’t a horrible listen, but you know it’s not great when the album ended and I didn’t even notice for a good 10 minutes.
What in the yacht disco is this ginger doing?
It's 80's pop. Some of the songs are fun, but, there's nothing here that I really felt I needed to hear. It wasn't a bad listen, but it felt more like something to pass the time rather than a musical must.
I didn't expect to enjoy this and overall, I didn't It started off ok but the longer it went on, the more I remembered why I've been convinced that I don't like Simply Red for the last 40 years It's not a complete train wreck, but it's not for me
“Simply Red standing by” *proceeds to get shot down by a tie fighter*
I knew I wouldn't like this album just from the cover art... it looks like a dramatized version of the South Park ginger kids. There were some sparks of Weather Channel jams within the piece, but nothing fascinated me.
This album was kind of all over the place, especially in the beginning. I didn't gravitate towards any song in particular, but it wasn't terrible. A low 2 for me. Also, what the fuck are the adlibs on "No Direction"?? It sounds like my two-year old when he enters into what I lovingly call "gremlin mode."
I liked the cover of "Heaven." That’s one of my favorite songs ever written so it’s nice to hear this version do it justice. Beyond that I enjoyed most of the well enough but don’t expect to revisit.
Yeah look I was never the biggest fan, though the hits were pretty good pop.
Y paraît que ça se trouve partout dans'les bargain bins; ça fait du carton d'allumage pas cher pour le camping.
C’est très funky. Pas trop mon genre mais en vrai c’est pas mal. Bon… c’est répétitif quand même mdr. Du coup je sais pas si je connais déjà le son ou si j’ai vachement entendu les mêmes accords / sonorités / rythmes aux chansons d’avant. OK ça aurait du s’arrêter au 11ème titre Money’s too tight (ou avant même mdddrr). Là c’est chiant en fait. J’étais parti sur 3 mais c’est trop. Dommage pcq Holding back the years est sympa (l’est-elle parce qu’elle l’est ? Ou juste pcq ça change des 1h en boucle qu’on vient de se taper ?)
Not bad, just not memorable.
I like the 80s vibe and the airy feeling this has. Otherwise, I was simply (bo)red.
The best songs are the ones without the synth and obligatory "'80s sound".
470 albums in. Very unhappy and disappointed at the amount of terrible, garbage music on this list. The bulk of it is just average at best: there’s a review here from someone who is over 900 albums in complaining of basically the same thing. I think I’m going to tap out at 500 albums because what’s the point of keeping going if it never improves? I find more new music to me every week that I enjoy than the year and a half I’ve spent doing this project. This album? It’s wonderful if you like unpopular old British synth pop from the 80’s. It’s boring. That’s one of the worst things any art can be. That’s me on the album cover, looking away, sad, blue, and wondering how soon the end of the album is so I can find happiness again.
It is hardly a quintessential record and I can imagine loads of album that would merit its inclusion before this one. But at least it was an easy listen. 7/10 [DROP]
80sSlop.wav
While there are a few highlights throughout (Jericho, Money's Too Tight, Red Box) most of the other songs are mindless mixes of pop and jazz fusion. 2.4/5 -> 2/5
I do not like this very much
-1 for all the covers
eh definitivamente não precisava estar na lista mas não foi odiável não. só chato e monotono. bobo pra carai.
This is more damaging to redheads than the 'Gingervitis' episode of South Park
Low 2. Vocals don't work for me for the majority of the album.
Not terrible, not too my taste. A few tracks were nice enough
Did not enjoy
Boring and annoying in a few places. Slick production.
Simply Red gets a low 2 from me, the Talking Heads cover is unforgivable and much of the album peters out into mid tempo nothingness - however, the production is pretty and occasionally they hit a similar spot to my beloved Blue Nile, just far too rarely
Not my thing
Very much department store music vibes. More generic british garbage that doesn't deserve to be memorialized by this list. They should have stopped at 500 instead of adding filler to get to 1001.
There was more disco than I was expecting on this album. And the rest was soul/blues, which is is never my thing.
Super cheesy.
Maso
Just sorta there not really doing much
Sure. Man, that one 5 star review guy up top has some of the worst taste I've ever witnessed.
jazzy, easy listening type stuff
Didn't really enjoy it.
Holding Back the Years is best known track here, but none are my jam.
Doing mental gymnastics to justify this being someone’s guilty pleasure album in my most generous state of mind. Much like that Bruce Springsteen ‘Rising’ album from a few days ago, I don’t think you can fault Simply Red for lack of effort. But you can criticize the end result. More importantly, you SHOULD criticize the decision to put Picture Book on this list. “Heaven” wielded some of this albums worst lyrics, heavy-handed writing and a clunky vocal delivery. It’s a fine representative for this album’s lack of substance. “Money’s Too Tight” was the most listenable, a song that actually finds a groovy pocket and pairs it with a catchy chorus. Really the only song I enjoyed. I am out of my depth here, but I think this record borrows from a lot of music made from black Americans years before. I don’t have a specific record to point to, but I’d encourage listeners to look in that direction instead of listening to this waiting room music. Low 2/5
A couple of good songs and the dude can sing but not my cup of tea.
The day this record was assigned, I happened to see the friend who had recommended I participate in this enterprise (she's been doing it for a while now). When I mentioned this was the album for today, she laughed and said when she had gotten it, it was the first time she had written "why is this on the list?" as her review. I have to concur. Can Mick whatever his name is sing? Absolutely. But the material and 80s production doom this collection. The cover of the Talking Heads "Heaven" is a perfect illustration of how an excellent voice does not necessarily elevate a piece of music.
Another UK-centric album for this UK-centric list. One of the many albums from the ‘80s that had one or two good songs on it and the rest of the album is quite weak. I thought the one good song on here would be “Holding Back The Years” but listening to it years later I found that song didn’t really go anywhere. I remember liking it when it came out but also being slightly annoyed at how over-played it was on the radio back then. Turns out there isn’t enough to that song to be truly essential listening. The best song actually might be “Money’s Too Tight To Mention” but I just learned that it’s a cover so… Since this list is for essential albums this one should be left off.
105. ok
mick hucknall's voice is extremely grating to me, i like this kind of music a lot but this didn't do anything for me. one or two songs i thought were pretty good, not exceptional though
Inoffensive at times, but always dull.
Was never a fan. Boring.
Daryl Hall is nowhere on this list and this dude is?
Simply meh.
Perfectly fine and incredibly lame
My mom loves this music (idk probably) Best Song: Holding Back the Years Rating: 4/10 Stars: 2
Just can't seem to get used to those 80s sounds🤷
It's hard to rate this one because I simply did not like it. Picture Book takes itself awfully seriously as a pastiche of soul records.
Relatively bland early 80s british. Sounds exactly how you thought it would. Could've been played at Sears in the 90s. That's actually where you heard these songs.
Bland
Not my kind of thing, and I can never escape the knowledge of what a douchebag Mick Hucknall is. Holding Back The Years is absolutely terrific, though.
Strangely the most mediocre album I think I've ever heard. It sounds like a soundtrack to a bad '80s movie. I don't think I'll seek this album out again. 1.6 outta 5
Not for me
I gave this two shots. Simple Red (assuming that’s his name) has a fantastic singing voice, but these songs didn’t land with me at all. The cover of Heaven made me feel generally unpleasant.
The cover alone raised suspicion for a bad album. Giant hat and douchey gaze. Album does not prove my suspicions wrong. It oozes pretense. Its an abomination of blue eyed sould mixed with the 80s synth. The best song was a talking heads cover.
Thoughts before listening: 80s pop rock, new wave band. I know they have a hit or two, but I can't remember what their popular songs are. I do recognize this cover which is a good indication the hits will actually be on this album. Review: I need to stop assuming ALL 80s pop records were new wave. This doesn't really fall in that category, with this being more of a jazzy, soulful sound although the production often leans into cheeseball 80s territory. I like their cover of "Heaven" by the Talking Heads, with them singing the lyrics over an old soul, Otis Redding style arrangement. The 80s production is really getting to me though. I do recognize "Holding Back the Years", but its just such a sappy song. This is really teetering over to the saccharine side of pop that I can't stand. This is a 2-star record, mainly cause they covered the Talking Heads.
There’s some musical talent and sophistication going on here. But I am not into this. They butchered “Heaven.” Shame on them.
"Picture Book" is an unfortunately unadventurous and bland pop record.
Not good then, still not good now.
Not my vibe, but could be dealers choice.
God why.
2.5 Before I get into my review, I have to give a shoutout to lovesonglady, a 73-year old woman whom I recently played NYT Crossplay with. Of course I had to ask her what her favorite particular love song is, and she replied saying anything by Simply Red (though I think Stars and If You Don’t Know Me by Now were both mentioned). Now, lovesonglady was incredibly sweet, enjoyable to chat with, and deadly with the tiles, but I’m having trouble seeing eye-to-eye with her on this one - though, to be fair, I’m sure she felt similarly about my response back (which was probably Bright Eyes) and was just being polite all the same. That to say, in spite of what I’m about to say about this album, I smiled when I saw it pop up for that reason. But yeah, this is suuuuch a generic soft rock-sounding pop album. Wikipedia classifies it sophisti-pop, a genre I’ve come to learn is as pretentious as it is boring… which tracks here. The opener, Come to My Aid, is admittedly kind of catchy, but I found very little else about this interesting. It’s never unpleasant on the ears, but it also has nothing to say nor much of an ambience to provide… unless background, Target music is your kind of vibe. I clicked through every song again just now as a sort of refresher for writing inspiration and still couldn’t tell you a single thought or feeling any one track gave me - for me, this is music at its most vanilla. Sorry lovesonglady, but this isn’t for me. That said, I’m sure your ladies' church choir group could do a rendition of anything here that I would appreciate over Sad Old Red’s.
Couple bops but overall tacky. I am bothered by the term Blue Eyed Soul, curious how it is/was viewed. If it needs a distinction it should just be called white soul or maybe just "bad" soul. "Blue eyed" seems to be implying subtly something other than the artists skin color.
Come to My Aid was a cool opener but rest of this was so cheesy. Moneys Too Tight sounded like a Flight of the Concords joke song.
Simply Red falls into the bargain bin of Walmarts or forgotten in the annals of second hand stores. It’s not bad, but it definitely Picture Book definitely places Simply Red in the B or C tier of 80’s pop acts. Not inspired enough to truly break though, their songs will be enshrined in soundtracks for various corporate pharmacies and ‘adult’-oriented radio stations around the world. The highest possible 2!
This should be something I love, a little new wave, a little jazz influenced, great performances, and amazing production. But it just comes out like Muzak. It only gets two stars as there is nothing wrong with the album, it is just boring.
Listened to it. Don’t remember any of it
It's almost remarkably corny at spots, but I still enjoyed it in spots.
Everything about this album seems like it was designed in a lab to be a punchline in ‘Arrested Development.’ It’s kind of mind blowing that a song like “Holding Back the Years” was the number 1 song in America for a time. The Reagan years were even bleaker than I thought. Overall, fine, but no stand out songs for me, maybe the first one. Otherwise kinda meh.
One really good song, others not so good. Great singer, tight production.
Growing up in the UK, in the 80s and 90s, Mick Hucknall was a figure of fun and derision. Simply Red were also hugely successful. I knew the hits before hearing the album, I'd be amazed if any Brit my age didn't but, because of their middle of the road beigeness and Hucknall's reputation, ever consider listening to a whole album. Now I have, I can see why Simply Red were both successful and mocked. This is music for people who don't really like music. A bit of soul, a bit of funk, a bit of synth and bit of rock all shoved into one package with a decent vocalist. It's like my mum's chilli con carne, whose sole spice comes from half a teaspoon of decade old cayenne pepper. Grindingly dull, but not quite awful enough to deserve a one.
Inoffensive album with 1-2 songs I might revisit at some point, but nothing I feel drawn to overall.
This album cover made me think that this was going to be knockoff Dexys Midnight Runners. And given that real Dexys Midnight Runners are awful, that scared me. Thankfully, it isn't knockoff Dexys Midnight Runners, but rather something more tolerable(if only just). It's ripoff American-style R&B made by white British guys without the talent of the American greats. It tries to groove, it tries to be soulful, but it doesn't do it well enough to get compelling. Vocals are important with this genre, and this guy can't even approach the heights of people like Marvin Gaye. Then there's the question: Why would I put this on when I could bump some Earth, Wind, & Fire? It doesn't do enough to answer this question, and suffers for it. Therefore, it's not essential listening- and that's before you get to the part about it being British guys ripping off American music like it's the friggin' 60s, man.
This one just sounded like a generic 80s pop album to me. Clean production, smooth vocals, and nothing that really stood out or felt unique. It wasn’t terrible, just kind of bland. By the time it ended, I couldn’t remember much about it besides the overall vibe.
Thinks pretty corney it get one extra star for holding back the years
This sounds someone was carrying an armful of disco tracks and bumped into someone carrying an armful of generic 80s White Boy Soul, and they all got mixed up and they just decided to not bother sorting them back out. It’s incoherent, and none of the songs are actually good. I’m especially annoyed that they took one of my favorite Talking Heads songs and made it Bad.
A veces me compraría el libro solo para leer porque ha metido ciertos discos. Y este es uno de ellos. ¿Qué aporta este disco a la historia de la música? Ni idea. No contiene grandes canciones inolvidables. No es innovador. Ni sus letras son trascendentes. No entiendo
Great voice, but the music is mostly bland.
Is it as bad as all the other reviews? I don't think so, but it is not good. I'm sad that Talking Heads let them cover "Heaven"...
There is music here, so I'm giving it a 2. But I literally never need to hear this.
There’s an obvious reason why I’ve never heard of this before.
This was okay. It's a pop rock record with an 80s sheen. Unfortunately the songs were not super engaging, and quality vocal hooks were significantly lacking. This could not be made up for even with the tight instrumentation and crisp and glossy production. 2.5/5
2 out of 5 Better than I thought. I never listened to Simply Red in the 80s, but I am now liking some of their songs in this season of my life. Not too bad, but too long an album.
2 Stars (5/15)
Review partly affected by a bad listen of the album but wasn't my favourite, 3rd song was a bit of a banger, but the rest not that exciting for me
Standouts: - the last minute of Sad Old Red ugh blues I think I hate repetitive drums/bass riffs more than I hate repetitive guitar riffs when the singer shuts up and the trumpet takes over has been the highlight so far that was in the 2nd song and nothing happened in the rest of the album couldn't be more of a 2 if it tried kind of 2
Eh, maybe should’ve titled this one, “simply butt”. I dunno, there are way worse records on this project, but this one is pretty hard to get through. It’s like smooth jazz that I swear I’ve heard before in the grocery store about 40 years ago. It super sucks. 2/5
2.5
Tried to do go in with an open mind, despite Simply Red being one of my most hated bands since childhood, and got to their soporific cover of “Heaven” before realizing that there was nothing this album could do to be dissuade me from thinking they’re a truly awful band.
I remember when "Holding Back the Years" got radio play. The album isn't bad, but that's the only song that really got me. The whole thing felt like it was trying to figure out where it wanted to be. Blues? Rock? Pop? Pick a lane, buddy. My Rating: 2/5
God forbid a red head get a little motion.
- kasari kuuluu vahvasti, en tiiä miten tämmöne musa oikeesti kestää aikaa mut en mä ny ehkä koko albumillista jaksais kuunnella, iha cool
I bet his favourite colour is green. This album started off really cool, but then kinda dragged on. It’s not even that the album is too long, I think every song was just more of the same. This is a time piece for sure, that should stay in the time period it was released in.
Well produced but uninteresting 2.3
More mediocre britpop from the 1001 album gods. I found this uninspiring, and bland. Like the equivalent of unseasoned chicken and mashed potatoes. Palatable but no substance or spice to it, left me wanting more. There were hints of blues and jazz in here which were nice, but honestly were just kinda there at points, and weren't really tapped into all that much. Listened to this 2-3 times and I can't even recall any of the melodies or songs. -1 point for the weird chalk boy on the album cover, unsettling. 5/10
Not for me, too soft rock for me.
First artist/album that I’ve never heard of at all
Ah that Bayern 3 Sound. Not bad but much of the same?
I don't know what to say about this album because it did not do anything for me. I listened to it but that is all I did.
I dont even remember it a day later
Pre-listening thoughts: I remember these guys. I vividly remember Holding Back the Years and the little snippet of the song they’d play on late night TV advertisements for the compilation disc sets. I can’t recall anything else about them. Post-Listen: ugh. Holding Back the Years was … fine. Worse than I remembered? I couldn’t get into the album at all. I just don’t see this as an album people need to listen to. I won’t be returning.
Perfectly acceptable 80-90s soft pop. I'm completely uninspired, but there's not much to dislike. More than any previous album I don't see why it's an album I have to have listened to?
I don't like the bluesy soul sound.
Listenable and Mick is a good singer but it all feels very corporate, if that makes sense to say. Feels like all the rough edges have been sanded off for maximum appeal. Also bit weird that Mich Hucknall ranked ethnicities by coolness that one time.
I'm honestly very confused by this. I don't really know what it's trying to be. Maybe it's my perspective, but the album feels like it has an identity issue. Or it hasn't properly mixed the genres that it's trying to mix. The 80s pop vibes and soul elements feel so separate from each other. I think the idea is there, but the execution is not. It just doesn't really sound that good. Maybe I'm in a pessimistic mood about this album because I'm tired, but it doesn't do anything for me. Favorite Song(s): Holding Back the Years
Certainly not an album I had to listen to but not the worst thing ever. I would be worried if someone said Simply Red was one of their favorite artists thiugh
2/10. Why on earth is this on a top albums list?! This is objectively not good. It wasn’t even good for 1985. I can appreciate the singer’s voice but I would never listen to this album again. Never. The Good: amazing vocals The Bad: the lyrics, often unintentionally funny (which is not something I want in the music I listen to) Worst Song: Picture Book Best song: Holding Back the Years
The album itself is average, at best. But listening to Mick Hucknall’s voice is totally worth the 45 minutes.
Okay
Tämä on tismalleen sellasta musaa, joka soi MTV3:n ohjelmatietojen taustalla tai päivän päätteeksi vuonna 1993. Siitä siis pienet nostalgialisät.
Favorite tracks: Look at You Now, Money's Too Tight (To Mention), Come to My Aid This was... fine. That's all.
This is the stuff your mum and aunties all danced to in the eighties
Lite jobbigt att lyssna på, på något sätt.
Meh
At one time I liked this album to some degree. In recent years I realized how bland it is, and at it's worst, Mick Hucknall's performance feels sanctimonious. Ended up skipping most of this and listened to the Durutti Column instead.
Agree with another rather that this is that Kmart and department store shit thy played in the 90s
bleh
I despise that cover of Heaven, just no good at all. Rest of it was blah too
I've never listened to Simply Red before. Overall kind of meh and boring. I was surprised by the "Heaven" cover. It wasn't until "Holding Back the Years" that I was like, "Oh, it's _this_ song."
lame boo boring corny (i'm running out of bad things to say about british artists)
Groupe connu de nom uniquement (il ne m'a pas marqué du tout à l'époque). Bonne surprise dans cet album : 'Sad Old Red' morceaux jazz avec un chorus de sax plutôt réussi. Beau chorus aussi dans 'Heaven', mais sur dans un morceau un peu moins intéressant. Le reste est variable. Je trouve que le son de synthé a mal vieilli, même si basse + guitare sont plutôt bien (Look at you now). Et quand le rythme diminue l'ennui guette (Jericho). Découverte mitigée donc, je ne suis pas sur de l'écouter une seconde fois. =>2/5
Simply Red are just not for me
Not really something I enjoyed too much. Not the type of music I usually listen to, so hard for me to say. Production sounds extremely clean. In my only listen through, there wasn't a whole lot that caught my ear or stood out to me. "Look at You Now" was probably my favorite track. Reminded me a little of Talking Heads.
Sure it fine but so overexposed back in the day. Swerved this entriely
Moneys Too Tight To Mention Holding Back the Years (I don't like when they include alternate versions)
Highly reminiscent of piped music in a hotel lobby. The inoffensive nature almost scored it higher as a kneejerk reaction after Kollaps
Don't really understand why this would be considered on this list. Rather boring and each song blended into each other.
Started off ok, but it really didn’t build to anything. I question what was the innovation that put this album on any list you need to hear.
Never been a fan, not my style.
No es para nada mi rollo
Simply Red must be a band huge in England but as an American born a decade after the formation of Simply Red, I have literally never heard of them until this popped up in the 1001+ album generator. I'm going in as blind into an album as any other band thus far, the closest before was Faces--a band I already knew about. Quite an interesting album: the first sound sounds very disco inspired as the second one sounds like a big band live(?) performance with a crooner. Then they finally go in on the 80s synths on "Look At You Now"(holy DX7 batman). There's a Talking Heads cover of Heaven on here, and it's not good. Jericho closes side one to make this record definitely feel like it's stuck in the 80s. Side two opens with the two biggest hits on the album that launched Simply Red into the UK pop landscape. Money's Too Tight is a cover from an R&B band from Cincinnati that translates well to a UK audience. I'll Keep Holding On is the big hit Simply Red had in America, which is one of those songs you hear extensively in grocery stores and no where else. I used to work at one of those places, which makes me biased against the song when it's played on those crappy speakers. Now at home with a more hi-fi set up, hearing the little extra session music instrumentation adds much needed spice to the song, but it's still not something I would seek or search for, but it makes the DX7 sound a lot more grand. The rest of Side 2: Red Box feels like filler: nothing special happening in this song. No Direction is a nice shake-up of tempo, though at this point in the album I'm getting a bit tired of Hucknall's vocals. Picture Book, the self-titled song, concludes the album in a big (reverb) sounding fashion, with cryptic lyrics that finish an album filled of a variety of different sounds, blurring together as a 1980s cocktail of experimental, pop-infused innovation on a variety of blues/rhythm and blues inspired music. This is probably the most "okay" record I've heard thus far. I see its influence, not as much its importance beyond its presentation. I am so whelmed that it does not change my adamant nature on this album: probably really engaging when it came out, but sounds stuck in the 80s. Not a lot of re-engagement for me on this one, my favorite tracks being Sad Old Red and Look At You Now. I don't really want to write more about this. Is it worthy of being in the 1000+ music to hear before you die? very strong "eh" there, the big hits on this album are still played on 80s stations, but Simply Red did not realyl breakout overseas, they seemed like they were content being a UK/European band or sound of the time, America preferred pop music that was much more into vanity, something like this would not last too long. I would've replaced this album with something like Seal II. Perhaps I discount some good number of artists that loved Simply Red and were very inspired by this record to do their own famous records, but I don't hear any of that discussion.
Emballé au début par cette pop / synthé a la george Michael et finalement ca s'essouffle
I appreciate Mick Hucknall's voice; dude can belt and he knows it. The songs unfortunately just run together and are mostly unremarkable 80s pop. Credit for "Holding Back the Years" which carried over from his previous band, but overall don't need to listen again.
Heaven is half decent. Elsewhere there really isn’t much to enjoy
Ok, but kinda boring
Soft rock from the 80s. Not bad for background music.
Saw that Simply Red was tagged as a Pop act so I figured I’d listen on my run today, thinking it would at the very least bring some good energy. Well, that was a miss assessment, this was dull, listless, uninteresting drivel. Synth Pop can be awesome when it’s done right, I don’t think this was done right. Also, Mick Hucknall looks like a bit of a douche. Apparently he was a punk rocker prior to this… poser. 2 stars
Not for me
Good voice, but overall sounds dated
Wasn’t bad per se, just definitely not my style. Not a record I would ever play myself. I just watched The Burdcage and it reminds me of the music that was in the skundtrack
This is a miss for me, sounded like an 80s album for sure, but it didn't stand out.
Well that's the first time I've ever heard "Reaganomics" in a song lyric. I haven't heard a Simply Red song since the last time I sat through one on the radio with my finger poised over the record button in hopes that the song after it wouldn't suck. I had a good run, I guess.
Ugh. I expect these albums to be really good and/or culturally significant. Where does this even fall? It’s FINE.
Too 80's and disco type pop for my taste. Hucknall's voice is unique which can be both good and bad. I liked "Holding Back The Years". Even with that song I'd only want to hear it sparingly.
Something makes me think they recorded this just because they wanted some money
I bought this album when it came out, and I quite enjoyed it. That enjoyment faded pretty quickly. I guess I got bored with the synthetic quality of the music (a widespread sin of many groups during the 1980s). I like Hucknall’s voice, and (at its best) the band can be quite soulful. But the music often sounds synthetic and soulless.
Followed a couple bangers so this one fell a little flat. It wasn’t terrible but there was a lot of 80s/90s dated flair that didn’t quite hit with me. Not a cohesive album statement with live and studio mix. Not bad, but not for me.
K mart music
This sounds like bad 80’s Aretha Franklin. But at least she used to make good music.
Итс окэй. Лучшая песня - Sad Old Red.
extra point for Holding Back the Years
It was pretty average. It wasn't bad at the beginning, but it got annoying toward the middle
Couldn’t listen to it all at once - it took me at least 5-6 tries to get through the album. It’s not necessarily terrible but man was I not in the mood for this today.
In the words of Alex Horne, in the song "Money's Too Tight to Mention" he mentions money 57 times. The album itself is fine, albeit dated and a bit uninspiring. It's not bad, but there's nothing to hold it in the esteem of a lot of the other albums on this list.
Hucknall can clearly sing, but I don't care for his voice. The production doesn't help; it all comes across as a bit soulless. Also the Talking Heads version of Heaven is vastly superior.
Inoffensive to the point of forgettableness for me - Money's too Tight to Mention a groovy little hook, but otherwise the aimless keyboards and a suffusion of meandering vocals means I won't be back.
It was ok, but nothing special.
This feels like a melding of the last dying gasp of disco and some fairly generic British new wave. It's pretty well produced for what it is, but it's not very engaging or interesting.
Oh well. Does this stem from the period when Simply Red was actaually a band rather than Mick Hucknall and sidekicks? Hucknall has a terrific voice here, and I think the success of this album indicated the appetite for classic souls, with a 1980s production twinkle. I am not convinced this is a truly great album - it's a bit backward looking for that.
Holding Back the Years is a classic. Come to My Aid and Money’s Too Tight (to Mention) are pretty good. Look at You Now is also decent (why does it kind of remind me of Talking Heads? Then again, they did cover "Heaven" on here - not too successfully, though). The rest is a bit too cheesy for my liking, with production that sounds too pristine and dated (though I can’t really fault an ’80s record for this, it’s just that I don’t like this kind of sound). Open Up the Red Box made me very uncomfortable. No Direction would be decent if not for those "spooky" voices Mick is making - I found those pretty hilarious. The playing is pretty good throughout.
Not even a cover of one my favourite Talking Heads songs could save this from being a bit of a slog. Everything in Picture Book is just a bit too “of the time” for me to connect. ⭐️⭐️
I bought this album in my mid 20s in a troubling attempt to move with the times. But the trouble with Mick Hucknall, laid bare here, is great voice, terrible songs. So while Holding Back The Years is fabulous, the rest is, well, very ordinary 😐 Trouble all round.
Errr. OK in parts but nondescript. Like AI generic rock.
Eh, not for me. Seemed weak.
A competent but ultimately forgettable collection of songs that rely heavily on vocal charisma to carry otherwise dull material. Won't actively seek it out to listen again.
Just kinda boring tbh
I didn’t hate this, oddly enough. Seems like something I would hate. Must be in a good mood today. That being said, I almost certainly won’t listen to it again, except for the genius hit, that is.
I have no idea what it is because it tries to be too many things at once.
2.5
simply simple... dunno
Dis moi que l'auteur de cette liste est né dans les années 60 sans me dire qu'il est né dans les années 60. Du 80s slop qui mérite probablement même pas d'être sur la liste des meilleurs albums de 1985.
fine
Started off interesting and dropped off quite a lot. 2/5
This one just didn't grab me like "Life" did.
not as annoyingly stylised as I remembered it
Wonderful voice. Some really great tracks but a good chunk of this album just felt kind of monotonous.
Sounded like a shitty band that would play at an 80's social. Some catchy ish songs, but nothing special. Don't really understand how it made the list.
I guess this could probably be called green-eyed soul. While the boy can definitely sing, it's not my bag at all. Icky schmaltzcore for old-fashioned grown-ups 🫥
I think this album has aged as badly as supporting new Labour and the Iraq invasion. I didn't mind "Jericho", and "money's too tight to mention" reminded me of the Rathergood.com flash video where they swap the word "money" with "bunny", which made me chuckle. Competent music but couldn't wait to put something else on.
While the performances and grooves are strong, over the course of an album this fades into a pleasant but ultimately unmemorable set of easy listening jazzy R&B tunes. That background music feel makes it a rather dull active listening experience.
2 nsterne
Simply Red being simply meh and simply redundant.
Not good
There are some real speed bumps in this as an album but a lot of it was really good stuff
At times kind of reminiscent of Phil Collins? Not bad but also not compelling, 2.5
Mmm I really disliked this, and the cover of Heaven is a crime, but my 1-star albums have a real "gross guy you avoid at the bar" vibe and Ol' Red here seems mostly harmless.
Some of the backing stuff was ok, but I found the vocals annoying and a lot of the lyrics were dogshit
I don't know why but Mick Hucknall has such a damn punchable face for me. I struggled to get past that listening to this album. I kinda liked Sad Old Red. Did not expect a song on Reganomics but sure, why not! (Turns out its a cover and doesn't do much different from the original which is a cardinal sin IMO) Holding Back the Years ain't all that good.
2,4/5
Never been a fan and still not convinced, musically solid, vocals are good, bar 2-3 songs found the album a bit boring