Reviews (page 6 of 8)
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
Bland
Det var fed nok egentlig, men ved ikke liiiiige om jeg ville kalde det essentielt
Not entirely horrible.. It does feel like a bit of a weird choice to have so many covers in an album..
Awful schlock. Did not need to hear this.
Cheesy and generic
2.5
Not my thing
Not terrible but not terribly interesting either
a bit boren.
Meh
Jaren '80, witte mannen met funky baslijntjes, de kopstem wordt niet geschuwd, foute jaren '80 synthjes, paar balads, wat gehijg. Met vlagen wat Michael Jacksonesque maar dan met meer percussie. Blijkbaar is het (deels) opgenomen in een studio in Blaricum, daar moeten wij het als Nederlanders qua inbreng in deze lijst zo'n beetje mee doen ook. Dit is niet helemaal mijn ding. Ik kan het uitzitten maar daar is het grotendeels wel mee gezegd. Ik kom niet hoger dan 2 sterren.
Just didn’t do anything for me - English soul just doesn’t seem like a good idea. Meh.
Sounds like the ‘80s. And not in a good way. No thank you. Even the Talking Heads cover is meh.
That was a pretty grody Talking Heads cover. I will never get how this was one of the guys at that Sex Pistols concert, what an odd influence. Anyway, not really my thing. Guy can sing, but the songs are lower case b boring. Dull.
I like a couple songs, but this was overall not good or fun to listen to.
Didn't love it!
The singles are fine. The production is really dated. And the Talking Heads song is giving American Idol week 13 stunt cover vibes. Why is this on the list? It’s stunningly unremarkable…
I could not get through it 😞
Not my favourite thing
Simply average
“Sad Old Red” sticks out like a sore thumb because it doesn’t suck or sound awfully dated, which isn’t true for any other song here. Also, it baffles me that “Holding Back the Years” was a hit, as it’s the worst song on the album. The 80’s really must have been a low point in human history. A lame imitation of Prince, but without the talent.
Ah, 80's cheese. It's a bit moldy, and not in a good way.
Good, but was not my favorite, 2.5 stars
5/10 Ikkje min greie dette.
Not list worthy
5/10
Not much that stood out outside of the first song.
This was quite a middle of the road album, with not too much that stood out and would be quite easy to forget. The song "Heaven" was a nicer change but not strong enough to carry the album further than a two.
Much prefer the slower and mellow tracks on this album. Standouts; Sad old red Jericho Holding back the years
Simply boring. Nice voice, damn shame the music isn’t more interesting
An okay album, but generic and forgettable. I really don't understand how this made the list in the first place. The biggest hit on the album is a cover. This is just another example of the UK-centric bias on this list.
I have a hard time judging some of the albums on this list because I've encountered a few truly bad albums. Then there are ones like this—they maybe aren't "bad," but they're uninteresting and not particularly unique. Some of the instrumental parts were groovy, like on the title track, "Picture book," and on the "Money's too tight" cutback mix (though I found the rest of Money quite annoying).
This is another bang average album that I really didn’t need to hear before I died. My life is unchanged from hearing this album, I’m not sure why it’s here tbh.
This did nothing for me.
Did not love. I remember the hits, and they were okay, but the other songs… they are talented people, but goes didn’t do it for me.
The album cover made me worried this was going to be some Dexys Midnight Runners shit. It does have the 80s sophistipop thing going on; this thing touches a lot of genres and runs them through the sonic filter of the time. I'm really not sure what to make of this one. It didn't bother me, but I was a little baffled by it. I don't know anything about Simply Red as a band after listening to this, except maybe what they grew up listening to. I'm not trying to say that artists can't explore a variety of sounds, but this sounded like throwing a lot of stuff at the wall and not bothering to see what stuck. There were moments I enjoyed, but as a whole I'm unmoved and a little cold about it.
A fine album. Decent jams on here, and the cover of "Heaven" was pretty good. Don't know if I'll ever need to revisit this but wasn't bad.
Drastic change from track 1 to track 2. Holding Back the Years is the standout for me, but I'm not sure I'd revisit the whole album.
Started off fine enough, then I thought I was listening to a completely different album by track #2. Just wasn't expecting the jump to a faux "live" jazz track. The album sort of became cheesy and unbearable from there, unfortunately.
Look, soul is not really my thing and much less soul pop. This felt like it lacked identity. It is the offend-none, lowest-common-denominator type of pop with some smooth soul added to it. Makes me just want to listen to some abrasive punk instead.
There's a lot of actual soul and R&B music out there. A lot of good singers in that genre. I get the urge to play stuff you love, but Simply Red doesn't feel very real, just "chops" before real soulfulness, style over substance. Shallow. Mick Hucknall is a good technician, for what it's worth.
Could've been worse.
Weird Talking Heads cover on this one. I really liked the first song and the rest was just o.k..
I gave this a chance but it didn't change my opinion of Simply Red. To be fair, it is competently played, in fact very well-played by excellent musicians, but the songs are bland soul-pop which approximate '60s and '70s Motown/Stax/Philly recordings without any of the emotional investment. And I really do not like Mick Hucknall or his grating voice. Another dinner party album...
2 - I don’t particularly like anything about it, It’s certainly well done and the vocalist is very talented, but the songs don’t appeal to me
First listen. Meh.
Great voice, one great track
Disco mixed with some jazzy bluesy tunes and some R&B all under the canopy of pop. No thank you. We're it just the jazzy bluesy stuff, I'd have dug it more.
New heights of banality achieved! I literally felt nothing except vague boredom with a dash of preferring to be listening to something else. Music for sex scenes in bad 80s movies.
From the artwork, I was expecting some acoustic and personal album. I did not expect bland soul. This album did nothing to me.
I didn't hate it. 2.5
Decent
Not my kind of thing.
As if it wasn't enough to make the musical equivalent of boiled chicken, they had to ruin a Talking Heads song, too.
lembrou minha avó ouvindo rádio pra dormir quando eu era criança e só por isso ganhou duas estrelas
boring mas sou grato pela música sobre ser um pobre fudido (nem li a letra)
It’s fine, it’s just fine. Why the cover look like Frodo though? 4/10
Too easy listening for me. Why was the second song inexplicably recorded as if live but no other song on the album was? There there wasn't anything terrible here, but it bored me.
We zitten weer fist-deep in de new wave, of hoe je dit ook wil bestempelen. De twee uitersten op dit album, 'Holding Back the Years' aan de blue-eyed soul zijde, en de groovy cover van 'Money's Too Tight' aan de funk zijde, zijn best behapbaar, maar alles wat er tussen in valt weet niet te ontroeren noch te bewegen. Z'n stem is na een paar nummers wel een tranentrekker, maar niet in de positieve zin van het woord. Mijn vraag is dan ook wie er destijds luisterde naar deze witte, ongeïnspireerde vorm van R&B, met zoveel zwart talent in de omloop? Ja, de witte middenklasse natuurlijk, met een plaat voor hun hoofd. 4,5/10 Highlights: Holding Back the Years Money's Too Tight
Simply Red is echt zo'n artiest die door iedereen te pruimen is en dus ook in de plaatselijke supermarkt gedraaid zal worden. Vaak is dat geen goed teken... 5/10 Highlights Money's too tight
Only knew holding back the years before listening. Much of the same really, very banal and forgettable
It's ight, it started good with the first track then afterwards I lost most if not all my interest in listening. I don't hate but I sure as shit didn't love it. Top 1 Favorite: Come To My Aid 2.50/5
A good singer in search of an identity. Not surprised the singer is the only consistent member of this group because there’s nothing here other than his (admittedly good) voice. Every song sounds like it comes from a different group - pop, new wave, blues, R&B, with no consistency from track to track. It becomes, in that way, a vanity project. Just a way for the singer to show off, and we’re not really invited into that club. It feels self-indulgent.
Jesus. I’d love to see the justification for this in the book. Like. Is it just so they can be like DAMN THIS GINGER HAS PIPES. This sucks lol
I like Holding Back the Years, but for some reason the rest of the album was sad and I didn't finish it.
I'm forcing myself through this one. Not something I would willfully choose to listen to without the help of a project like this. 2/5
I tried to keep an open mind but the over cooked blue eyed soul vocals and the selection of the worst 80s keyboard sounds closed it again. A shame because I have always like the comparatively understated Holding Back The Years. Also the one before their version of Heaven sounds like a better Talking Heads cover.
Music my mum liked, I can close my eye and hear this playing in my mum's old VW Golf, it would be followed by Level 42, guaranteed. "Holding Back The Years" holds up but, honestly, Simply Red are an abomination and it still befuddles me how they made a comeback in the mid 90s for one hot minute..
好无聊
Can't escape the Rather Good "holding back the ears" image. I'm not a fan of Hucknall's voice.
A pretty average album, but it was better than I was expecting it would be. The lyrics are shocking in places: "everybody is trying to get to the bar; the name of the bar? the bar is called.... HEAVEN"
Lyrics are kinda cringy, but the actual music is okay background music
Kovin geneeriseksi jäävä kasaripoppislevy. 2/5
Pretty much as dull and bland as I was expecting. Mick Hucknall has a great voice, but what he does with it just isn't for me. "Money's Too Tight to Mention" is pretty good though.
Not sure what this is? Is it New Wave? Is it Funk Pop? Is it 1920s lounge music? Why does it sound like Wham sometimes. It's a little too all over the place for me, though I did like a few of the songs.
I was so hoping this would not be a one hit album. In the end its a one hit album.
2 out of 5. Interesting cover of Heaven but nothing really here for me.
The singer has a silky smooth voice, but man I just can't really get on board with the '80s soft pop-rock thing. It's got a bit of a jazzy thing going, but I just can't get the synth out of my head. I'm just not super into the sound of this overall. His voice is good, but something's missing, it's boring. Plus two of the three best songs are covers, which is not a positive for me ("Heaven" is a Talking Heads cover, but it's the best song on here, better than "Holding Back the Years" which is one of their most popular songs). I also find the term "blue-eyed soul" pretty hilarious (which is what this seems to get classified as frequently). Like, yeah I guess white people can sing R&B and soul music too sometimes. I can see why someone would be into this, but it's not for me. Favorite song: Heaven Other: Come to My Aid, Money's Too Tight (to Mention), Holding Back the Years 11/27/24
#417. Hard to get through the whole thing, if we're being honest. Never heard any of this before, and luckily I'm not likely to ever hear it again. 2/5: bad.
It's okay for background music. Never listened to them in the 80s, even then it felt like something you'd hear in a doctor's waiting room.
Ok, so the music sucks, but we already all knew that. However, I’ll add a bonus point for Hucknall having a decent voice and for his ability to punch well above his weight in the 90s.
..
Sometimes is ok. But don't like 80s pop much Will I listen to again: 0%
Definitely shouldn’t be on this list. Holding Back The Years is great I’ll round up cuz there’s nothing wrong with this album
A big time “this was ok”. It had an ok cover of a great song (Heaven). I can’t imagine ever thinking to listen to it again.
Didn't really get this one
He’s got a nice voice but this is boring
I tired to listen to this with unbiased ears. But I can't get beyond the ginger.
Fine, but this really is JCPenny's music.
Simply Red have always bored me to tears, not actively objectionable so should probably have rated this 3, but I wanted to reflect the lifelong response.
Pretty cool, and completely unfamiliar to me. It's not super well aligned with my tastes, but I have a lot of respect the quality of the work.
just okay, didn't really hit with me, typical 80's sound.
honestly a decent listen just pretty boring to my taste
not a great record in my opinion. I think this Mick guy is a great vocalist actually, but the songs are 80's-trendy synth-suck sonic vortex that makes it hard to pick that out. I bet this guy is really talented but this record was just not my thing.
Found this quite grating tbh! Sort of zoned out after a while. Not my thing
Boring music as then
Not for me.
Didn't really do anything for me
A few tracks in, I was already looking forward to the end. Not the type of 2* where the music was annoying - I can’t even say it was bad, exactly - but so bland and unremarkable that I seriously question its inclusion on this list.
2.4 1x on delta flight to SFO catchup on 10/1
Me gusta mucho más Stars.
Music to be played at the dentist’s office. Technically inoffensive, but so bland. All the instruments sound so artificial. The Talking Heads cover is so bleh. The singer’s voice is good enough I guess. Favorite song was Holding Back The Years.
Annouing
This is the most stereotypical soft rock record I've ever heard. Blech.
Meh….I just didn’t like this all that much.
dosadan
First songs I really liked. Then slowly it lost me and by the end I wasn't having a good time anymore. His voice begins to get very annoying, and that cover of Heaven sucks. This album really drudges on too long. 2.5/3
Neuroscientists, musicologists, and other top academic researchers should study this album to analyse how they managed to suck all of the soul out of soul music. Mick Hucknall has a good voice but this is a truly dismal slice of 80s waiting room Muzak. It also features one of the worst Talking Heads covers ever recorded. kd lang does a great cover of Heaven because she understands the need for a little restraint. This version is amped up into the terrible-stratosphere. I am charitably giving it a 2 because, while it is awful, it is a dull & inoffensive background awful, and I know things would get even worse with 'Fairground'.
I knew as soon as I saw it that the US contingent would go nuts that this was on the list. A well known band in the UK and indeed one year had the biggest selling album in the world (Stars). Sadly, the US contingent are correct. This is an awful album in retrospect. A couple of songs, a lot of filler and the worst ever cover of a Talking Heads song ever committed to vinyl. It was painful listening to him kill Heaven. This "does not" stand up in retrospect.
Seriously?
Yeah uh… why is this here?
Honestly, I think this is kinda wanky, I guess it's not bad and it's probably just not my thing but it's too cheesy and feels like it should just be playing in the background of tesco.
Listening to Mick Hucknall could be used as a form of torture (No Direction is painful). 2 stars based on opening track being decent
Good but not for me
My only tenuous link I have with any rock star is with Mick Hucknell. I used to work with a woman who went to Manchester Poly with him and never let us forget that. That fact doesn’t change my opinion of this album or Simply Red in general in that it doesn’t appeal to my tastes. However, this album does have one redeeming track - Holding Back The Years which is their most famous and one which I do like. Always takes me back to those clubbing nights when that track accompanied the ten to two desperation dash for those wanting a last minute snog. It is also a song which works for me when in a reflective mood. That track aside I do know that there are other songs which are well liked to those loving this type of music but an album which I do not need to hear again. I’ll stick with the best known single. 2/5 6/8/24.
This is abysmal quality. Whoever thought this should be on the list is an absolute ignoramus. This album is just so far below anything that should even touch this list, it’s sad. It’s only saving grace is that it wasn’t a complete chore to get through. This album isn’t even quite sure what good music sounds like and to put it up here with all of these greats is almost cruel. What the actual fuck were you thinking. 2/5
Listened Before? N In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that there were essentially "only two songs on this album", "Money’s Too Tight (to Mention)" and "Heaven", but that Hucknall and the band carry off the album "on mood and groove alone". I've never agreed with a professional music review more. This album is straight up boring outside of those two songs, and the hit here "Holding Back the Years" is no exception. Mediocre at best. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Money's Too Tight (To Mention)
It's not that bad I guess but pretty boring and not really deserving to be here.
I disagree
This album could have been an email. Instrumentals are little varied, vocals are fine but forgettable, and oh my god the repetitive lyrical phrases - please stop. Listened to: on a bus to Montreal. Favorite track: Heaven
I was fully prepared to trudge through another average pop album. And then Sad Old Red started. A pop track that's fully, inarguably based on jazz?! Alright, you have my attention. Well, it turns out my gut instinct was mostly correct. Not that much interesting here beyond Sad Old Red--even the cover of Heaven was fine but not notable.
Typical 80s. Good voice but hard to sit through all at once. Fat should have been trimmed from some songs. Excess choruses and filler at the end needs to go
Crooner crap
kinda generic, didn't sound like it aged well. I even forget what thei hit song was.
Brian Eno said: "The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band." Justin Yurek said: "4 million people bought that first Simply Red record, but none of them formed a band."
Not to be a crabby American, but it seems that any artist from the British isles that has one hit in America instantly seems to be on this list. The album is the worst kind of straight white male, middle of the road 80's music that is completely forgettable. It sounds like no one in this band is having any fun except the singer. and if it wasn't for that one hit and the last song which some how sounds like a supertramp song if their singer had a head cold I'd give this a 1.
2.5
Some songs were okay. The rest just felt like 80s cheesiness. 2/5
🎧How the hell was Holding Back the Years a US #1 single? Cover of Talking Heads’ Heaven is good.
bland new wave pop
Holding back the years was played and over-played to the point where I'm good if I never hear it again...or the rest of the album.
This is about as dated as music gets. Adult Contemporary and Sophistipop were niche even during their heyday and neither were ever considered particularly cool. Listening now just reminds me of music that might now have been played in the dentist's office. It was an ok distraction at the time while heavy amounts of laughing gas, staring at the ceiling while I underwent root canal. But I'm not eager to relive any of that now. The brightest spot on the album for me was the penultimate track, 'No Direction', which sounded like it could have been a lost Talking Heads song.
2 - This was whatever. Some moments were alright, and others had me groaning, so I'd say it balances out to a 2.
If only the could’ve held back the years. They’ve not been kind to this record.
Not very good. I had never really heard this before and won't be hearing it again
This album is very much a product of the 80s. "Holding Back the Years" is the one song I knew; the rest is somewhat generic. Hats off to the Valentine Brothers for working "Reaganomics" into the lyrics of "Money's Too Tight" (and having a better recording of the track).
Unlike a lot of other reviewers, I can see the value of this album on the list. Simply red were massive in the late 80's in the UK. Their brand of middle of the road, white man soul was very popular and no one can deny Mick Hucknell has a good voice. My parents had the later album stars and I remember it well. A relisten doesn't generate many more positives though. It's not a patch on more genuine soul music, and the 80's wraps itself around this like herpes.
Just another bullshit ass entry to this bogus list. There is nothing done on this album that hasn't been done 100x better elsewhere
svo svo ... ég get ekki sagt að þetta sé mitt ... en ágætt stemningsdót endrum og eins
Aight
Maybe a track at a time is bearable. Listening to this as an album is terrible.
Slowish pop, nothing too interesting
Basic
This is a completely forgotten vibe of pop music. Basically made for department stores. Even the well known songs were very bad. I was relieved to find this album/artist is not secretly some majorly influential inflection point and this is just bargain bin fodder. Do not recommend.
A completely inconsequential album other than 1 or 2 decent singles. Not actively bad, but also not worth listening to.
Seemed like a generic 80s album. I guess it was a big seller at the time, but I don’t think I recognized a single song.
really boring
I was not a fan of this one. The first disco-y track I was ok, and I thought I maybe we were cruising to 3 stars but then it quickly went down hill. This particular take on 80s swing and soul revival was not for me at all. The cover of Heaven sucked all that I liked out of the song. I stopped listening about halfway through when I realized it was an hour and 16 minutes long. Its not offensively bad, but very bland and very much not my thing. 4/10 & 2 stars Worst album cover yet. Full on F grade.
I was only a partial human being while listening to this. I hiked a mountain on Monday for the total eclipse and Tuesday was a total wash. I'd never heard of Simply Red before this. Unfortunately, the album did not interest me and I had a hard time staying engaged. I don't even remember it well enough to write further thoughts. Maybe not Simply Red's fault. Sorry Red. 4/10
A good Pop sound. The songs tend to come off as samey to me after awhile. Generic but good.
For a second I thought this wasn’t so bad but then I realized no it is actually extremely bad. But then I started thinking it’s so fucking weird and awkward that actually maybe it is kinda cool, but not that cool. 2 stars
keyboards are a bit cloying, but holding back the years is a solid timepiece
Hauska kasarienergia! Hyvä laulaja. Biisien sanomat ei jää epäselviksi, helposti nieltävää kauttaaltaan, myös musiikillisesti. Tuo pontta askeleeseen kävellessä. Mutta toisaalta ei oikein muuta. Vahva kakkonen.
Tulee mieleen Heaven-kappaleen sanat: paikka jossa ei tapahdu mitään. Mutta levy herää eloon B-puolen alussa, mikä ehkä riittää matalaan kakkoseen.
Mid
Good morning and welcome to my review of simply red's debut album. I avoided this song like the plague when it was released. I probably would have walked the plank blindfolded versus listening to this album if I had to. Yesterday listening to its entirety was one of the toughest things I've done in life. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Considering the time it was released I was only 14 years old and going through the change entering manhood. I was listening to ratt motley Crue and twisted sister.
Maybe I’m just not adult enough for this adult contemporary album. Sounds like a dentist office in the 1980’s.
Was absolutely shocked to realize I had heard a couple of these songs before, namely Holding Back the Years. Definitely heard on the radio but completely forgot it existed til today. Wild. Such an odd mix of styles that feels both too old and too contemporary for its time? I cant wrap my head around Simply Red. I guess I was glad to remember this is a thing, definitely different. Most adjacent to Genesis maybe? Lead singer kind of reminds me of Rod Stewart in that his voice sounds like he was born at 65 years old. It feels like quite the stretch to label this as soul. Its like the music all over the original Top Gun. 2.5, exactly in the middle, will round down though cuz its just so alien to my ear.
Pretty bad. He seemed to curate the worst parts of 80s music into a mind numbing 45 minutes.
Don't really understand why this is on the list. It is not bad, but... Mainly boring.
Better than I expected. Lis is the only Simply Red fan I have ever met, and I always chalked it up to ginger solidarity, but this is the rare 80s record that manages to transcend the incredibly shitty production aesthetic that prevailed at that time. I don't like it THAT much, though, and he lost points a few hours ago when I learned Money's Too Tight To Mention is a cover and that the original Valentine Brothers version is far superior.
Album got off to a fun groove but then the soul vibe sort of thinned out, redeemed slightly by a nice cover of "Heaven" only to get destroyed by this horrible song Jericho. Now on the second side and I feel as if every song sounds like it was part of a Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, though I do recognize the "holding on" song. "Red Box" approaches "Jericho" in awfulness in terms of lyrics, which is too bad because they can groove.
I didn't really like this. Songs either didn't hold my attention at all, or reminded me of poorer versions of other bands from the era that I'd rather listen to instead. I don't think I would choose to listen to this again.
some slight gems in there, but rest sounds like cruise ship singing
Regular
Well this is just awful. I didn't think it would be as bad as you lot rated it (I've heard of Simply Red, but couldn't name a song), but it really is. It's like if Magic FM decided to do Boring Hour. 2/5, it's not offensive, it's just bad.