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Rating: There are those bands you grow up with; they are the first you listen to when you're a youngster and don't yet know music. And it may be that as you grow up, you elevate your musical knowledge, taking different paths, choosing those genres that best suit your personality. But you always have, in a corner of your memory, the thought that that song, that band wasn't so bad after all, despite what most people say.
Simply Red was an example of this mechanism for me, a band that, with their third album - dated 1989 -, reached the peak of success.
The LP thus takes shape with the awareness of having established themselves in the public's attention, after the fantastic debut, followed by the chart-topping hits of the second work. Hucknall and company can thus compose in a climate of relative serenity, manifested in the generally slow - romantic tempo of the songs. The sounds breathe placidly on a soft velvet carpet, and the soul transforms from aggressive to melodic, graceful. The keyboards, masterfully led by McIntyre, become the fulcrum for each song, with melodic lines that have the merit of never slipping into banality. Hucknall knows very well how to get the best out of every melody, and his vocal performances reach very high peaks (compared to later works).
If you don't know me by now is a clear example of this: the vocal harmonies that Mick and Fritz compose in the bridge are reminiscent - even if the comparison may seem bold - of those of John and Paul in If I fell, year 1964. The song, a true international success of that year, also reflects another characteristic of the band. They don't hesitate to pillage other compositions (It's only love, besides the already mentioned If you don't know me by now, by soul authors duo Gamble and Huff); and they make it a point to put the experienced "guru" Lamont Dozier, from the Motown school, in the cockpit, who contributes with Hucknall by drafting the splendid You've got it (one of the peaks of their entire discography) and the similar-protest of Turn it up. Incidentally, the two best-achieved tracks of the album.
The instrumental setup is well supported by Chris Joyce on drums and a very active Tony Bowers on bass; and if on some occasions Hucknall is guilty of self-satisfaction (She'll have to go), the powerful brass section, led by the other "red" Tim Kellet - and assisted by Ian Kirkham - brings him back to earth. It goes without saying then that the guitars can only play a marginal role - and furthermore Heitor T. Pereira pays the price of settling in, after the departure of Sylvan.
The production, entrusted to Stewart Levine, helped the album leap to the top of the charts of the time. And this also symbolized a kind of swan song, a snapshot of what could have been and never was. From here, the point of no return was crossed, and since then, the members were no longer "simply red." The pieces of the wonderful castle they had laboriously built over four years - from '85 to '89 - were swept away by their charismatic leader. They all left, one after the other: how far-sighted that choice was would be shown by the years to come.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 It's Only Love (04:57)
It's only love
It's only love
Don't be afraid to touch me babe
Girl let's be real
There's nothing wrong with the way
we're carrying on
So enjoy and live
Because
It's only love doing its thing baby
It's only love that you're feeling
It's only love doing its thing babe
It's only love that you're giving
I wanna stay with you night and day
Until the end of time
It's OK when you lay
Lay your body next to mine
Because
It's only love doing its thing baby
It's only love that you're feeling
It's only love doing its thing baby
It's only love that you're giving
02 A New Flame (03:57)
I was bowled out
I was sold down the river
But her warm heart
Would turn me forever
She's turned me round
A new flame has come
And nothing she can do can do me wrong
I am stern now
Petty words
Don't believe me
But her warm smile
Is never gonna leave me
She's turned me round
A new flame has come
And nothing she can do can do me wrong
Wrong oh no
Wrong oh no
She's made of real glass
She got real real emotion
But my heart laughs
I have that same sweet devotion
She's turned me round
A new flame has come
And nothing she can do can do me wrong
Wrong oh no
Wrong oh no
Nothing she can do can ever do me wrong
09 If You Don't Know Me by Now (03:24)
If you don't know me by now
You will never never never know me
All the things, that we've been through
You should understand me like I understand you
Now girl I know the difference between right and wrong
I ain't gonna do nothing to break up our happy home
Don't get so excited when I come home a little late at night
'Cause we only act like children when we argue fuss and fight
If you don't know me by now (If you don't know me)
You will never never never know me (No you won't)
If you don't know by now
You will never never never know me
We've all got our funny moods
I've got mine, woman you've got yours too
Just trust in me like I trust in you
As long as we've been together it should be so easy to do
Just get yourself together or we might as well say goodbye
What good is a love affair when we can't see eye to eye
If you don't know me by now (If you don't know me)
You will never never never know me (No you won't) (x3)
10 Enough (05:09)
Alright, you're right
Let's talk it over now
Talk it over now
I'm wrong, you're gone
So you're serious
Really serious
You're saying I'm insane
Oh that's craziness
Craziness
I'm trying to find
Its real meaning
Insanity
When I get home again
Everything we said
It seemed to hold us
Back again, again
When I get home then
We try to make it better
In the same
Damn way again, again
So long, you're gone
You'r really leaving me, leaving
There's no prize for goodbyes
No joy either, either
You're saying I'm insane
Oh that's craziness
Craziness
I'm trying to find
Its real meaning
Insanity
When I get home again
Everything we said
It seemed to hold us
Back again, again
When I get home then
We try to make it better
In the same
Damn way again, again
Enough
I've had enough
Oh I'm leaving
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By Abraham
Mick Hucknall is unbearable... but in this case, tension leads to a good result.
'A New Flame' is a clean record, an excellent viaticum for leaving behind the '80s ghosts and accessing the chaos of the '90s without woes.
