SIMPLY RED

Although the tracks on the latest release, Simply Red - Greatest Hits, are drawn from five of the most consistent and inspirational albums of the past ten years, this singular compilation of the best of Simply Red stands apart from the typical greatest-hits set. It's a showcase for a songwriting style which started out sophisticated and has deepened in grace and feeling over time; and it portrays a singer who has become one of the premier vocalists of our time. The earliest music has weathered a decade of change while the most recent sounds are as crisp and contemporary as anything in pop.

Mick Hucknall wrote and recorded the ballad "Holding Back The Years" while still with his first band, The Frantic Elevators. It became the centerpiece of Simply Red's debut album Picture Book (1985). Another attention-grabber on the first disc was their scintillating cover of the Valentine Brothers' contemporary hit "Money's Too Tight To Mention," a tough, compelling performance which showcased the other side of Mick Hucknall's singing style.

Those two hits, and a string of acclaimed live performances, quickly established the group as one of the stellar British acts of the day, and the second album Men and Women (1987) built on that foundation. "The Right Thing," a breezily up-tempo tune, which became a favorite at concerts, is included on this compilation.

The third album, A New Flame (1989), spawned a sequence of tracks that quickly established Simply Red as fan favorites. The title track "A New Flame" brought forth one of the most enthralling vocals from Mick to date, while the equally impassioned treatments of "It's Only Love" and "You've Got It" offered convincing testimony to the idea that Simply Red were closing out the decade as one of the major bands in music. Furthermore, Hucknall's taste in covers gave followers of the group another stunning performance. This time Mick chose to deliver a measured, yet wonderfully powerful version of the Harold Melvin Chestnut "If You Don't Know Me By Now".

It's legend that Stars (1991), the fourth Simply Red album, catapulted Hucknall and his group toward further stardom. Hucknall was at his most inspired as both a writer and a singer, and the five songs taken from the album for this collection - "Stars," "Something Got Me Started," "Thrill Me," "Your Mirror," and "For Your Babies" - are a benchmark for contemporary soul. The richly-textured sound of the record offered the perfect setting for Hucknallís masterful singing.

It took four years to arrive, but the fifth studio album, Life (1995), was more than worth the wait. The huge smash "Fairground" turned out to be the band's first ever number one single in the UK and proved at a stroke that Mick's skills hadn't been diminished in any way by his sabbatical from the studios. "So Beautiful," a second track from the album, completes the line-up of Simply Red classics chosen for this retrospective... almost. Long-time fans of the group will welcome the bonus track, a brand-new version of the Aretha Franklin hit "Angel," which features Mick Hucknall with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel - further demonstration of the manís range and openness to fresh directions.

Greatest Hits, is a remarkable body of work - by turns soulful, impassioned, exuberant and reflective. With album sales totaling the 30 million mark, this compilation offers the very best of twelve years of extraordinary music.