Whilst the general aim of most music blogs, and indeed this one, is to promote new and upcoming artists and their new releases, credit and recognition must also be given to the Oldies whose influence on today’s artists and of course ourselves has created the rich musical environment in which we operate. Thus, with this irregular series of thematically linked Friday postings, Happymusic hopes to acknowledge these artists and the great tunes that we all grew up with and hopefully introduce you to some new (old) music, if you haven’t already heard it in the last few decades or so.
First up on the list, is Simply Red, simply because their Best Of has been spinning around in my CD player at home lately and is what I listen to first thing in the morning when I can’t be bothered turning on my computer. And simply because they are just too awesome!
Admittedly I was first introduced to Simply Red by my Mum (nothing to be ashamed of), and I loved them immediately. There is something infinitely soothing and cathartic about Mick Hucknall’s mellow vocal delivery, especially for an ignorant and curious thirteen year-old boy. Simply Red’s music is simple, sultry, seductive and sophisticated all at once whilst being a great deal more accessible than deeper Soul/Funk artists such as Barry White and James Brown, whose music quite simply confused me at the time. The disc quickly, and quite indiscreetly, transitioned from Mum’s CD collection into mine, and has remained there for the past decade.
The raw emotion displayed in tracks like “Holding Back The Years” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” is enough to move anyone to croon along and unsuccessfully attempt to match Hucknall’s impressive delivery of range. The upbeat mood of their first single “Money’s Too Tight To Mention” and the ever-popular “Fairground” are almost too much fun to sing along to with friends.
If for some unkind reason fate withheld Simply Red from your childhood then there is no time like the present to discover them. They embark on their final tour at the end of this year and their music is timeless and gets even better with the years. So get into it.
A wealth of their releases are available from the website, managed by Hucknall himself.
Holding Back The Years – Simply Red
If You Don’t Know Me By Now – Simply Red
Happy Music 