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Whilst Simply Red's October 1985 debut album "Picture Book" trumped up two genuine song legends in "Money's Too Tight To Mention" and "Holding Back The Years" - their second platter "Men And Women" from March 1987 seemed in reality to only feature one - "The Right Thing". It was a good album rather than a great one.
Time for the ex Frantic Elevators band to produce the 'overall' winner they were always going to make. And they did with 1989's "A New Flame" which along with 1991's "Stars" (its follow up) turned out to be two massive hit-single juggernauts. In 1989 Simply Red were selling millions of albums and like Phil Collin's "...But Seriously" on Virgin Records (also 1989) – they became one of the all-out sales sensations of the year.
It was also the time of CD's emergence and all the hippest, coolest albums had the DDD code - a Full Digital Recording - Dire Straits and their "Brothers In Arms", Sting's "...Nothing Like The Sun" and Simply Red's "A New Flame" was another. But while the two aforementioned albums came with almost clinically clean production values that somehow seemed to sap the music's very soul - this early 1989 album sounded unbelievably punchy - especially on CD. To the tunes...
UK released late February 1989 - "A New Flame" by SIMPLY RED on Elektra Records 244689-2 (Barcode 022924468926) - a Full DDD Recording - plays out as follows (40:51 minutes):
1. It's Only Love [Side 1]
2. A New Flame
3. You Got It
4. To Be With You
5. More
6. Turn It Up [Side 2]
7. Love Lays Its Tune
8. She'll Have To Go
9. If You Don't Know Me By Now
10. Enough
The 12-page booklet offers photos and lyrics, and Produced by STEWART LEVINE (Darren Klein did the Engineering) - the album is as powerful audibly as it can get. This is not a dry DDD release - the band swings and the music sweeps you along with a freshness for digital recordings that is - well - refreshing. I know there's a CD and DVD Remaster from June 2008 on Rhino that has bonus tracks and a Remaster, but it's not worth owning in my books and with deletion started to acquire £75 price tags that are too stupid for school when this original will suffice and is available in multiple online site locations for under two or three quid.
The second you play "It's Only Love" and the title track "A New Flame" - the sheer dynamic power of the DDD recording hammers home. But even better is the energy and sexiness captured on one of the album's great songs - "You Got It" - a swirling romantic mushball of a tune. Time to dance and up comes "To Be With You" - the next truly great Simply Red song on the CD. The brass and synth punches are fantastic as Mick Hucknall explains to his gal of the moment how he wants to be with her, talk to her and do other interesting things with her – one of which may not necessarily be a Pot Pourri class or the study of Geo-European Political trends. He also expresses extraordinary generosity in the Side 1 finisher "More" as he informs his flame that the only way to love her more is to – well – give her more (what a guy).
None other than Motown legend Lamont Dozier lends his co-writing hand with Hucknall to "Turn It Up" – the very 1980s-period Average White Band sounding opener for Side 2. It's a bopping political tune that talks of amoral politicians keeping the downtrodden down while the engage in different kinds of power plays in the privacy of their palatial homes. Things slow down with the keyboard ballad "Love Lays Its Tune" – another song about sexual bliss followed quickly by the cold light of the dawn that seems to want to undo the joy of the night before.
Time to guitar-Rock things with "She'll Have To Go" – another sideways jabbing political song that barely holds back its contempt for a certain female Prime Minister Hucknall clearly despised. A very smart choice is doing a cover version of the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Philadelphia International 70ts hit "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (written by Gamble & Huff) – a song that suits both Hucknall and his white boy soul crew. But that is easily whomped in my book by another of the album's wicked masterpieces – the fabulous and sexy groove of "Enough" – a song that makes full use of the power a DDD recording can afford it. Co-written with keyboardist Joe Sample of The Crusaders (a hero of mine) - "Enough" is also one of those irresistible shufflers that gets into your head and makes you want to start the whole record again.
In
2023 - Manchester's Simply Red (UK) already seem like Georgia's R.E.M. (USA) – a once fabulous band rooted in the
Eighties and Nineties scenes who were huge back then - but now have had their
day. The album hit the No.1 spot in the UK LP charts (No. 22 in the USA). Still – for the peanuts amount of money it will cost you to acquire "A New Flame" on CD – I would reacquaint yourself with their greatness...
