Simply Red Album: “25: The Greatest Hits [Single Disc]”

I wasn't expecting to like "every single song." I don't own any of Simply Red's previous albums, so I said "Why take a gamble- get a compilation album." And dumb luck has it that I made the right choice. I thought that only my parents liked "Holding Back The Years." The fact that Simply Red had talent, along with the question of "how can white guys be suave without being cheesy?" caught me up in a standoff. But with timeless pop classics, which have embraced mainstream radio, like "Holding Back The Years," "Money's Too Tight," "It's Only Love," "You Got It," "If You Don't Know," "Stars," and "Something Got Me Started," this album couldn't get much better. One minor setback however- "Life" came out in '95, right? Well... then where is "So Many People"? That's my only problem with this album. But anybody who likes really good pop/R&B should pick this up.

Big enough in the US while huge in the UK, this collection showcases (as correctly pointed out in the All Music Guide's review) the huge disparity between European and American pop music.

Teeming with intelligent, well crafted pop songs and tinged with R&B influences; a fairly comprehensive collection of Simply Red's better work. The songs just flow into each other, from the early soulful "Money's Too Tight To Mention" to the poppy "The Right Thing" to my personal favorite "A New Flame" to the perfect songs off "Stars" (their strongest release, in my opinion) including the glorious "Your Mirror".

The two songs off "Life" provide a nice constrast, Mick's sarcasm reigns on "So Beautiful" and shifts gears on the simple grooves of "Fairground". I'm not a fan really of the only new track "Angel" but it's a small price to pay for an otherwise nearly perfect record.

I've waited until now to review it since I last heard it in 1996. First time I heard Simply Red, it was about a minute of Money's Too Tight to Mention on the Rate-A-Record segment on Dick Clark's TV show American Bandstand in the fall of 1985. Nobody paid attention at the time when their album came out. But it took the walking on the beach feel of Holding Back the Years for people to jump on this band quickly in early 1986, and they just exploded, gold and platinum album sales and hits left and right! Mick Hucknall's soulful singing is and still is wonderful today! He is that good in clashing R&B and pop sounds within his band. And I still love his wonderful remake of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes' If You Don't Know Me By Now from 1989. But they weren't all about remakes; their original songs are great, especially 1992's Stars (which I still hear today), 1989's It's Only Love, some songs from their 1987 album, Fairground. The band sounds rhythmic and dynamic in the performances, a full, live sound in their songs. I recommend anybody to get this album, for Simply Red proved their thing in the '80s and early '90s. They're still performing today, 20 years later after their debut! Talking about this greatest hits brings things full circle now!

As a singer I Love this guy, "Holding Back The Years" an all-time

Classic! Mick is the vocal brother of my other all-time fav

Daryl Hall. Two of the BEST EVER!

Most people know Simply Red for their #1 ballads, "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me By Now." However, as this CD shows, they are so much more than that. Every one of their albums has many instances of fantastic white boy soul. Some of the most achingly beautiful songs ever are found here, such as "Stars," "For Your Babies" and "So Beautiful." Add to that an amazing cover of Aretha Franklin's "Angel" and you have a one stop shop for soul greatness. If you liked Simply Red's hits, you'll like this.