Big Love

My reaction after initial listening a few times: the album is sometimes reminiscent of their earlier work, evoking melodies/lyrics from songs of Love & The Russian Winter (1999) or Home (2003), which is fine, also traces of 80s Picture Book and New Flame to be found here (Coming Home reminds me of Enough, The Old Man and the Beer recalls Sad Old Red). It will overall please fans and is a pleasure to listen to, some pop, some jazz, some easy listening. Shine On, Big Love, The Ghost of Love and Dad are standouts after first listening (and have been promoted on TV/radio/online). Not a fan of the album cover and hope a nice deluxe edition will correct that eventually, I wish the band would be featured and the font would be different. The few uptempo songs like Tight Tones and WORU are not instant favorites.A nice bonus is the Max Bidda Radio mix of Shine which is download only and is not on the physical CD release, although not a remix that differs much from the album version, I am hoping for more creative remixes of that song to be commissioned.After a few additional days of listening, the album really grew on me, almost all tracks are now a favorite (WORU is taking a bit longer to like for me) , overall a tight album with almost no filler tracks! Well done! I think it is as great as 2003's Home was, this time all original tracks penned by Mick Hucknall. The album debuted at #4 on the UK album charts, same as Stay in 2007.

I read a professional review of this album that described it as "empty grooves." Sadly I have to agree. Nothing inspired on this record, and I am a huge Simply Red fan. I thought their last outing "Stay" was one of their best. Not to say that this release is bad by any stretch, just rather bland. That said, a few of the songs are quite catchy and have been stuck in my head for weeks. A must for a simply red fan, great background music for everyone else, coming soon to an elevator or department store PA system near you.

Simply Red is really just Mick Hucknall, the recognizable lead voice. And while his star has dimmed here in the States since the late 80's, he has continued to put out new music every now and then. His voice still is clear and pure and the tunes here are a mix of pop/jazz. I don't think he's really making a play for a return to pop stardom, this is more for us long time fans and is reminiscent of his older tunes like "Fairground" or "It's Only Love".

Mick Hucknall is celebrating 30 years as leader of Simply Red who retired the band in 2010, now 5 years later he is touring with his greatest hits since 1985. Big Love album was written over the past few years, and is a gift to his fans from all over the world. The 30th Anniversary Tour began in 2015 and will continue through 2016. simplyred.com has more information. Thanks.

Love the sounds of Mitch Hucknall / Simply Red

Very disappointing album. Mick's voice sounds great; instrumentation is top notch. It's just a boring album. Simply Red always mixed in some slower, mellow songs with uptempo songs. However, this album contain NO songs with any good grooves. This is Simply Red's "Smooth Jazz" album. I was hoping for a mix of sounds. It seems like a very lazy effort by Mick (perhaps trying to make some coin because of the lack of success of his two solo albums. After all, "Simply Red" is a brand name that will sell internationally).

Liked CD real well

Mike has lost his voice I guess. Stay was a very good album but time off did not make Red better. They are like a boxer who took to much time off and when he comes back into the ring he is very rusty!

I was absolutely delighted when Simply Red reformed as I'm a massive fan. This album has sincerity written into it as a an older Mick values what he has and particularly beautiful is the track "Dad" where he appreciates and reflects on what his dad did for him. I love his song writing and how this has changed over time which feels like he has let you into his life. His music is still excellent and so is his voice. I hope there's another album to come in time.

This is a fantastic album! Went to see Simply Red in Manchester at the end of 2016 when Mick Hucknell performed the whole of his Stars album. There is no doubt the guy has got an amazing voice even after all these years. He also communicates very well with his audience. On the back of this show I bought this latest album and am so impressed. The arrangements are just fantastic. Highly recommend this album if you like Simply Red.

Usual high standard from Simply Red. Perhaps after such a long time it could have been a little different, a little more exciting but enjoy it nonetheless.

Right up there among Simply Red's best albums. So pleased to have bought this and got into the songs before seeing them live again recently in London. The only disappointment was that the auto rip to my Amazon music account did not happen immediately as it should and took several contacts with Amazon to resolve.

As a fan of Simply Red, and Mick Hucknell, was happy to see this new CD for sale. Slightly disappointed as it's very 'samey' and not quite as good as I expected, definitely not as good as their old stuff. Having said that, it's not too bad and makes for nice, easy listening background music.