Simply Red – Time (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Simply Red – Time (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 39:07 minutes | 463 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino

Simply Red are back! Four years since the triumphant Blue Eyed Soul, one of the UK’s most treasured bands return with brand new studio album Time. The record’s debut offering comes in the form of the sensational pop masterclass ‘Better With’ You’ Over 12 vivid, heartfelt, life-giving tracks that mix soul, funk, R&B and blues, Time demonstrates an unerring ear for, feel for and passion for songs that move the emotion and the imagination.

Recorded in London with Andy Wright, their regular producer, this Simply Red album was first conceived as a scathing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to get through this difficult period, Mick Hucknall, the famous lead singer of the British group (founded in 1985), focused on the positive things that surrounded him and attempted to transcribe this state of mind into his music. Among these positive elements are his wife and family, to whom he dedicates the opening song, Better With You, with its resplendent melody and energetic rhythm. In similar fashion to this track, the album is full of songs that emanate a contagious optimism – whether it’s funky (Just Like You), bluesy (Slapbang), rock (Too Long At The Fair), or even jazzy (Butterflies). It’s also clear that the red-haired singer-songwriter demonstrates his gift for the sensual ballad, especially when it allows him to showcase his famous falsetto (Let Your Hair Down, and his impressive guitar solo thanks to Kenji Suzuki). Mick Hucknall also mentions certain current topics that are close to his heart, such as the migrant crisis in Hey Mister. The album ends with Earth In A Lonely Space, clearly influenced by the Beatles’ Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. A flagship group of the 1980s, influenced by the 1960s yet perfectly at ease in their 2023 sneakers: this is Simply Red showing everything they’ve got to offer with their 13th album. – Nicolas Magenham

Tracklist:
1-1. Simply Red – Better With You (03:20)
1-2. Simply Red – Just Like You (03:05)
1-3. Simply Red – Let Your Hair Down (03:23)
1-4. Simply Red – Shades 22 (03:45)
1-5. Simply Red – It Wouldn’t Be Me (03:00)
1-6. Simply Red – Never Be Gone (02:49)
1-7. Simply Red – Too Long at the Fair (02:58)
1-8. Simply Red – Slapbang (02:14)
1-9. Simply Red – Hey Mister (03:26)
1-10. Simply Red – Just Like You, Pt. 2 (04:29)
1-11. Simply Red – Butterflies (03:19)
1-12. Simply Red – Earth in a Lonely Space (03:15)

Download: