"For the life of me, I can't understand why "A New Flame" was so widely panned; call me crazy, but this was my favorite Simply Red album. Where "Men and Women" was somewhat uneven and "Life" gets a bit dull by the end, "A New Flame" really seemed to flow as an album without ever losing steam. How could critics ignore the sheer beauty of "You've Got It" or "Again"? What's wrong with "Turn it Up"? The one false note (in my opinion) was "If You Don't Know Me By Now"; there was no reason to re-make the original, and Mick Hucknall made no particular improvements to it. But on the strength of "You've Got It" alone, this album deserved much more respect than it got."
...simply the best!!!
Stefano Cristaldi | Catania ITALY | 10/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a big big fan of Simply Red. I have got all their albums, from Picture book to Blue. However, this is the strongest one of all Mick's production. Just listen to 'You've got it', 'More', 'Love lays its tune' and the masterpiece: 'Enough'.
You will not find something comparable in other cd,believe me!
Jazz, soul, pop, all mixed together in such an elegant way...
Perhaps,another 'must'for a real fan is 'Mountreaux ep'."
Pure Soul Classic
Thierno Barry | Houston, TX USA | 07/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I agree wholeheartedly with 'Music Geek'; this is the most consistent 'Simply' CD. I've owned this album for over 10 years now (a couple of those years I had vynil, then purchased the CD when it became available). 'It's Only Love' is perhaps one of my all-time fav tunes. I also like 'You've got it' very much, co-written with the legendary Lamont Dozier (of Motown's The Enterprise Fame). I also like 'Enough', co-written by Joe Sample. Though there other fine moments on this CD, those are my fav tracks. The songs are sung effortlessly, the tracks are flawlessly recorded, and the instrumentation is exquisitely mixed. Kudos to the musicians and engineers; oh, and to what's his name, Mick for thick vocals. It's truly a must have."
Right Up There
Todd D. Alt | Columbus, Ohio | 12/31/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Yes, I loved this one. The CD has two real killers - "Love Lays It's tune (which may be Mick's best song ever - absolute genius), and "You Got It". I rank it in a 4th place tie with "Russian Winter" as an overall ranking compared with the other Simply Red stuff. Mick has never had a bad offering and anyone should love this one. I am partial to his "newer" stuff so this is going back a ways for me."
Simply Red
WILLIE A YOUNG II | Houston, TX. | 11/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This may sound totally pedestrian and vapid on my part, but the remake of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" is actually better than the original! Please forgive me Blue Notes, but Mick Hucknall and Company manage to update this 70's soul classic with the perfect amount of polish, elegance and soul. The choruses have a yearning, slow burning, gospel feel that makes the love song sound like a spiritual reaffirmation. The rest of this 1989 release shouldn't be neglected either, but "If You Don't...." is the crown jewel here, a remake that actually works and improves on the original. The guys are terrific!"