SIMPLY RED
TIME
WARNER
★★★★★
After channelling Burt Bacharach and various soul greats on his previous two LPs, Mick Hucknall attempts to rediscover his own voice on Simply Red’s 13th.
That voice has certainly got a little hoarser, but Manchester’s blue-eyed finest still has plenty to say, whether waxing lyrical about domestic bliss on euphoric lead single Better With You or getting political on Too Long At The Fair. While lines such as “It seems democracy is suffering a major shakedown” are unlikely to give Billy Bragg sleepless nights, you can’t fault the sense of ambition.