Life failed to deliver on the glories of Stars largely because the album lacked the strong original songwriting of its predecessor.
Similarly, Blue, the follow-up to Life, is weak on original material.
However, Mick Hucknall makes up for the deficits by assembling a good collection of outside material, ranging from Gregory Isaacs' "Night Nurse" to Neil Young's "Mellow My Mind." Initially, Blue was going to be a covers album, and judging by these numbers -- along with Dennis Brown's "Ghetto Girl" and one of the two versions of the Hollies' "The Air That I Breathe," not the superfluous chart-grabbing Stevie J. production that replicates all the bad parts of Puff Daddy -- it would have been a great, sultry listen.
Instead, he's followed through on an album that accentuates his weaknesses as a writer.
Granted, he can oversing on occasion, but if Blue does anything, it proves that his voice is his greatest talent and that he should dedicate himself to material that serves it well.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mellow My MindNeil Young | Simply Red | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | BlueMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | Say You Love MeMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | To Be FreeMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | The Air That I BreatheAlbert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood | Simply Red | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Someday in My LifeMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | The Air That I Breathe (Reprise)Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood | Simply Red | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 8 | Broken ManMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 9 | Come Get Me Angel | Simply Red | Play | 04:02 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | Night NurseGregory Isaacs, Sylvester Weise | Simply Red | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | Love Has Said Goodbye AgainMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 12 | High FivesMick Hucknall | Simply Red | Play | 02:49 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 13 | Ghetto Girl | Simply Red | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 50 mins | 115 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 322 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agm | Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Velroy Bailey | Drums |
| 3 | Douglas Blair | Assistant Engineer |
| 4 | Sarah Brown | Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Paul Carrack | Guest Artist, Keyboards |
| 6 | Jake Carter | Producer |
| 7 | Alan Clark | Keyboards |
| 8 | Peter Cobbin | Engineer |
| 9 | Jake Davies | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Neil Davies | Assistant Engineer |
| 11 | Ned Douglas | Engineer, Programming |
| 12 | Andrew Dudman | Assistant Engineer |
| 13 | Sly Dunbar | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 14 | GM | Producer |
| 15 | Ricky Graham | Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | Mike Greenwood | Flugelhorn, Trumpet |
| 17 | Derek Grey | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Albert Hammond | Composer |
| 19 | Mike Hazelwood | Composer |
| 20 | Roland Herrington | Engineer |
| 21 | Steve Hilton | Programming |
| 22 | Geoff Holroyde | Drums |
| 23 | Mick Hucknall | Composer, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Gregory Isaacs | Composer |
| 25 | Stevie J | Mixing |
| 26 | Mark Jaimes | Guitar |
| 27 | Kenji Jammer | Guitar |
| 28 | Femi Jiya | Engineer |
| 29 | Dee Johnson | Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | John Johnson | Trombone |
| 31 | Steven Jordan | Producer |
| 32 | Ian Kirkham | Saxophone |
| 33 | John Lee | Engineer |
| 34 | Steve Lewinson | Bass |
| 35 | Paul Logus | Engineer, Mixing |
| 36 | Aidan Love | Programming |
| 37 | Robert Lyn | Keyboards |
| 38 | M | Producer |
| 39 | Alex Marou | Engineer |
| 40 | Lynford "Fatta" Marshall | Engineer |
| 41 | Tony Maserati | Engineer, Mixing |
| 42 | Neil Mason | Assistant Engineer |
| 43 | Kevin Metcalfe | Mastering |
| 44 | Merv Pearson | Programming |
| 45 | Pro Arte Orchestra | Orchestra |
| 46 | Carolyn Quartermaine | Art Direction, Photography |
| 47 | Tony Remy | Guitar |
| 48 | Bub Roberts | Guitar |
| 49 | David Russell | Assistant Engineer |
| 50 | Andy Scade | Assistant Engineer |
| 51 | Robbie Shakespeare | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 52 | Simply Red | Primary Artist |
| 53 | Ali Stayton | Engineer |
| 54 | C.J. Taylor | Bass |
| 55 | Mark Togashi | Assistant Engineer |
| 56 | Tru Indeed | Vocals (Background) |
| 57 | David Tyler | Engineer |
| 58 | Tim Vine | Keyboards |
| 59 | Sylvester Weise | Composer |
| 60 | David Whitaker | Arranger, Conductor |
| 61 | Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis | Guitar |
| 62 | Ted Wohlsen | Engineer |
| 63 | Andy Wright | Producer, Programming |
| 64 | Gota Yashiki | Drums, Producer, Vocals |
| 65 | Neil Young | Composer |
| 66 | Zanna | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |