Comments on: SIMPLY RED / “It’s Only Love” http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/28/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/ a conversation about black music Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:17:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/28/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-38246 Robert Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:13:51 +0000 http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/27/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-38246 I too had forgotten that "It's Only Love" is a cover; I've never heard the original. Simply Red's cover of "Ain't That a Lot of Love" (I'm not sure who sang it first) is the best part of 1999's "Love and the Russian Winter," which is their weakest album. They've covered Aretha Franklin's "Angel" twice, first on 1996's "Greatest Hits" (a collaboration with the Fugees) and then on 1998's "Blue," but there it was retitled "Come Get Me Angel" and new lyrics were added. "Come Get Me Angel" is one of their best covers/reworkings, if you ask me. "Blue" was originally supposed to be a covers-only album, but then Hucknall started getting ideas and writing new songs of his own. Original compositions like "Someday in My Life," from "Blue," or "Smile," from 2005's "Simplified" (which is, essentially, an album of Simply Red covering itself), almost sound like they could be written by Cole Porter himself, which adds to the is-it-a-cover-or-not-a musical fusion/confusion. I too had forgotten that “It’s Only Love” is a cover; I’ve never heard the original. Simply Red’s cover of “Ain’t That a Lot of Love” (I’m not sure who sang it first) is the best part of 1999′s “Love and the Russian Winter,” which is their weakest album. They’ve covered Aretha Franklin’s “Angel” twice, first on 1996′s “Greatest Hits” (a collaboration with the Fugees) and then on 1998′s “Blue,” but there it was retitled “Come Get Me Angel” and new lyrics were added. “Come Get Me Angel” is one of their best covers/reworkings, if you ask me. “Blue” was originally supposed to be a covers-only album, but then Hucknall started getting ideas and writing new songs of his own. Original compositions like “Someday in My Life,” from “Blue,” or “Smile,” from 2005′s “Simplified” (which is, essentially, an album of Simply Red covering itself), almost sound like they could be written by Cole Porter himself, which adds to the is-it-a-cover-or-not-a musical fusion/confusion.

]]> By: ajani tafari http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/28/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-33310 ajani tafari Sun, 28 Oct 2007 23:56:07 +0000 http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/27/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-33310 Ain't nothing wrong with a little bit of 'Red. Holding back the years came at a crucial period in my life. It expressed everything that I was going true. It still resonates with me today. A little bit of blue-eyed soul ain't bad. Ain’t nothing wrong with a little bit of ‘Red. Holding back the years came at a crucial period in my life. It expressed everything that I was going true. It still resonates with me today. A little bit of blue-eyed soul ain’t bad.

]]> By: Stephanie Renee http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/28/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-33294 Stephanie Renee Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:45:24 +0000 http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/10/27/simply-red-%e2%80%9cit%e2%80%99s-only-love%e2%80%9d/#comment-33294 Funny enough, one of my fave Simply Red songs (not that I have a lot of them, mind you) is their/his version of "Money's Too Tight To Mention," which isn't included in this week's lineup. Fear not of your father's adminishments, Mtume. Sometimes we just like what we like. I may be the only person in the universe who owns the Doctor Ice (formerly of UTFO) solo album. Used to work in a CD store in college, so there are several head-hanging faves in my collection. :-) Funny enough, one of my fave Simply Red songs (not that I have a lot of them, mind you) is their/his version of “Money’s Too Tight To Mention,” which isn’t included in this week’s lineup.

Fear not of your father’s adminishments, Mtume. Sometimes we just like what we like. I may be the only person in the universe who owns the Doctor Ice (formerly of UTFO) solo album. Used to work in a CD store in college, so there are several head-hanging faves in my collection. :-)

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