Big Love (Simply Red album)

Last updated

Big Love
Big Love-Simply Red.jpg
Studio album by
Simply Red
Released29 May 2015 (2015-05-29)
Recorded2014–2015
Genre Soul, pop
Length43:15
Label East West
Producer Andy Wright, Mick Hucknall
Simply Red chronology
Song Book 1985-2010
(2013)		Big Love
(2015)		 Symphonica in Rosso – Live at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam
(2018)
Singles from Big Love
  1. "Shine On"
    Released: 21 April 2015 [1]
  2. "The Ghost of Love"
    Released: 10 July 2015 [2]
  3. "Love Gave Me More"
    Released: 26 October 2015 [3]

Big Love is the eleventh studio album by British pop group Simply Red. The album was released on 29 May 2015 by East West Records. [4] It is their first studio album since Stay (2007), and the first album to only feature original material since Life (1995). [5] Big Love is also the first album to be released under a new recording contract with East West Records, a label Simply Red previously were signed to until April 2000. [6]

Contents

Background

On 3 November 2014, Simply Red announced they would be reforming in Autumn 2015 for the Big Love Tour, a 30th anniversary European tour [7]

On 19 April 2015, on their official Facebook page, the band announced that they would be releasing a new studio album containing 12 new tracks. [8]

Lead singer Mick Hucknall said of the album: "Once I began wondering how Simply Red were going to sound, I started writing songs. With Stay I was running away from Simply Red. But now I'm comfortable with the notion of us as a blue-eyed soul group. I had to stop myself fighting that idea. Our sound is original too. I honestly don't know of another band that has pulled so many musical strands together". [5] Hucknall has said he wanted to make an album like Stars with a consistent theme: "And the theme here is life from a family viewpoint. It’s an album that deals with birth, love, death, and all the stuff in between". [9]

Chart performance

The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 18,292 copies, becoming Simply Red's 13th top 10 album. [10] In December 2015, the album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 60,000 copies in the UK. [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 56/100 [12]
Review scores
SourceRating

At Metacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 from selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a Metascore of 58, based on 7 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [12] Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian gave Big Love three out of five stars and wrote that, "a wizened nostalgia hangs above this blue-eyed soul – the songs are smooth and sentimental, like easy-listening epitaphs. Wistful laments are nothing new for the group, and their unbridled sincerity remains consistent." [13] The Telegraph 's Helen Brown also gave the album three out of five stars, and commented that "Hucknall appears to have got some of his mojo back, with added sincerity." [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mick Hucknall.

Big Love – Standard version
No.TitleLength
1."Shine On"3:12
2."Daydreaming"3:38
3."Big Love"4:09
4."The Ghost of Love"3:16
5."Dad"3:54
6."Love Wonders"3:56
7."Love Gave Me More"3:17
8."Tight Tones"3:35
9."WORU"4:13
10."Coming Home"2:53
11."The Old Man and the Beer"2:54
12."Each Day"4:19
Big Love – Japanese version (bonus track)
No.TitleLength
13."Heart of Gold"2:57
Big Love – iTunes version (bonus track) [15]
No.TitleLength
13."Shine On" (Max Bidda radio mix)3:03

Personnel

with:

Production

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Big Love
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Gold100,000Double-dagger-14-plain.png

Double-dagger-14-plain.png Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. ↑ "Album Shine on de Simply Red | Qobuz : Téléchargez et streamez en haute qualité".
  2. ↑ "Album the Ghost of Love de Simply Red | Qobuz : Téléchargez et streamez en haute qualité".
  3. ↑ "Album Love Gave Me More de Simply Red | Qobuz : Téléchargez et streamez en haute qualité".
  4. ↑ "'Big Love' van Simply Red". iTunes . 29 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Are You Simply Red-dy for the Comeback? 'Big Love' To Arrive This Summer". Contactmusic.com. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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  8. ↑ "Simply Red to release new album Big Love". Entertainment Focus. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Simply Red release teaser for new album Big Love | Entertainment". Daily Express. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Jones, Alan (8 June 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Florence & The Machine leads all new Top 4 with sales of 68,788" . Music Week . Intent Media. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  11. 1 2 "British album certifications – Simply Red – Big love". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Reviews for Big Love by Simply Red". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Simply Red: Big Love review – easy-listening epitaphs from Mick Hucknall". TheGuardian.com . 28 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Simply Red, Big Love, review: 'you can forgive the soppiness'".
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