Stars | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 30 September 1991 | |||
Recorded | August 1990–June 1991 | |||
Studio | Condulmer Studio, Venice, Italy | |||
Genre | Pop, blue-eyed soul | |||
Length | 41:17 | |||
Label | EastWest Records | |||
Producer | Stewart Levine | |||
Simply Red chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Stars | ||||
|
Stars is the fourth album by British-based pop/soul/jazz band Simply Red, released on 30 September 1991. [1] Five singles were released from the album, including the UK top ten hits "Stars" and "For Your Babies". The album was a worldwide success, particularly in the band's home country where it has been certified twelve times platinum [2] and was the best-selling album of the year in the UK for both 1991 and 1992, [3] [4] the first album to be the best-seller in two consecutive years since Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970–1971. As of April 2019 it is the 14th best-selling album of all time in the UK. [5]
The album was on the shortlist of nominees for the 1992 Mercury Prize. In 2000 Q placed Stars at number 80 in its list of "The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever". [6]
In 2000 it was voted number 258 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [7]
Recording for the album originally began in Paris in August 1990, but the initial sessions did not go well: the equipment in the studio did not live up to expectations, and with the Gulf War having just started and dominating television news reports, the band found the atmosphere in the bunker-like studios oppressive and not conducive to making music. The group moved to the more relaxed surroundings of Venice to resume recording in the Condulmer Studios. [8]
Simply Red's leader and singer Mick Hucknall had wanted the album to have a less electronic and more soulful sound than their previous work, and had recruited programmer Gota after hearing his work with Soul II Soul. Hucknall did not realise that Gota was also a drummer until he heard him jamming on the drum kit one evening in Venice, after which Gota also became the band's full-time drummer. The songs had been written over the previous year: "Something Got Me Started" and "Stars" had been written on the road during the group's previous tour. "Thrill Me" was based on a riff that McIntyre had come up with, while Hucknall described "Wonderland" as "probably the most political song I've written", documenting his dissatisfaction with the British Conservative government of the time. [9]
The album cover features a photograph of singer Hucknall in the Californian desert, wearing a Native American painted cloak that he had bought in Spain. Hucknall had insisted that in the shot he would be wearing the cloak and nothing else, displaying his bare legs. However, when photographer Zanna showed the photographs to EastWest Records, they were concerned that Hucknall's bare legs would offend sensibilities in the US, and Zanna had to digitally retouch the picture using a test photograph of her assistant's jeans-covered legs. [10]
Stars was released on 30 September 1991 and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling around 150,000 copies in its first week. [11] After 12 months, the album had sold 2.4 million copies in the UK. [12]
Stars was re-issued in 2008 as a Collector's Edition 2CD with bonus DVD digipack.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [13] |
Chicago Tribune | [14] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [15] |
NME | 4/10 [16] |
Q | [17] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [18] |
Select | 2/5 [19] |
Smash Hits | 7/10 [20] |
Uncut | [21] |
Vox | 9/10 [22] |
The album received mixed reviews in the UK. The alternative music magazines were cool towards the record: in the NME Andrew Collins dismissed Stars as "an exercise in no-style over no-content" and "the sound of some technicians desperately fanning some smouldering ashes for people with central heating", [16] while in Select Graham Linehan disregarded the bulk of the album as "just Simply Red – uniquely anonymous and as flat as Iowa." [19] Caroline Sullivan simply stated in Melody Maker that "within his strictly-defined oeuvre – sleek, airbrushed music best described as soulette – [Hucknall]'s miles ahead of his competition ... Nor, on an objective level, can Stars be faulted ... This is a pleasant album, the sleeve is pretty, and now, at least, you've got a Christmas present for Gran." [23]
However, reviews from newspaper critics and other magazines were more positive. In The Guardian Adam Sweeting wrote that "the new songs sound relaxed, refreshed, and satisfyingly cohesive ... Easy to listen to but not easy listening, Stars keeps shining", [24] while The Independent 's Andy Gill was similarly impressed, observing that "Hucknall's socialist soul-boy's conviction and his determination to write songs with stings in their tails place Simply Red several notches above the rest of the smooth soul genre ... And in simple evocations of love like 'Thrill Me' and 'For Your Babies', the spark of honesty sets them above the superficial, insincere protestations of love that dominate modern soul music." [25] In Q Ian Cranna hailed the album as "a long overdue change in musical direction, with Hucknall for the most part abandoning his undoubtedly sincere but inevitably fruitless attempts to re-create himself as a soul singer. Instead he's eased Simply Red down a couple of gears into a more relaxed and flowing style which owes as much towards current hip hop-inspired club rhythms as it does to old-style soul or funk." He ended his review by describing Stars as "Simply Red's most accessible and danceable work to date". [17] In the American press, the Chicago Tribune 's Jan DeKnock said that Simply Red had moved "into a funkier groove that suits them well" on Stars, [14] while Entertainment Weekly 's Dave DiMartino found that Hucknall's songwriting skills distinguished him from other "merely interpretive" singers; [15] a year after its release, Mark Coleman praised Stars in The Rolling Stone Album Guide as "a stripped-down set of originals, superbly sung without a trace of rootsy nostalgia or gross crossover ambition." [18]
In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Stars "Simply Red's best album since their debut. It's smoother and more polished than their previous work, yet Mick Hucknall is singing better than ever and his songwriting is improving ... Having absorbed his pop, soul, and reggae influences, Hucknall is now successfully writing songs in his own style, something that, with the exception of 'Holding Back the Years', he hadn't managed previously." [13]
The album was voted the second-worst record ever made in a 1998 Melody Maker poll of pop stars, DJs, and journalists. [26]
All songs written and composed by Mick Hucknall, except where noted.
Disc one (CD) – extra tracks
Disc two (CD) – Mixes
| Disc three (DVD)
|
Simply Red
Additional personnel
| Production
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [60] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [61] | 2× Platinum | 100,000* |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [62] | Platinum | 250,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [63] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [64] | Gold | 34,401 [64] |
France (SNEP) [65] | 2× Platinum | 600,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [66] | 5× Gold | 1,250,000^ |
Italy | — | 500,000 [67] |
Japan | — | 50,000 [68] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [69] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [70] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [71] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [72] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [2] | 12× Platinum | 3,450,000 [73] |
United States (RIAA) [74] | Gold | 579,000 [75] |
Summaries | ||
Scandinavia | — | 150,000 [68] |
Worldwide | — | 9,000,000 [75] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Simply Red are an English soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thirteen studio albums, from Picture Book (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) album, reaching number one. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.
Reload is the 34th album by Tom Jones, released in 1999. It contains 15 duets with a range of artists including Van Morrison, Cerys Matthews, Stereophonics, Robbie Williams, and Portishead, recorded with their usual record producers and in their usual studios. The tracks are mainly cover versions, with a new version of one of Jones' own songs, "Looking Out My Window" (1968), and one original track, "Sex Bomb".
The Cross of Changes is the second studio album by the German musical project Enigma, headed by Romanian-German musician and producer Michael Cretu, released on 6 December 1993 by Virgin Records internationally and by Charisma Records in the United States.
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on 21 September 1992 through PolyGram, making it the first compilation to be released after the company had acquired Polar Music, and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue.
"Something Got Me Started" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released in September 1991 by East West Records as the first single from their fourth album, Stars (1991). It was released in several forms: a 7-inch single, a 12-inch single, and a CD single, that includes a remix by Perfecto.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 18 March 1991 by RCA Records. It contains their successful singles spanning the years 1982 through 1990. The album topped the charts in the United Kingdom for a total of 10 weeks, in New Zealand for eight weeks and in Australia for seven weeks. It remains the duo's best-selling album worldwide and has been certified six-times platinum in the United Kingdom and triple platinum in the United States. Phil Sutcliffe in Q Magazine noted that "this compilation portrays, for once, a band accorded precise justice by the singles charts".
Simply the Best is the first greatest hits compilation by Tina Turner, released on October 22, 1991, by Capitol Records.
Home is the eighth studio album by British pop and soul band Simply Red, released in 2003. It is the first Simply Red album released on band frontman Mick Hucknall's own record label, Simplyred.com. The album was a success all around the world, and includes the hit singles, "Sunrise", "Fake", "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and "Home".
Life is the fifth studio album by British pop and soul band Simply Red, released in 1995. The lead single "Fairground" became their first number 1 hit in the UK. Due to this success, the album also made #1 on the UK album chart. It also included "We're in This Together", the official theme song for Euro '96. This was also the last album to feature band members Fritz McIntyre and Heitor TP.
Picture Book is the debut album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released in October 1985. It contains the US number-one single "Holding Back the Years", and a cover of The Valentine Brothers' "Money's Too Tight ". Three more singles were released from the album: "Come to My Aid", "Jericho", and "Open Up the Red Box".
Simplified is the ninth studio album by Simply Red, released in October 2005. It features new, rearranged recordings of the band's older songs, and four new songs: "Perfect Love" and an alternate version, "My Perfect Love", a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You", and "Smile".
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album released by British pop and soul group Simply Red, which contained material from their first five studio albums and included a newer track, a cover of Aretha Franklin's 1973 classic, "Angel".
Men and Women is the second album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released in 1987.
A New Flame is the third album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released in February 1989. It was a huge success worldwide, becoming the band's first UK number one album and certified 7× Platinum by the BPI for sales of 2,100,000 copies in the UK alone. The album was also certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.
Blue is the sixth studio album by British band Simply Red. It was released by East West Records on 19 May 1998 in the United Kingdom. Initially conceived as a cover album, it features production from lead singer Mick Hucknall as well as Andy Wright, Gota Yashiki, Stevie J, and Joe "Jake" Carter. Hucknall, Wright, and Yashiki are the only musicians featured in the Blue CD booklet's photography; this is a first for a Simply Red album, as all prior albums featured photos of the various band members credited.
Love and the Russian Winter is the seventh studio album by British pop and soul group Simply Red, released on 1 November 1999. It marks a distinct change from the band's preceding albums, featuring a more computer-generated sound. The album was released mainly due to pressure from their record label to fulfil their contract. It features a cover version of "Ain't That a Lot of Love", written by Willia Dean Parker and Homer Banks.
Back for Good is the seventh studio album by German duo Modern Talking, released on 30 March 1998 by Hansa Records, following the reunion of the duo. The album includes new versions of 11 previous singles, four new songs, two remixes and a medley. Back for Good debuted atop the German Albums Chart on 13 April 1998 and spent a total of five weeks at the top. It was eventually certified five-times gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), denoting shipments in excess of 1.25 million units in Germany. The album was also successful outside of Germany, topping the charts in Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Blue Eyed Soul is the twelfth studio album by British pop group Simply Red. The album was released on 8 November 2019 by BMG.
Pretty Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 1990 film Pretty Woman, released on March 13, 1990, by EMI. The album features the song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, which inspired its title. Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", originally released in December 1987, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990. It also includes "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, "Show Me Your Soul" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "No Explanation" by Peter Cetera, "Wild Women Do" by Natalie Cole and "Fallen" by Lauren Wood. The soundtrack has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)