Simply Red ~ Stars

Such was the omnipresence of Britain's biggest selling album in 1992 and 1993, that Stars sounds like a Greatest Hits in its own right. It's always been fashionable for critics to sneer at Simply Red's phenomenal success, but there's no denying the sumptuous clarity which pervades everything here, from the doting, devotional "For Your Babies" to the deliciously understated "Wonderland". Even clumsy forays into social commentary--"Model" and the Tory-baiting "Your Mirror"--are partially redeemed by a couple of cracking tunes. Lest we forget, Stars was Simply Red's last album as a fully functioning band. Hucknall may well have since written songs to equal "For Your Babies" and "Stars", but bereft of Fritz McIntyre's sunny keyboard sound and Heitor T.P.'s crisp, angular funk playing, he's never quite sounded so Simply Red.

1 Something Got Me Started

2 Stars

3 Thrill Me

4 Your Mirror

5 She's Got It Bad

6 For Your Babies

7 Model

8 How Could I Fall

9 Freedom

10 Wonderland