Simply Red, Glasgow review: 'laid-back and occasionally lacklustre'
Many of the songs in this 40th anniversary show were impeccably performed but too low-key, writes Fiona Shepherd
Simply Red, Hydro, Glasgow ★★★
Simply Red’s 40th anniversary tour arrived in town without any particular bells and whistles attached. The greatest hits and notable covers set was, you might say, only the band doing their thing (baby). They are a fine band, who made everything look and sound marvellously louche - not always a good thing when hoping to rouse an arena audience. A brace of fine saxophone solos and some sumptuous trumpet parts were pleasing in themselves but the overall vibe was laid-back and occasionally lacklustre.
The show opened with archive footage of a young Mick Hucknall declaring his aspiration to be one of the great singers. He arrived onstage - feeling “not a day over 65” - in crooner mode with some cheeky moves in his back pocket on Sad Old Red. Sticking with debut album Picture Book, he leaned into the mellow jazz undertones of Jericho, teasing out the slow-burning political fire in its message. The politics of inequality were more explicit on their sterling Valentine Brothers’ cover Money's Too Tight (To Mention) - even more so after paying upwards of £90 a ticket.
Moving through the catalogue, the flamenco strut of A New Flame was fiery enough but the queasy seduction of The Right Thing felt a bit tame, while the Lamont Dozier co-write You've Got It and smooth jam Enough created a mid-set lull. So Beautiful, Never Never Love and Say You Love Me were all impeccably performed but too low-key. Only the sleek jazz funk of Thrill Me hit the sweet spot.
The setlist was peppered with their hit cover versions including a noodly The Air That I Breathe and a falsetto-averse You Make Me Feel Brand New, with the latter emerging as one of Hucknall’s most impassioned performances of the evening. With his jacket long discarded, he rolled up his sleeves and swivelled his hips for the closing run of hits, the pick of which was the shimmering soul funk of Sunrise, dovetailing nicely into the fiesta of Fairground.
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