Project 1001: Picture Book by Simply Red
Project 1001: Picture Book by Simply Red
When “Holding Back The Years” came out in 1985, I thought it was pretty dull. It sounded whiny to me. Perhaps that was because as a 19-year-old, certified idiot I was incapable of understanding the lyrics.
On the other hand, maybe I didn’t understand the lyrics because they were stream-of-consciousness nonsense. Yes, Mick Hucknall said he was inspired by a teacher saying, “The best paintings are when you get lost in a piece of work and start painting in a stream of consciousness,” and as he wanted to do music instead of painting, he decided to write a song this way.1
So maybe the 19-year-old idiot wasn’t that far off the mark? In any event, I’m less harsh on the song now and the band in general. Hucknall is an amazing singer with a truly beautiful voice. I found many of the songs to be quite nice and energetic. It’s never going to be a favorite for me, but there are worse albums you could play in the background while having dinner with friends.
My Rating: Perfectly Pleasant
Apparently, Mr. Hucknall is not beloved in the U.K. as he is one of the 100 Worst Britons polling at number 43 of 100.2 And he inspired a website called 1000 People More Annoying Than Mick Hucknall.
Some contemporary reviews held back effusive praise. Melody Maker reviewed Picture Book cautiously, advising readers to "forget the soul stuff and you’ve got one of the better debuts of the year". NME meanwhile declared that "Picture Book‘s soul-by-numbers is as cliché-ridden as the ugliest offspring of Gothic interbreeding."3
Side note: “ugliest offspring of Gothic interbreeding” is world-class smack.
Some retrospective critiques have been kinder. “It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s still a great record.”4
“The band finds a steady R&B groove reminiscent of '60s Stax house band the MG's, and, as with the MG's, it's all in the service of a big-voiced soul singer.”5
In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Andy Robbins wrote:
“…Picture Book at least proves the superstar red-head got to where he is for a reason.”6
Charts
Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: #167
Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: 8
‣ “Holding Back The Years” #1
‣ Money$ Too Tight (To Mention) #28• RIAA certification:
Released on October 11, 1985. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: “Oh Sheila” by Ready For The World9
• Number one album: Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits10
• Number one movie: Commando by Mark L. Lester11
• Most watched TV programs: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Murder She Wrote12
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor13
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley with Sandra Harmon14
Other albums released that month
• Afterburner by ZZ Top
• America by Kurtis Blow
• Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis by Butthole Surfers
• Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo
• Frankenchrist by Dead Kennedys
• Hunting High and Low by a-ha
• Jane Wiedlin by Jane Wiedlin
• Listen Like Thieves by INXS
• Live After Death by Iron Maiden
• Love by The Cult
• Me and the Boys by Charlie Daniels
• Mike + The Mechanics by Mike + The Mechanics
• Once Upon a Time by Simple Minds
• Power Windows by Rush
• Seven the Hard Way by Pat Benatar
• Slave to the Rhythm by Grace Jones
• Soul Kiss by Olivia Newton-John
• Spreading the Disease by Anthrax
• Standing on the Edge by Cheap Trick
• Sun City by Artists United Against Apartheid
• That's Why I'm Here by James Taylor
• The Last Command by W.A.S.P.
• This Is Big Audio Dynamite by Big Audio Dynamite
• Tim by The Replacements
• Walls of Jericho by Helloween15
Sport
• Oct 5 Grambling's Eddie Robinson wins record 324th football game.
• Oct 6 French McLaren driver Alain Prost clinches his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship.
• Oct 6 Marita Koch of E Germany sets 400m woman's record (47.6) in Australia
• Oct 6 New York Yankees knuckleballer Phil Niekro becomes 18th pitcher to win 300 games; at 46 becomes oldest to pitch a shut-out, beating Toronto 8-0.
• Oct 7 Lynette Woodward chosen as 1st woman in Harlem Globetrotters.
• Oct 13 During NLCS, Cards rookie Vince Coleman is injured stretching before game as his left leg is caught in Busch Stadium's automated tarpaulin.
• Oct 14 New York Jets retire Joe Namath's #12 on nationally televised Monday Night Football.
• Oct 16 MLB American League Championship: Kansas City Royals beat Toronto Blue Jays, 4 games to 3.
• Oct 16 MLB National League Championship: St. Louis Cardinals beat Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2.
• Oct 26 On a poor call in Game 6, umpire Don Deckinger starts a string of events probably costing St. Louis Cardinals the Baseball World Series; lose 2-1 to KC when leading series, 3-2.
• Oct 27 NYC Marathon winners: Women, Grete Waitz; Men, Orlando Pizzolato.
• Oct 27 World Series: KC Royals rout St Louis Cardinals, 11-0 at Royals Stadium for 4 games to 3 series win; MVP: KC pitcher Bret Saberhagen.16
Notable Births
• Oct 8 American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Oct 11 Michelle Trachtenberg, American actress (Harriet the Spy), born in New York.
• Oct 12 Mike Green, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings), born in Calgary, Alberta.
• Oct 18 Yoenis Céspedes, Cuban baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 2014, ‘16; Gold Glove Award 2015 Detroit Tigers; Silver Slugger Award 2016; Boston Red Sox, NY Mets), born in Campechuela, Cuba.17
Historical Events
• Oct 7 21st NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-J): Atlantis 1 lands at Edwards AFB.
• Oct 7 PLO terrorists seize Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro.
• Oct 10 US fighter jets force Egyptian plane carrying hijackers of Italian ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, gunmen are placed in custody.
• Oct 11 President Reagan bans import of South African Krugerrands to the USA.
• Oct 14 19th Country Music Association Awards: Ricky Skaggs wins.
• Oct 16 Intel introduces 32-bit 80386 microcomputer chip.18
Notable Deaths
• Oct 1 E.B. White, American writer (New Yorker: Stuart Little; Charlotte's Web), dies at 86.
• Oct 2 George Savalas, Greek-American actor (Kojak), dies of leukemia at 58.
• Oct 2 Rock Hudson, American actor, dies of AIDS-related complications at 59.
• Oct 2 Sidney Clute, American actor (Lou Grant; Cagney & Lacey), dies at 69.
• Oct 6 Nelson Riddle, American Grammy Award-winning bandleader, conductor, and orchestrator for Capitol Records (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin), dies of complications from cirrhosis of the liver at 64.
• Oct 10 Orson Welles, American actor and director (Citizen Kane), dies of a heart attack at 70.
• Oct 10 Russian-Swiss Tony and Academy Award-winning stage and screen actor (The King and I; The Ten Commandments), dies of lung cancer at 65.
• Oct 11 Tex Williams, American country-western singer, dies of cancer at 68.
• Oct 12 Johnny Olson, American radio personality and television announcer (The Price is Right), dies at 75.
• Oct 12 Ricky Wilson, American rock guitarist (B-52's), dies of AIDS at 32
• Oct 15 Ted Steele, American orchestra leader (Cavalcade of Stars), dies at 68.
• Oct 16 Claude Stroud, American actor (Breakfast at Tiffany's; Ted Knight Show; Duke), dies at 78.19
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
On Prime: 136. Picture Book by Simply Red
Wallace, Wyndam, Let The Red Rag Fly: In Defence Of Simply Red’s Picture Book
Wallace
Robbins, Andy, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, p. 541.
Ibid.
Ibid.