In the 1980s, when Britain had a much bigger hold on the world's pop charts than America did, Simply Red was one of the few British bands not to overdo their music with electronics. It was all about soul for them, and they did it so well (thanks no less to lead singer Mick Hucknall), even from the fickle American music-buying public's eyes. Songs like Holding Back The Years and their cover of Harold Melvin's If You Don't Know Me By Now topped the American charts, and today remain highlights of the decade. But after their 1991 album STARS (possibly their all-time best), Simply Red's success pretty much was contained to Europe, and also it moved from a group to more of a solo vehicle for Hucknall. That became official with 1998's BLUE, which seemed to show that ditching his bandmates may not have been wise for Mick. And while Simply Red's glory days may be long gone, Mick shows he can indeed continue the name with his latest LOVE & THE RUSSIAN WINTER. With BLUE, Mick seemed to take his retro soul influences a little too far. Perhaps realizing this by the low sales of BLUE, he knew he had to shake things up a bit, and WINTER (coming only about 18 months after BLUE) is Simply Red's greatest album since STARS. Finally succumbing to electronics, most of the songs on here would be at home in any dance club or rave party. The Sam & Dave cover Ain't That A Lot Of Love, the joyous opener The Spirit Of Life, the sociopolitical Man Made The Gun, and the ethereal Back Into The Universe all contain the synthesized dance rhythms that Simply Red tried their best to stay away from at first. But surprisingly, they don't overpower the songs. In fact, it's Mick Hucknall who's the real star of the show, because he can sound as black as any soul singer and make you forget that he's a fair-skinned English boy, making the fact that Simply Red is now essentially just Mick quite acceptable. Love songs are always the benchmark of soul music, and like Simply Red's #1 hits, Mick proves he can croon with the best of them on songs like Your Eyes, Words For Girlfriends (probably the best written song on here), and Close To You. With today's R&B so mechanized it ain't funny, Mick reminds us of a time when natural singing talent was what mattered most, and like Stevie Wonder's early '70s stuff, electronics actually enhances the songs, not hinders them. But even with such highlights, some uninspired moments are still to be found. Thank You is as generic as its title, while the closing Wave The Old World Goodbye sounds a bit forced, even with this album being released at the tail end of the 1900s. But those bumps in the road are easily forgivable when you consider that with LOVE & THE RUSSIAN WINTER, Mick Hucknall sounds more into his music than he has in years. While Simply Red as a band may be sorely missed, it was Mick's songwriting and his vocals that always took center stage and WINTER almost makes the absence of a real group not all that important.