"The Right Thing" by Simply Red

Song#:  3035
Date:  02/28/1987
Debut:  96
Peak:  27
Weeks:  15
Genre:  Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul



Pop Bits:  Simply Red made a splash with their debut album Picture Book. It would be a platinum seller thanks to the #1 hit "Holding Back the Years" and it would help earn the band two Grammy nominations including one for Best New Artist. The band then went back into the studio to record their second album, Men and Women. This first single introduced the LP. In their UK homeland, the song would reach #11, but it wasn't quite as successful in the States where it just made the Pop Top 30. Further singles failed to chart at Pop, although one of them, "Maybe Someday...," did make an appearance on the AC chart at #28. With little to support the album, it peaked at #31 and failed to reach gold-level sales. It would be a bump in the road for the band as they would rally back with their third effort.

ReduxReview:  This was a good track from the band and easily the best thing on the album. However, it wasn't a very strong single candidate. It was a sweet, blue-eyed soul track that seemed just a bit too laid back. It was lacking some energy and the tempo was a bit too slow to make it danceable. It leaned itself toward being a retro-style R&B track, but it didn't quite make it there. The tune didn't have enough to keep a US audience interested and it was a chart disappointment even though it was a nice listen.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The Men and Women album would be far more successful in Europe, especially the UK where five of its singles charted including this one and another #11, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." That song was a cover of an old Cole Porter standard that was written in 1944. It was first sung by Nan Wynn in the 1944 Broadway revue show The Seven Lively Arts. To-date, all twelve of Simply Red's studio albums have reached the UK Top 10. Four of them hit #1. They would also earn ten Top 10 hits. In the US, they would only get two Top 10 hits (both would be #1's) and none of their albums would get higher than the #16 showing of Picture Book.

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