Best known to Americans for the classic “Holding Back the Years” and the Refugee Camp collaboration “Angel,” Simply Red has been dominating the international scene for more than 13 years.

Armed with a new production team, singer Mick Hucknall is back with what maybe the best Simply Red album since “Stars” in 1991. Hucknall found his own voice on the last Simply Red album (“Life,” 1994). He has quit attempting to sound like he has soul idols like Al Green. Unlike “Life” that got repetitious and predictable, “Blue” is filled with all the varied grooves and tempos which Simply Red is known for.

The two remakes on this album at least equal, and in my opinion, outperform the original. Hucknall put his own spin on Neil Young’s “Mellow My Mind.” The track is a beautiful mellow, Euro-soul groove with Hucknall’s sincerity, but not overdone with whiny vocals. “The Air That I Breathe (Reprise)” remixed by Stevie J (Bad Boy Entertainment) is one of the most beautiful songs of 1998.

Original tracks on the album such as “Say You Love Me,” “Love Has Said Goodbye Again” and the title cut recall vintage Simply Red tracks such as “Stars” and “Money’s Too Tight to Mention.”

“Someday in My Life,” the piano ballad with the lyrics of “Storms may rage on about them/they hail and snow/yet they will never know/you are here in my life,” is the perfect ballad without anything over the top or excessive corn content.

I do have one problem with the album. The Gregory Isaac’s remake of “Night Nurse” almost works, but just doesn’t. There should be a ban on reggae remakes from non-reggae singers. Hucknall is a very talented singer, and he almost pulls it off.

Simply Red is one of the last original artists in the pop world that still have something to say in their songs. In this era of gimmick filled acts, pop sampling and over the top and uninspired vocals; “Blue” is a much needed escape.