Simply Red Concert Can’t Do Hucknall Voice Justice

Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall was buried Sunday night.

The English singer has a fairly delicate, soulful tenor that’s elegantly showcased on the band’s albums, particularly on songs like the Harold Melvin oldie “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” and Simply Red’s biggest hit, the ballad “Holding Back the Years.”

But if you went to the Roxy to savor the subtleties of Hucknall’s voice, you were out of luck. The six instrumentalists of the English white-soul band, concluding a sold-out, four-night run, simply overwhelmed lead singer Hucknall. The musicians were so intent on showing off their slick, James Brown-influenced soul-revue style that Hucknall’s vocals often were lost in their clamorous funk. In concert, Hucknall needs softer, less flashy accompaniment. He had to push his voice beyond its limits Sunday, forcing himself to shriek--which he doesn’t do well.