British soul and pop band
Simply Red covered "Angel" for their first compilation album,
Greatest Hits (1996), featuring an uncredited appearance by American
hip hop group
Fugees. It was released on October 28, 1996, by
EastWest Records, as the only single from the album and reached number four in the United Kingdom. The song also appeared on the
Set It Off soundtrack. Simply Red performed it on
TOTP, and with Fugees on the
MTV Awards.
Critical reception AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien wrote that the song is "a surprisingly passable attempt at
hip-hop lite."
Larry Flick from
Billboard magazine described it as a "rugged
jeep-funk cover" and commented further that "this is far more street-oriented than Simply Red's previous efforts, and front man
Mick Hucknall is pushed to deliver one his roughest and most forceful performances to date." He also noted that the singer "sounds convincingly hard alongside
Fugee Wyclef Jean's muscular guest rap". Kevin Courtney from
Irish Times felt Fugees "put some street cool" into the cover. A reviewer from
Music & Media wrote that Wyclef Jean and
Pras Michel "bring out the best in Mick Hucknall on this hair-raising version", and "his voice can handle any
soul ballad on its own, but the unmistakeble Fugees beats and soulful snippets make this a great addition to the Simply Red
Greatest Hits album."
Track listings Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Release history ==Other versions==