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From the Vault...
11/15/1998
#603 |
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info
Mike + The Mechanics
"Mike + The Mechanics"
© Atlantic Records
Year of Release: 1985
Rating:
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track listing
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Silent Running
All I Need Is A Miracle
Par Avion
Hanging By A Thread
I Get The Feeling
Take THe Reins
You Are The One
A Call To Arms
Taken In
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Mike + The Mechanics related sites:
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Mike + The Mechanics
"Mike + The Mechanics"
Mike + The Mechanics was a solo project band by Genesis member Mike
Rutherford. With Rutherford on guitar, his Mechanics featured two prominent
lead vocalists: Paul Carrack, who at one time teamed up with the group Squeeze,
and was featured vocalist on their most remembered hit, Tempted. The
other was Paul Young (not the same Paul Young who had the #1 hit Everytime
You Go Away).
Their 1985 self-titled debut album features two smash hits that received
a huge share of radio airplay: Silent Running and All I Need Is A
Miracle, which are two very well recorded songs.
Par Avion definitely has the Genesis/Phil Collins sound, likewise
the mood of the song could pass as another former member of Genesis, Peter
Gabriel's late-1980s material. Hanging On A Thread starts out as a
theatrical song, as in a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra. The vocals
kick in, and as this song is more focused on a harder rock edge than the
previous three songs heard on this album, it also passes as a Genesis/Phil
Collins rocker, as heard on Genesis' self-titled album from 1983.
I Get The Feeling has a more pop feel, that features horns, and
again, it has a more pop sound than anything else. Take The Reins is
another rocker, and it defines a different sound for the group, as comparing
their sound to past Genesis work.
You Are The One returns the group to a pop mellow sound, as
this song is compared to Peter Cetera and Chicago (likewise a Phil Collins
solo ballad), with it's smooth piano and soft arrangements and vocals.
A Call To Arms starts out as theatrical (as in Hanging On A Thread)
and resembles the Peter Gabriel days of Genesis; it has a more progressive rock
sound, with just a small taste of pop. The album closes with a pop number that
also received quite a bit of radio airplay, Taken In.
All in all, Mike + The Mechanics is a very well done album.
Mike Rutherford proved that he can design his own musical style, as well as
keeping his previous band's sound and style intact. The vocals on this
album also makes the album quite enjoyable, likewise the instrumental
arrangements, such as synthesizers (which was big at the time in the mid-to-late
1980s), and some songs having a more theatrical sound.
For the Genesis fan, Mike + The Mechanics will be enjoyable.
There's no mistake that this band could pass as another Genesis, but Phil
Collins made Genesis a household name than former lead singer Peter Gabriel.
And, both Collins and Gabriel have achieved great success with their solo
releases. Now, Genesis has a new lead singer, and Phil Collins' shoes will
be pretty hard to fill. Of course, that was said when Peter Gabriel left
the group. I doubt if Genesis could bounce back into the limelight as Phil
Collins and Company took Genesis to new heights, but then again, it will be
something if history does repeat itself, if the new Genesis continues making
records.
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