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ALBUM
REVIEWS
MIKE
& THE MECHANICS
(Click
on the Album Art To Order The CD) |
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ALBUM
RATING SYSTEM |
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***** |
An
excellent album. Strong effort from beginning to end! A must own! |
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**** |
A
very good album. A few low points but, overall, a decent effort.
Recommended. |
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*** |
A
good album. Several weak points detract from the album, but it's still
worth owning. |
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** |
A
mediocre album. Unless you're a real fan, you might not like this album
very much. |
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* |
A
poor album. Stay away from this one unless you are a hardcore fan! |
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Mike & The Mechanics (1985) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
While, at this point, The Mechanics were essentially a name behind which
Mike Rutherford released his own solo projects, the debut self-titled
release is a nearly flawless piece of pop perfection. The album climbed
the charts with hits like "All I Need Is A Miracle",
"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" and "Taken In,"
but they represented only a sampling of the great music on this album.
Other standouts include "Par Avion", "Hanging By A
Thread", "I Get The Feeling" and "Call To Arms."
To be perfectly honest, I don't think there's a bad one in the lot! Unlike
later projects, vocal chores on this set are not limited to Paul Young and
Paul Carrack (as they would be on later albums). The album rocks a little
more than later Mechanics' endeavors with super-charged songs like
"Hanging By A Thread" and "Take The Reins," which
actually balances off the ballads on this project extremely well. This
disc is one of my favorite albums of the '80s and definitely comes highly
recommended. A consistently good debut from a great pop band!
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Living Years (1988) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
Although Living Years is heralded by many as the band's landmark
album fueled by the massive worldwide success of the title track, it is
clearly the weakest of all of the Mechanics' albums to date. Its the only
album that sounds extremely "dated" in stereotypical '80s type
pop when listened to years later, much in the way that I suspect the
group's Rewired album (which suffers from the same trappings of
adapting to current musical trends) will sound in the coming decade when
revisited. Unexplainably, Living Years just seems to lack the
timeless quality represented on the bulk of the Mechanics' catalog.
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The
album does have some excellent material like the incredibly powerful
ballad "Nobody Knows", the upbeat tongue and cheek "Seeing
Is Believing", "Poor Boy Down" which is the closest thing
to a straight-up rocker you're going to get from the Mechanics, the
legendary title cut, and "Nobody's Perfect" which is an
outstanding tune that suffers greatly from a nails on chalkboard like
opening. Sadly, the five tracks that make up the other half of the album
just aren't that memorable. In retrospect, the better tracks do carry the
album enough to make it a worth while purchase, but if I was going to
listen to a Mechanics album, it would probably be the last one I would
choose.
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Word of Mouth (1991) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
1991's Word of Mouth wins the award for being the most under-rated
Mechanics album. The project was just pushed in under the radar before
Mike Rutherford returned to Genesis for the We Can't Dance album,
and may have suffered in the process. While Mouth was not really a
commercially successful release, it remains one of my top two favorite
Mechanics' albums. This album is incredibly strong from beginning to end.
Some might say Word of Mouth is a little ballad heavy, but I think
the project is fairly seamless and flows nicely. From upbeat inspiring pop
tunes like "Get Up" and "Everybody Gets A Second
Chance" to delicate ballads like "Time and Place",
"Stop Baby" and "Before (The Next Heartache Falls)" to
the pop-seasoned rock of the title cut, this release runs the gambit...
and does it well.
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Released
at the height of the Grunge and Alternative rock movement in the early
'90s, the changing music scene left this album in the dust, which is a
true shame. This is one of those rare albums that you listen to and think
"had this been released a year or two earlier, it probably would have
been a massive hit." I strongly recommend it. If you like Mike &
The Mechanics, you simply can't go wrong with Word of Mouth.
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Beggar On A Beach of Gold (1995) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
Released in February 1995, Beggar On A Beach of Gold attempted to
recapture the commercial interest established with the group's first two
albums, but it never quite succeeded. The project contains several strong
Mechanics' tunes like the title cut, "Another Cup of Coffee",
their great cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Believe", "Mea Culpa" and "Over My
Shoulder." Unfortunately, there are a few less palatable tracks like their
cover of Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Someone Always
Hates Someone" which detracted from the album as a whole. Collectively,
this was not the Mechanics' best album, but some of the material on this
project remains among my favorites from their repertoire. There is
definitely enough quality material to make Beggar worth exploring,
but whether it is because Word of Mouth was such an excellent album
and hard to follow-up or because the tracks just aren't as cohesive as
other projects, the release does not stand out as a truly great album.
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Hits (1996) |
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WOG
RATING: *****
Hits was Mike and The Mechanics' first compilation. The 13-track
anthology spanned the first 11 years of the group's history starting with their
1985 debut through 1995's Beggar On a Beach of Gold. The collection
also featured one new track, "All I Need Is A Miracle '96" which
is a remake of one of their biggest singles. All four albums from the era
covered on Hits are represented with a fairly thoughtful mix
of material from each disc. While ideal track listings on "best
of" sets are always debatable, I found the songs selected to be
extremely representative of the body of the group's work from that
period. Honestly,
its a shame that this album was never released in North America, because
prior to Hits the band did have a North American recording contract
for all of the titles featured on this collection. While I ultimately
prefer Mike and The Mechanics' Favourites CD if I was to pick one
collection on the band, Hits makes a great introduction to the
music of the Mechanics and is certainly a worth while purchase. This
collection is highly recommended.
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Mike & The Mechanics (a.k.a. M6)
(1999) |
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WOG
RATING: *****
Mike and The Mechanics have been one of the most consistent side projects
within the Genesis mythos. Every album recorded by the band to date has
been been fairly solid with several excellent tracks, and M6 is
certainly no exception. In fact, I regard the M6 project as being
not only the best Mechanics album, but also one of my all-time favorite
CDs - period. From infectious cutting-edge pop tunes like "Now That
You've Gone", "Ordinary Girl" and "Whenever I
Stop" to beautiful songs like "Look Across At Dreamland",
"My Little Island" and "All The Light I Need" this
album covers all of the bases. Sadly, some of Paul Young's most memorable
work is featured on this release, which would turn out to be his last with
the band. Much
like Beggar On A Beach of Gold, this album was one of the first
glimpses of balance within the band, with Carrack and Young's voice in the
songwriting process appearing stronger than ever before. This perfect
union between the songwriting prowess of Mike Rutherford, BA Robertson,
Paul Carrack, and Paul Young makes M6 virtually flawless from beginning to
end. A classic in every sense of the word! A must own!
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Favourites (2001) |
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WOG
RATING: *****
This 17-track Swedish compilation offers the best of the group's first 14
years together starting with hits from their self-titled 1985 debut album
through their amazing 1999 opus, M6. Almost every hit single
including early tunes like "All I Need Is A Miracle",
"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)", and "The Living
Years" to modern classics like "Now That You've Gone",
"Word of Mouth", and "Over My Shoulder" are all
featured in this great set! Plus, as if that wasn't enough, it includes
the previously rare b-side "You Never Change." In fact, the only
song it seems to be missing is "Taken In" which was a hit single
in the
USA
(but since this is a Swedish CD, I guess we can forgive that!). Fans
should also note that the album is dedicated to the memory of former lead
vocalist Paul Young who passed away in 2000. If
you are a fan of Mike & The Mechanics, if you've always been curious
to try one of their albums, or if you're just a passive listener, this
collection is sure to please. I strongly encourage you to give this
selection of pop treasures a listen. You won't regret it! If you are
planning on buying one Mike and The Mechanics CD - This one is it!
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Mike
& The Mechanics - Rewired (2004) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
I have always found that the Mechanics albums followed a fairly consistent
yet predictable formula with hints of catchy pop meshed around a number of
well-honed, memorable compositions. This may have made the band boring to
some; but I’ve always found their albums extremely enjoyable year after
year. In fact, all the Mechanics albums, with the possible exception of Living
Years which does not stand the test of time (due to its dated '80s
sound), have gotten better with each release from their debut through
1999’s M6.
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That
brings us to the summer of 2004 and the release of Rewired, the band’s first album since the death of co-lead
vocalist Paul Young. This time out, The Mechanics features mainstays Mike
Rutherford, BA Robertson, and Paul Carrack along with the return of
original drummer Peter Van Hooke and a number of new guest musicians.
Listening to the album, you get the distinct impression that the band are
trying to modernize their consistent, beguiling, pop-laced stylishness
with a sound that is hip and current with today’s music scene.
Unfortunately, this works against the album at times with occasional
mid-tempo, techno-like arrangements that detract from otherwise excellent
Mechanics tunes.
There are several strong tracks on the album including “I Don’t Want
It All”, “If I Were You”, “How Can I” and “Somewhere Along the
Line” which Carrack sings to perfection. There are also a couple of
songs that fall a little short, including “Perfect Child” which sounds
similar at times to “The Living Years” when it gets to the chorus, and
two instrumental tracks that do not hold up against the rest of the album.
In the blatant attempt to ‘rewire’ and update the group’s sound, The
Mechanics deviated somewhat from the tried and true formula that makes
their sound so memorable. As a whole, Rewired is a decent offering, but I would love to hear stripped down
versions of some of these songs without all of the techno-tomfoolery.
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