Mike + The Mechanics have released their ninth studio album in the form of ‘Out of the Blue’ and there is both good and bad for fans of the band. The good news is we have the pleasure of three brand new tracks for us to sink our teeth into… The bad news is there are only three new tracks for us to sink our teeth into. Don’t be too disappointed just yet, as the new tracks stand up well but also rest of the album is full of classic Mike + The Mechanics tracks that we have loved over the years but all re-recorded and re-mixed with the wonderful vocal talents of Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, which keep with the bands unique double vocalist angle. It’s difficult to believe that something Mike Rutherford started as a ‘side project’ to prog rock giants Genesis has now been around for thirty-five years and if the three new songs are a taster for future Mike + The Mechanic releases then we certainly can look forward to more quality material ahead.
The three new tracks are all sung by Roachford and are at the start with the album, opening with ‘One Way’ and it’s a catchy hand clap-beat with a typical Mike + The Mechanics feel to it. Easy on the ears and with a chorus to remember it’s a solid start to the album and follows with another winner in the shape of the title track ‘Out of the Blue’ which lifts the tempo slightly and even though the vocalists have changed over the years this could very well have been sung by Messer’s Carrack & Young. The final ‘newie’ is the best of the bunch in the shape of ‘What Would You Do’, with its sleek R&B feel.
The re-recorded tracks work well also with a nice rearrangement with the intro to the wonderful ‘Living Years’ which for the whole has been left close to the original other than Andrew Roachford’s own vocal improvisations. ‘Beggar on a Beach of Gold’ sees Howar take the vocal reigns and does a good job on another Mechanics track that has become a live favourite. ‘Get Up’ is another crowd pleaser and this get a reboot with Roachford & Howar sharing vocal duties with great results. Another of my favourites is ‘Another Cup of Coffee’ and this too works well with the slight vocal rearrangement while sticking close to the original. We then move into the real classics that have always been a vital part of any Mike + The Mechanics fans set list – ‘All I Need is a Miracle’ is where we get to hear Howar at his best and is one of the best of the bunch on this album with a great live feel to it and this is followed by the brilliant ‘Silent Running’ with a few added guitar extras from Rutherford. ‘Over My Shoulder’ seems fairly unchanged other than with different vocalists as does ‘Word of Mouth’.
But it’s the bonus tracks that are the highlight and make this release come alive for me. Rutherford has recorded these in a one-take ‘live & acoustic’ feel and they are quite wonderful. ‘Don’t Know What Came Over Me’ is quite stunning with its stripped back piano accompaniment, as is ‘The Best is Yet to Come’ with its gentle acoustic guitar and outstanding harmonies. How do you tinker with an absolute classic like ‘The Living Years’? Well, you sing it from the heart and follow that with laid back piano, acoustic guitar work & backing vocals and again it works extremely well. I actually prefer the acoustic version of ‘Beggar on a Beach of Gold’ than the one we heard earlier on this album, as again we are stripped back to the guitar/piano/vocal combination that just works so beautifully well. ‘Another Cup of Coffee’ & ‘Over My Shoulder’ complete the bonus tracks and in a way I wish the whole album had been reworked this way, as the results are truly special.
All in all this is a fresh reworking of some fine tunes that bring back memories of the eighties & nineties and I for one hope that this is the start of Rutherford & Co making the most of their collective talents and getting back to writing and recording a full album in the next year or so.
Track Listing:
One Way*
Out Of The Blue*
What Would You Do*
The Living Years
Beggar On A Beach Of Gold
Get Up
Another Cup Of Coffee
All I Need Is A Miracle
Silent Running
Over My Shoulder
Word Of Mouth
* New Tracks
Additional Acoustic Tracks for the Deluxe CD & Digital release:
Don’t Know What Came Over Me
The Best Is Yet To Come
The Living Years
Beggar On A Beach Of Gold
Another Cup Of Coffee
Over My Shoulder
