Hope everyone is keeping well? Works really busy, my Ciao time is very limited.... pretty much non ...
Hope everyone is keeping well? Works really busy, my Ciao time is very limited.... pretty much non existent! ;0(
Member since:30.12.2005
Reviews:98
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MIKE & THE MECHANICS "Hits" - Relatively cheap to purchase these days ... I wouldn't pay anymore than £6.99
I am just listening to it as I write this ... very beneficial!
This album is a collection of the bands hits from 1985 through to 1996 and includes songs that the band have experienced great success with in various regions of the world over an eleven year span.
The album sleeve is fairly basic, with a cartoon design of a mechanic slumped asleep upon a tyre, resting upon his tool box in front of a gas filling pump. The inner sleeve is a 6-page booklet of photographs, along with a list of the tracks and information regarding the year they were produced and whom they were written by.
When Phil Collins opted for a solo career in 1985, Genesis bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford decided to form his own pop/rock band "Mike & The Mechanics" comprising backing vocalist and keyboard player Paul Carrack, lead vocalist Paul Young (who tragically died of a heart attack in July 2000), keyboardist Adrian Lee, and drummer Peter van Hooke.
1) All I need is a Miracle '96 - The essence of the song is captured in the line "You never know what you've got 'til it's gone" and focusses upon a love that it lost, that ws not appreciated, was allowed to walk out the door so easily, yet is now regretted with the promise of loving that person for the rest of their life, if The Miracle occurs, whereby that person somehow walks back into their life. A very poignant put up-tempo song.
2) Over My Shoulder - The song is about a love that has just come to an end,
with the female making the decision. The male is looking back over his shoulder with aching heart, trying to decipher where and how it all went wrong ... wishing he just had one more chance .... We've all been there, some of us more recent than others! More obvious use of guitars in this track than the first, and at a much slower pace.
3) Word of Mouth - The song is purely about the "word of mouth" and the belief that you will never get bad infromation from this method of communication. This is a very catchy up-tempo song, especially the corus "From the west side to the east side, from the north side to the south...."
4) The Living Years - A classic! An incredibly infectious song, with excellent usage of childrens choir to great effect. I really do think songs with the addition of children's choirs make a massive impact. The theme of the song is in regard to the passing of a father with whom there had been many disagreements and quarrels during his living years, and yet the son wishes he had been given the opportunity to say all he really wanted to say before his passing.
5) Another Cup of Coffee - The song is another reflective song, looking back at a love that has since departed. In this instance, it is the wife who has been left by the husband, and she reflects upon the state of affairs over a cup of coffee. A soft and smooth song with strong vocals, guitar, keyboards and percussion.
6) Nobody's Perfect - The title of the song is descriptive enough about the theme of this song, dealing with the fact we all have imperfections ... "Nobody's perfect all of the time" .... "We are what we are". The keyboard riff throughout the song, very prominent from the outset sounds a little Chinese in theme to me ... Up-beat song with strong vocals, especially the infectious corus. Includes a cracking guitar solo towards the finale of the song.
7) Silent Running - Deals with a Father during a war "running" to protect his family where they are hiding out ... they are armed with a gun and ammunition for emergency usage and told to trust no one but him ... not the church, not the state, no one. If they are caught, they are to swear allegiance to whoever to ensure they remain alive. This is a haunting track, again with strong vocal, effective usage of guitars, keyboards and percussion.
8) Nobody Knows - Again, another song that deals with a love that is lost and the fact that know one else really appreciated what the couple in question had ... "You could have done better, you could have done worse ... but it just hurts knowing your children won't be mine." some of the poignant lyrics from the track. Soft keyboard opening to the track, followed by soft ranging vocal, and then introduction of soft percussion, before increasing in tempo during trhe corus, before falling softer again.
9) Get Up - The theme of the song is about someone who has fallen to a depth (how deep we don't know) and needs to "get up" and do something about their life ... time for action. Quite an uptempo song, starting with a slow guitarist riff, prior to the introduction of percussion and keyboards provding the song a quicker tempo.
10) A Time and Place - Again, a love song ... with the theme outlining that there will be a time and place for you and me ... it just may not be now. This is a smooth soft track, with fantastic ranging vocal. More typical of a love song. One of my definite favourites on the album.
11) Taken In - Another of my favourite songs on the album. The theme of the song is quite simply about someone who is too easily taken for a ride ... chewed up and spat out by anyone willing to take advantage. Song begins with strong percussion maintained throughout the track, with haunting keyboard sounds. Very strong vocal and also excellent haunting usage of saxophone to give a blues feel to the second half of the track. I find this an incredibly infectious song, which usually gets a repeat play!
12) Everybody Gets a Second Chance - "A single failure, a little slip, a misdemeanour, a little trip" are the opening four lines and sum up the theme of the song ... Up-tempo song, again with strong ranging vocal and strong usage of saxophone for the latter stages of the song.
13) A Beggar on a Beach of Gold - The keyboard introduction of this song sounds very electronic and almost pan pipe if that makes sense. Another fairly up-tempo track, again with strong ranging vocal. Quite a poignant song to finish the album on, refers to a poor man but his welath being his family, and the realisation of this as he sit on a golden beach of sand.
A very strong sentimental and thought-provoking album, with a fine slection of the bands hits. Very different to Genesis, and I wouldn't draw any comparisons between the two.
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:) :) :) this takes me back, they were never off the radio when i had my first job (YTS really) in an office - i need to get this so i can relive my lost youth. Great band and great review. Lesley x
micheledog 23.01.2006 00:17
it was great to read about each track made for a fab review well done michele x x
Jan 22nd, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
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