The Living Years (CD - 1988)

With The Living Years, Mike + the Mechanics firmly established themselves in the adult contemporary genre after the mid-'80s pop of their debut. Slickly produced with rich vocals from Paul Carrack and Paul Young, The Living Years moves smoothly between anthemic ballads such as the title track and more up-beat numbers such as "Seeing Is Believing." The band even shows a trace of Mike Rutherford's prog rock roots with Genesis on the epic-like, "Why Me?" When the group try their hands at funk, as on "Don't," or harder rock, as on "Black and Blue," they sound quite out of their element. But on mid-tempo tracks with Rutherford's trademark bubbly bass such as "Nobody's Perfect" and "Beautiful Day" and on the infectious "Poor Boy Down" the group display a soulfulness that many in the genre lack even while there is a distinct lack of individuality present in their musicianship. ~ Geoff Orens

Unlike 1985's MIKE AND THE MECHANICS, which gave radio three inescapable songs in 1986, 1989's THE LIVING YEARS only produced one hit single. But that one hit, the churchy title track, was so omnipresent in the winter and spring of 1989 that it has become the band's defining song. Written about the death of Mike Rutherford's father, "The Living Years" is less cloying than a lot of similar tunes. It's the clear highlight of the album, but the other nine songs are more consistently solid than later Mike and the Mechanics albums would be.

As always, lead vocals are split between Paul Carrack and ex-Sad CafT leader Paul Young (not the guy who sang "Everytime You Go Away"). The surprisingly soulful arrangements are based around Rutherford's typically excellent guitar and Carrack's R&B-style keyboards. THE LIVING YEARS is quality MOR pop rock, for those who believe such a thing exists. minimize