“Get Up,” a newly shared follow up to Mike and the Mechanics’ 2011 release The Road, is intriguing in that it doesn’t at first sound like Genesis or, for that matter, Mike and the Mechanics.
Always a fluid amalgam, with both the late Paul Young and Paul Carrack sharing vocal duties from the beginning, Mike and the Mechanics have undergone yet another rebuild — this time with a chunky, R&B-inflected live redo of the opening track from the group’s 1991 album Word Of Mouth. Credit here, in the wake of Young’s passing and Carrack’s departure, goes to the addition of soulful Andrew Roachford, who had a pair of late-1980s hits with “Cuddly Toy” and “Family Man.”
Of course, if you dig deeper into “Get Up” — beyond Roachford’s grease-popping vocal — much of the familiar foundational elements of what was once a side project for Genesis co-founder Mike Rutherford are there, from the song’s approachable keyboards to its snug little guitar solo. And there were certainly hints of R&B in Carrack’s approach, from the beginning. They sold some 10 million albums, long before Genesis went on what seems like a permanent hiatus, with that sound.
Still, Roachford makes quite the impression for anyone who last checked in with this band back in the pop-focused days of “All I Need Is a Miracle” and “The Living Years.” These Mechanics have a whole new groove now.
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