Credit: Patrick BallsMike + the Mechanics, the band led by founding Genesis bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, will release a new album titled Out of the Blue on April 5. It features updated versions of the group’s best-known songs, plus three new original tunes, all recorded by the current lineup.
The new tunes are “One Way,” “What Would You Do” and the album’s title track. The song “Out of the Blue” was released last month as the record’s lead single. Fans who pre-order the album will receive free digital downloads of the title cut and “What Would You Do.”
Out of the Blue also features new versions of Mike + the Mechanics’ huge ’80s hits “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground),” “All I Need Is a Miracle” and “The Living Years” — that last song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989.
The album will be available digitally and on CD, vinyl and as a special deluxe CD. That features six bonus acoustic renditions of songs from throughout Mike + the Mechanics’ career, including “The Living Years” and “Over My Shoulder.”
Mike + The Mechanics’ original lineup featured co-lead singers Paul Carrack and Paul Young; Young sadly passed away in 2000. Rutherford relaunched the band in 2010 with different musicians, including new vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar.
“Having toured with the Mechanics over the last 10 years, I have heard the old songs change a bit each year with Andrew and Tim singing and the same band playing,” Mike explains. “In some cases, they have been extended and developed, so it seemed a good idea to record these versions in the studio.”
The band currently is on tour in the U.K.
Here’s the Out of the Blue track list:
“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”
Here are the bonus acoustic tracks on the deluxe edition:
“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”
* = new songs.
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