Mike & The Mechanics – HITS – review

'Greatest Hits', 'Best of…' or even just 'Hits' – different names for the same goal, namely to once again present an artist's or group's best tracks to an enthusiastic audience. Now Mike & The Mechanics have also released a compilation of hits, in a double pack containing a CD and a video, with an album title that could hardly be more unimaginative: HITS.

As the title promises, and as is usual with such records, the CD contains exactly this song material by the Mechanics. There are no unreleased versions or live recordings. Only All | Need Is A Miracle from the first Mechanics album was re-recorded in the style of the 90s and used on this CD instead of the original version. The entire work is clearly aimed solely at satisfying buyers who only became aware of Mike + The Mechanics through the phenomenal success of Over My Shoulder and the follow-up singles.

Changed: lettering and band line-up

This assumption is also supported by the fact that everything that refers to the band's past has been pushed into the background. For example, the distinctive old Mechanics lettering does not appear anywhere, and the photos of the band in the booklet are all from 1995. When listing the band line-up, band members Peter Van Hooke and Adrian Lee, who were not or only minimally represented on the last album, were lumped together with the 'live mechanics' Tim Renwick and Gary Wallis and visually subordinated to the bold-printed formation Mike-Paul-Paul. This must feel like a slap in the face, especially to Peter and Adrian. That's how little their contribution to the first three band albums means today.

The very mediocre cover design is a concession to the 90s look, which even the good old petrol station attendant from the original All I Need Is A Miracle single cover from 1985 can't do much to change – obviously, even the hits album couldn't wake him from his 'nap'. Actually, the CD can only be recommended to fans who just want to hear catchy tunes or who don't own any Mechanics albums yet. Fortunately, the video of the same name is somewhat different, although the tracks are largely identical to the CD.

Only Get Up, for which no clip exists, is missing from the hits video. Instead, it has been supplemented with Stop Baby, Seeing Is Believing and All I Need Is A Miracle (in the original version). Since hits are naturally presented more acoustically via radio than audiovisually via television, the spontaneous recognition effect is not as pronounced here as it is on the CD. And since the band's first purchase video, A Closer Look, is no longer available, it makes sense that the seven tracks that were already included on it can also be found here.

HITS: CD and VHS video

Some of the criticism levelled at the CD also applies to the video, at least in terms of the visuals and the emphasis on the 'trio image'. The fact that more than half of the video material contained was not previously available for purchase means that there is basically no criticism of the compilation, but every fan would certainly have been delighted with a bonus in the form of a live recording of a song or a short documentary about the Mechanics. One can really be happy for Mike's success with the Mechanics.

A release like this would have been unthinkable years ago and reflects the band's current status. Unfortunately, it is normal for parts of the former fan base to fall by the wayside with such a rise. Mike should also not forget that his current success is largely based on fans who may have forgotten him by tomorrow.

Just like with Genesis, there are not only the majority of record buyers and concertgoers, but also people for whom music means more than just entertainment, and for whom the artist or band is more than just a name on a record cover.

Authors: Peter Schütz and Helmut Janisch
First published in it-magazine #19