Squeeze is an English band that first made waves on the new wave scene in the late 70s and early 80s with classics like "Cool For Cats," "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)," and "Up The Junction," none of which charted in the US. That changed when Paul Carrack (Ace, Mike + The Mechanics) joined in 1981 and delivered "Tempted," which rose to #49. The band did not see the chart again until their breakthrough 1987 record, "Babylon and On." It gave them their first and last Top 40 hits: "Hourglass" and "853-5937," which went to #15 and #32, respectively. Carrack was in and out of the band, but rejoined for the recording of 1993's "Some Fantastic Place." One of the highlights is his tune, "Loving You Tonight," which feels like a sequel to "Tempted." The first half of this album is particularly strong, especially the leading track "Everything In The World." Not sure why this one didn't give the band a much-needed second wind. The band is still active, their last album having been "The Knowledge" in 2017.
When he wasn't busy in Genesis or making solo records, Mike Rutherford jammed with his musical all-stars in Mike + The Mechanics. Rutherford recruited "ace" vocalists Paul Carrack (Ace, Squeeze) and Paul Young (but not the same Paul Young who had a hit with "Every Time You Go Away"). The band's first effort (self-titled) appeared in 1985 and quickly spawned two top 10 hits with "Silent Running" (#6) and "All I Need Is A Miracle" (#5). The band's follow-up LP, "Living Years," featured a title track that soared to #1, and some decent but lesser known singles like "Nobody's Perfect" (#63) and "Seeing Is Believing" (#62). Their last chart appearance arrived in 1991 with a single from their third effort, the title-track to "Word Of Mouth," which stalled at #78. Young passed away from a heart attack in 2000 at the age of 53 and saw Carrack taking over all vocal duties until they broke up a few years later. Rutherford has released a couple more records in recent years under the Mike + The Mechanics name, but with a different crew. "Poor Boy Down" is one of the underrated cuts from "Living Years."
Mitch Malloy is a singer/songwriter from North Dakota who arrived on the hairband scene just a little too late to hit the big time. And its a shame, because this guy is a soulful rock vocalist with a knack for writing big, bold choruses that make you want to sing along. His debut album arrived in 1992 and he almost cracked the top 40 with his first single, "Anything At All." The song reached #49 and was followed by the requisite power ballad, "Nobody Wins In This War," which peaked at a disappointing #66. Taking many of his melodic rock fans by surprise, Malloy went full adult contemporary for his follow up record, "Ceilings and Walls." It proved to be a sophomore jinx, which is too bad because it has some beautiful gems on it, including a soulful duet with Paul Carrack called "Ready To Go Home." Malloy has also been a part of other projects, including Fluid Sol and South of Eden. He also auditioned to be Sammy Hagar's replacement in Van Halen. Malloy continues to crank out quality rock as a solo artist and recently (July 2018) became the lead singer for Great White. "Forever" goes back to Malloy's killer debut record. If this catchy tune were released as a second single, perhaps it would have made him the household name he deserves to be.
Paul Carrack has been all over the music landscape since the 70s when he had his first big hit with the outfit called Ace, which took their signature song, "How Long" to #3 in 1975. After Ace broke up in 1977, Carrack played with Roxy Music and worked on his first solo record, "Nightbird" (1980), but it failed to chart. Carrack then did some time with Squeeze, finding chart success with his song, "Tempted". "Tempted" landed at #49 in 1981. Carrack then left Squeeze, but would rejoin briefly in 1993 to re-record "Tempted" for the movie Reality Bites. Carrack stayed in Squeeze long enough to complete a new album with them, "Some Fantastic Place". After leaving Squeeze the first time, Carrack made his first appearance on the charts as a solo artist in 1982 with the delightful little song, "I Need You". "I Need You" went to #37 and was produced by Nick Lowe, who also teamed up with Carrack to form a side band called Noise To Go. Some of you may know Carrack's voice best from his work with Mike + The Mechanics. In 1985, Carrack gave the band their first hit, taking "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" to #6. In 1989, Carrack finally hit the apex of the chart, taking "The Living Years" to #1. Carrack also found success as a solo artist. His third solo record, 1987's "One Good Reason", was his most successful, yielding four charting singles - the best performer was the excellent "Don't Shed A Tear", which hit #9. With the exception of "I Need You", Carrack's second solo record, "Suburban Voodoo", was strangely overlooked. It didn't produce any other charting singles, but managed to get to #78 on the album chart thanks to "I Need You". The album remains one of my favorite records from Carrack - filled with snappy pop and rock tunes. Carrack's vocals are earnest and the musicianship sharp. Check out "Always Better Than You", one of many other great tunes on this under-appreciated classic.
