Mike + The Mechanics: “The Living Years” (1989)
At least his father was spared having to see his grown son wear a whistle.
Kronomyth 2.2: The hit of the living dead.
I’m beginning to wonder if there isn’t some kind of songwriter conspiracy to make Paul Carrack sing meaningless lyrics. I’ll buy into the idea that Paul is actually singing “I need you like a flier needs a plane” on “I Need You” and not “like a fly needs a plane,” but I’m sure he’s singing “You can listen as well as you hear” on The Living Years. They even printed the lyrics on the back sleeve of the single. The single edit runs about a minute shorter. They shaved about 10 seconds off the intro and I guess 50 seconds somewhere else. Honestly, I find it impossible to pay attention to this song for four minutes, let alone five. It still blows my mind that a decade that began with “Biko” ended with “The Living Years.” That’s what eight years of Reaganomics will do to you. The B side in the UK and the US was a nonalbum track called Too Many Friends that isn’t bad as B sides go. I’ll give Mike + The Mechanics the advantage here, since they didn’t cop out with an instrumental.
Original 7-inch single version
A1. The Living Years (Mike Rutherford/B.A. Robertson) (5:30)
B1. Too Many Friends (Mike Rutherford/Chris Neil) (4:20)
Original 7-inch single version (JPN)
A1. The Living Years (Mike Rutherford/B.A. Robertson)
B1. Nobody’s Perfect
12-inch and CD single version
1. The Living Years
2. Too Many Friends
3. I Get the Feeling (live)
The Players
Produced by Christopher Neil & Mike Rutherford; engineered by Nick Davis.
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch, 12-inch and 3-inch CD single in January 1989 in the UK and Germany (WEA, U 7717/T/CD), the US (Atlantic, 7-88964) and Japan (WEA, PRS-2020) with picture sleeve. Reached #2 on the UK charts (charted on January 14, 1989 for 12 weeks) and #1 on the US charts (charted on January 7, 1989 for 20 weeks). Also released as promotional CD single in 1989 in the US (Atlantic, PR-2577-2) feat. A edit and A LP version.
