Customer Reviews

Mike & The Mechanics and Paul Carrack - Live at Shepherds Bush London

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was quite excited when the UPS truck pulled up and delivered this DVD but my excitement turned to disappointment as my wife & I sat down to view this on Friday night,even the candles and fireplace did little to add to the ambience.
Having never had the luxury of seeing them in concert the only thing I could expect was seeing these songs performed that I've enjoyed listening to since Mike's first Mechanic's album.

If you are a Paul Carrack fan(he has a great voice)I think you will enjoy this concert but if you are expecting the Mechanic's we've all known and loved...you may be disappointed.
It seems,IMO,the concert is totally focused on Paul, Mike has relegated himself to a backup player position, even his trademark chunkachunka rhythm parts are barely recognizable and seem buried in the mix.
I may have blinked my eyes or gone to the bathroom for a moment and missed one but I think he played only one solo and that was very shortlived.

Some of the songs from Rewired(which I don't own)didn't seem to work and one or two sounded quite nice.
Believe it or not "Get Up"actually worked and I thought the band had found their groove, "Another cup of coffee"and "Beggar on the beach of Gold" were Ok but didn't move me.
"Perfect Child" was beautiful and reminded me of "Living Years".
"Silent Running" was BORING, it was performed by Paul with little emotion and made me think he was so tired of it he just went through the motions.
"The Living Years" was I think, the best song of the night and was done very well.
"Word of Mouth" was good and it was nice to see them bring it out of what I consider an obscure album.

I now understand why they decided to title this Mike&the Mechanics and Paul Carrack.
After viewing this that decision is very clear to me now.

I have yet to view the promo videos which are included,perhaps they will bring a smile to my face.

I have the feeling this may become Paul Carrack's band and Mike may just retire somewhere in the English countryside until music is stirred in his soul again.

Thank you Mike for many years of solo recording and Mechanic's stuff, you've given me many hours of joy, I hope your musical soul awakens again someday....just don't make us wait too long, ok?

UPDATE**I have watched this concert quite a few more times and enjoy it more everytime I watch it. Yes I was disappointed Mike took the backseat and let the rest of the band drive the show but in the end it works.
The band works well together and it's wonderful to see/hear this music performed live.
Highly recommend, especially now that is seems Mike and the Mechanics will be no more.
****four stars 12/14/07

I found this DVD rather unengaging. I wish Paul Carrack had taken his sunglasses off as they made me feel quite detached from him with all emotion screened off.

Mike Rutherford (who I used to enjoy a lot) was even more internal and withdrawn than ever. He played as if caught playing to himself at home. There was a sadness and fragility to him - perhaps losing a band member to death in recent years has taken the life out of him.

The concert is generally well executed but many of the newer songs are unmemorable.

I am really pleased they added the original video clips of their well-known songs. In these we see them with a lot more energy, life, emotion and edge to them. So I think I'll hold onto the DVD for its archival value.

If they can get past whatever depressed state they are currently in, the musicality is still there. But live performances need to be engaging and entertaining. Mike has always been more quiet, withdrawn and internally focused as a performer. His music and playing have made it still worth spending time with him. He has always been smart enough to play with more emotional, outgoing and warm figures like Phil Collins and now Paul Carrack (or at least he appears more warm in the interviews on the DVD) to balance his style. In this concert, with Paul hiding himself behind his glasses (which make him actually look a lot older and badly worn if he was going for 'cool') this balance isn't there.

Hoping they do emerge and get their zip back - good archive despite all this.

I personally very much like this DVD. Sound & picture quality are very, very good. I think the band has certainly matured over the years, but still has the punch I have come to expect from them. I have many music DVD's but this will be one of the ones that will get more play time.

I'm a big fan of Mike and the mechanics, as a french fan, I had the chance to see them in live during Phil Collins final tour, but this DVD was not as good as the live show I saw was... it's so much quiet, with less people, so I enjoyed it but less than the one hour concert I saw... But you can buy it, it's really awesome !

And thanks to Amazon.com having shipped it so quick to France !

Only one other person has noted the wrong product description given to Amazon by the manufacturer. Namely, All I Need Is A Miracle is NOT on this DVD. Couple that with another US Top 40 hit, Taken In, and this lowers the rating. It is an average DVD, worth the cheap used price, but a rip-off if you pay full price. How they could not manage to include ALL of their few chart hits is inconceivable. It is not like they have a huge catalog like an Elton John does, and have to make tough decisions of what to include or not to include in a show. Pretty lame not to have all the (albeit few) hits on their only DVD release.

I just happened to run across this in searching for other things on the site, and just had to buy it. I have been a Mike + the Mechanics fan for a long time, and have never had the pleasure of seeing them in concert live, so this was a great surprise.

It was odd seeing the band play without Paul Young being there (RIP Paul!), but Paul Carrack did a decent job on the few songs they did that were Paul Young leads. The only one that didn't quite work was the last song on the DVD "Word of Mouth", which they had the backup vocalist sing the melody (Young's part), but Carrack sang along with him doing his version of harmony, which doesn't quite work with that great tune. Definitely not meant to be a duet.

The DVD also includes several videos of several of their hit songs (many of which were "UK" hits, not US hits), but great songs and videos none the less. There's also an interview with Mike and Paul about bringing the band back together to do another album, and the feelings of doing it missing Paul Young (or "Youngy", as I once heard Rutherford call him in an interview not long after his death).

Overall a great DVD with good add-ons. I would've paid twice as much for the show!

I bought it mainly to see what Mike Rutherford was doing. Not one to take the limelight, but no doubt a skilled songsmith and musician. I always enjoyed his work with the old Genesis it seemed that they were a more cohesive and interesting group than Phil Collins version. Not that Phil was not a highly skilled percussionist who added so musch to that early Genesis sound. I was suprised how many of these songs I was familiar with showing the skill of mike Rutherford. Also I was suprised at Paul's capability as a singer even though I was not familiar with him and his previous work. Quite a nice concert film.

i am a big fan of this group and was elated when i learned of the DVD. good video and sound quality. i was disappointed in the song selection, but that is a personal matter. paul carrack carries 100% of the vocals since paul young is deceased, but nevertheless a must have for mechnanics' fans!

DVD arrived, would not play wroing format for the UK, why send one when they must know it will not work in the United Kingdom, couldn't send a replacement as then out of stock. This system ask's for a star rating and will only let you submit with minimum 1 star, not even worth that!

Reading the review, saw "all i need is a miracle" in the songs list.
At last, one of my favorite songs in a DVD, and in concert...
I'n still looking for the song!
The concert?... it's O.K., nothing special.
Where is my miracle???