Customer Reviews

Smallcreep's Day

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before he formed his side project Mike + The Mechanics in 1985, Genesis bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford recorded a pair of solo albums, and 1979's "Smallcreep's Day" was the first. Being Rutherford's solo debut, it was only natural that the album would sound a lot like Genesis in parts, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that! Mike recruited his old Genesis friend Anthony Phillips (the band's original guitarist) to play keyboards on the album, along with drummer Simon Phillips (no relation) and lead singer Noel McCalla. The end result is a brilliant album, with terrific compositions, performances, and production all the way around. Personal faves include the powerful rock of "Moonshine" and "Overnight Job," the beautiful "Every Road" and "Time And Time Again," and of course, the epic title rock suite, comprising tracks one to seven on the CD, including the thunderous "Working In Line," the bouncy "Cats And Rats (In This Neighborhood)," and the lovely finale, "At The End Of The Day," showing that Mike hasn't forgotten his "Supper's Ready" days in Genesis. Although it would take him until the formation of Mike + The Mechanics to *truly* step out of Genesis' shadow, "Smallcreep's Day" is an outstanding first solo step for Mike Rutherford. (NOTE: the CD version of "Smallcreep's Day" flips around the two halves of the album, *beginning* with the "Smallcreep's Day" suite, which was actually Side Two of the original vinyl release. So, if you'd like to hear the album as Mike originally intended, begin the CD with track 8 ("Moonshine"), and when the disc ends, start the CD at the top to hear the second half. Maybe you won't care, but that's how *I* like to play "Smallcreep's Day" on my CD player.)

Smallcreep's Day is a great album. Great because of it's moving, epic vision and power. It's the sort of album that takes you on a journey every time you listen to it and amazes you with it's originality and the strength of it's melodies. Smallcreep's Day is based on a book of the same name about a guy who dares to leave his assigned place inside a factory where he lives and explore the rest of his world. Of course this would be impossible to know if you don't have the LP, because none of the liner notes are reproduced on this edition. Neither are the lyrics which is a shame because not only are they meaningful and poetic but some of them are difficult to understand through the music. The vocals, however, are excellent just the same - the singer is perfectly suited to the music.

Anyone who likes Genesis (pre-1983 especially) should like this album. It has the same sort of feeling as on their best work. I suppose the closest comparison I can make is to Duke, although Smallcreep's Day has it's own thing going. If you're seriously into Genesis, this is a must own. If you're just looking for more progressive rock to listen to, it's a must own also. Come to think of it, anyone who likes good music in general should buy it. The only person I can think of who shouldn't would be someone who thinks Invisible Touch was the be all and end all. And in that case, you should be forced to listen to it anyway.

This album is at the pinacle of the Genesis family spin-offs along with Spectral Mornings (Hackett), PG3 (Gabriel) and A Curious Feeling (Banks). If you love the haunting sound of early to mid Genesis then this album is for you. Well worth the purchase, I'm amazed at how difficult it is to get hold of.

This album is a "must have" for any Genesis fan. Mike Rutherford's first solo album could have easily been a Genesis album. I was totally blown away by it from the first listen. With Anthony Phillips on Keyboards, the album has a definite groove. What happened Mike!! "Acting Very Strange" is nothing like this album. Along with Steve Hackett's "Voyage of the Acolyte" and Tony Banks "A Curious Feeling", this album belongs in any Genesis fan's collection.

This is without doubt one of the best projects ever put to vinyl, tape, or plastic. "Moonshine" and "Overnight Job" grab your feet, even though they weren't intended to be dance tunes. "Romani" grabs your brain and sends it on a rhythmic roller coaster. "Time And Time Again" and "Every Road" grab you by the heartstrings. And don't even sit down for "Smallcreep's Day." This 25-minute mini- musical based on the book of the same name has all the benefits of the first five songs, but with a better solo for the guitar and a story line that makes it all the more interesting. You GOTTA have it.

Mike Rutherford's first solo album, "Smallcreep's Day", is a well laid-out piece of work from start to finish. Noel McCalla does a fine job on vocals, which are perfectly suited for the tracks on this album, some of which display a "Mike & The Mechanics" vibe, and somewhat better. There are too many good tracks here to determine which ones stand out, but if I had to choose, it would probably be "Moonshine" because of its up-tempo, hard-edged feel. Gems like "Smallcreep's Day" are hard to come by, so any die-hard Genesis and/or Mike & The Mechanics fan should include this one in their CD collection before it goes out of print.

SMALLCREEP'S DAY is kind of an odd "solo album" because the main artist is showcased as a songwriter but not so much as a performer. Performance-wise, there is more focus on singer Noel McCalla and keyboardist Anthony Phillips than on Rutherford. (Mr. Mike particularly does little actual playing on some sections of the "Smallcreep's Day" suite.)

This is an album that doesn't quite sound like anything else, particulary Rutherford's later efforts. I wouldn't have minded hearing this combination of performers do more. (They also did a rare B-side, "Compression", whose failure to appear on this CD as a bonus track is a CRIME.)

Compositionally, Rutherford goes for beauty and complexity over memorability. One thing that has always stood out to me is the album's sweet, uncynical personality -- quite a contrast to, say, the melancholy atmosphere of Tony Banks' comparable A CURIOUS FEELING or to most Gabriel-era Genesis. Comparisons between the "Smallcreep's Day" suite and Genesis' earlier "Supper's Ready" are both obvious and pointless.

My favorite track is "Overnight Job". Some of the lyrics are a bit limp, and "Moonshine" wants to be a much tougher song than it is, but those are minor complaints.

It was always assumed that Steve Hackett was the mastermind behind all of the intoxicating guitar sounds that were to be found on the early Genesis albums. This 1979 solo effort by Rutherford proves that assumption to be false! Rutherford creates sonic soundscapes (both within normal 4-5 minute "pop" songs and in the side-long "concept" piece) that echo many of the best guitar sounds from "Selling England By the Pound", "Trick of the Tail", and Wind and Wuthering". The album also previews the shape of things to come (i.e. the more "pop"-friendly Genesis). The album was released between "And Then There Were Three" and "Duke". It contains lots of the same sort of sounds that were found on those albums. Fans of middle period Genesis will be suprised (pleasantly so!). This is not Mike and the Mechanics!!!!

As I recall, Smallcreep's Day was released at about the same time as Tony Banks' A Curious Feeling. Had this not been the case, I would say that Smallcreep's Day was/is the best, sweetest progressive album I've ever heard.

As for the mystery as to why Mike Rutherford's other albums are lousy its because Smallcreep's Day is really an Anthony Phillips album! Listen to any of Anthony Phillips' recordings and you will instantly hear the similarities to Smallcreep's Day.

This very Mike Rutherford album shows us the talents of a young musician, who is left behind the shadows of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Stevie Hackett and Anthony Banks; the real makers of Genesis. Bass player Mike could not really interpret what he had in mind: beautiful melodies and Genesis-cut arrangement abilities. This is a perfect example of what he wanted to do. Pianos, keyboards, guitars (Hackett's tone, I have to admit, bass and unfortunately electronic drum set (in some pieces like Out Into the Daylight and "wonderful" Time and time again) are played skillfully. It completes the matrix of real Genesis, so buy it! You won't regret.. Much better than any Mike and the Mechanics' tracks!