Word of Mouth (Mike + The Mechanics album)

Word of Mouth is the third album by Mike + The Mechanics, released in 1991. There was some overlap with the marketing of the album and the making of Genesis's We Can't Dance, with Mike Rutherford being committed to both. As such, there was no tour for Word of Mouth.

Word of Mouth
Studio album by Mike + The Mechanics
Released	2 April 1991
Recorded	1990–91
Studio	The Farm Surrey
Genre	Rock
Length	45:44
Label	Atlantic, Virgin
Producer	Christopher Neil, Mike Rutherford, Russ Titelman
Mike + The Mechanics chronology
Living Years (1988) Word of Mouth (1991) Beggar on a Beach of Gold (1995)

The album did not chart as well as Living Years, charting at No.11 in the UK, while the lead single "Word of Mouth" got to No.13 in the UK and No.78 in the US. The follow-up singles "A Time and a Place" and "Everybody Gets a Second Chance" both became minor hits in the UK, peaking at No.58 and No.56, respectively.[1]

The song "Get Up" was used in the 1993 film, Rookie of the Year.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

AllMusic suggested that the album was inferior to its predecessors, writing, "The new record led off with two killer pop songs...But within a few months of its release, Word of Mouth had already been banished to the discount racks and budget bins of nearly every record store in the English-speaking world."[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Get Up"	Paul Carrack, Mike Rutherford	Christopher Neil, Rutherford, Russ Titelman	4:23
2.	"Word of Mouth"	Neil, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford	3:55
3.	"A Time and Place"	B. A. Robertson, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford, Titelman	4:52
4.	"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"	Robertson, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford	4:37
5.	"The Way You Look at Me"	Carrack, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford, Titelman	5:09
6.	"Everybody Gets a Second Chance"	Robertson, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford	3:57
7.	"Stop Baby"	Neil, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford	3:54
8.	"My Crime of Passion"	Carrack, Adrian Lee, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford, Titelman	4:56
9.	"Let's Pretend It Didn't Happen"	Robertson, Rutherford, Titelman	Neil, Rutherford	5:35
10.	"Before (The Next Heartache Falls)"	Carrack, Rutherford	Neil, Rutherford, Titelman	6:38

Personnel

Mike + The Mechanics

• Mike Rutherford – guitar, bass
• Paul Carrack – vocals (lead: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10), keyboards
• Paul Young – vocals (lead: 2, 4, 7, 9)
• Adrian Lee – keyboards
• Peter Van Hooke – drums

Additional personnel

• Steve Piggot – keyboards
• Ian Wherry – keyboards
• Tim Renwick – guitar
• Pino Palladino – bass
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Phil Todd – saxophone
• London Community Gospel Choir – choir (10)
• Kitson Hall Audience – crowd (2)

Production

• Tracks 1, 3, 5, 8, 9 & 10 – Produced by Christopher Neil, Mike Rutherford and Russ Titelman.
• Tracks 2, 4, 6 & 7 – Produced by Christopher Neil and Mike Rutherford
• Engineers – Rob Eaton (Tracks 1 & 3-10); Mike Punczek (Track 2).
• Assistant Engineers – Mark Robinson, Jeremy Wheatley and Shaun De Feo.
• Recorded at The Farm; Technical Assistants – Geoff Callingham and Mike Bowen. Olympic Studios, London, except Track 2 at Living Years tour, US 1989.
• Equipment – Dale Newman, Steve Jones and Angela Jewel.
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Cover Design – Icon
• Photography – Mike Owen

References

1. Mike + the Mechanics UK charts history, The Official Charts. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
2. Cater, Evan (2011). "Word of Mouth – Mike + the Mechanics | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.