Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rutherford, Mike
Label: Charisma Records
Release: 1980
Length: 51:28
Rating: 4.5/5
Guitarist and bassist Mike Rutherford is one of those legendary musicians who needs no lengthy introduction. He’s etched himself into the hearts of prog rock and pop rock fans alike for all time, first and foremost as a founding member of prog giants Genesis. Along with keyboardist Tony Banks, he was the only member of that legendary band who stuck with them through every incarnation. With his inventive use of the Rickenbacker bass, Mike first made his name as one of the most respected bassists in prog rock. He did occasionally pick up a 12-string guitar, but he only became the lead guitarist after the great virtuoso Steve Hackett left. In that pivotal period, when Genesis became a trio, he got the chance to let his guitar skills bloom, and even though he never became a virtuoso on Hackett’s level, he shaped a recognizable style built on extensive use of simple but melodic guitar phrases.
What’s less well known is that before forming his own super-successful pop rock outfit Mike & The Mechanics, which added to his already huge success with Genesis, Mike had a short-lived solo career. The first chapter of that solo career is “Smallcreep’s Day.” In every respect, this record can claim the title of one of the best works by any current or former member of Genesis. The sonic and production excellence of this project is hardly a surprise, since Mike always had a keen sense, as a songwriter, for compact songs with catchy melodies, and the album is full of them.
To pull it off, he only had to find the right collaborators, and he nailed that in every way. Alongside Anthony Phillips, his old buddy from the Genesis days and their original guitarist, who contributed all the keyboard parts, and the respected occasional percussionist Morris Pert, he also brought in the king of the session drummers, Simon Phillips (later famous mainly as a member of Toto). The big discovery, though, was young singer Noel McCalla (later of Manfred Mann’s Earthband), whose passionate, deeply emotional singing proved he had an outstanding vocal talent. In McCalla, Mike found what was practically the ideal singer for an emotionally rich interpretation of his blend of pop rock melody and traditional symphonic prog flourishes.
With “Smallcreep’s Day,” Mike created an interesting hybrid of symphonic prog rock and melodic rock, a distinctive stylistic mix that today we’d usually call neo prog. As such, the album is very appealing to anyone who loves the more accessible side of progressive rock. The individual arrangements are superbly crafted and packed with anthemic choruses that no AOR band of the day would have been ashamed of. The many pastoral moods come from the pairing of Mike’s refined acoustic guitar work and the gentle synth harmonies in Anthony’s domain. The latter was returning a favor to Mike for playing on his first solo album, “The Geese & the Ghost” (1977).
“Smallcreep’s Day” is, surprisingly (at a time when concepts were no longer fashionable), set up as a concept album. The concept is based on the dark, surreal novella of the same name by British writer Peter Currell Brown. The story is a surreal satire of modern life in a highly industrial capitalist society. The central character, Pinquean Smallcreep, a frightened, balding, painfully meek middle-aged man, has spent years working as a lowly clerk from dawn to dusk in a giant factory whose many departments are laid out like mazes. The lonely Smallcreep is put in charge of developing work machines. One day he stumbles upon a special machine that transports him to a parallel world, where he meets a bunch of strange characters. His dreary life suddenly, slowly starts to take on some meaning. Still, he’s not entirely sure whether all of this is real or just happening in his head as a defense mechanism against his immense loneliness. The story ends with the question of whether there’s any chance of free choice, or whether we’re all just cogs in a gargantuan corporate machine.
The centerpiece of the album is a suite of songs that makes up the main storyline of the novella, while the remaining tracks also tie into parts of the concept, though there’s no tighter musical link between them. You’ll find excellent melodic rock anthems with a symphonic stamp in songs like “Moonshine,” “Time and Time Again,” “Romani” and “Overnight Job,” where the highlights are Mike’s knack for laying down melodic guitar phrases and juicy bass lines, Noel’s bravura, deeply emotional singing, and Simon’s trademark drumming dynamics. Anthony’s symphonic keyboard harmonies, together with Mike’s guitar passages, strike just the right balance between symphonic prog ethereality and pure arena rock pomp (or, if you like, excess). On some tracks, like the acoustic-driven power ballad “Every Road,” you can sense that authentic pastoral charm typical of both Mike’s and Anthony’s sonic tradition. The remaining pieces, bound together under the title concept, are somewhat more complex, with plenty of unexpected twists, lots of jolly symphonic rock sections, and some darker, distinctly melancholic moments. My personal peaks are the enchanting instrumental “Out into Daylight” and the closing cathartic hymn “At the End of the Day,” where Mike, against a mighty backdrop of surging synths, delivers some truly moving slide guitar touches.
With “Smallcreep’s Day,” Rutherford crafted a superb concept-album hybrid of progressive and melodic rock, one that still thrills today with its many mighty anthems and a great conceptual flow. The combination of catchy AOR tunes and plenty of symphonic flourishes makes it easy for the album to win over most Genesis fans and symphonic prog fans in general, as well as anyone who likes to dip into some arena rock pomposity now and then. On release, the album was too commercial-lite for the wider masses and not complex enough for prog rock purists to get much recognition, which is a shame, because it’s an outstanding achievement. Sadly, the rest of Mike’s solo career, with the below-average second album “Acting Very Strange” (1982), where he wanted to try his hand as lead vocalist, was nowhere near as dazzling, so he quickly closed that chapter of his career. The Mike & The Mechanics adventure, of course, was a whole other story.
Lineup
Mike Rutherford- guitar, bass guitar
Anthony Phillips – keyboards
Noel McCalla – vocals
Simon Phillips – drums
Morris Pert – percussion
Production
David Hentchel
Track list
1. Moonshine (6:23)
2. Time and time again (4:52)
3. Romani (5:25)
4. Every road (4:13)
5. Overnight job (5:43)
6. Smallcreep’s day (24:38)
… I) Between the tick and the tock 3:59
… II) Working in line 3:06
… III) After hours 1:46
… IV) Cats and rats (in this neighbourhood) 4:49
… V) Smallcreep alone 1:33
… VI) Out into the daylight 3:49
… VII) At the end of the day 5:36
