After a lot of touring, Mike Rutherford returns with the second album by Mike + The Mechanics 2.0, the eighth in total. On Let Me Fly the last traces of the prog rock, with which Rutherford became big with in the 70s, have disappeared. The band, with singers Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar reprising the roles of and , now stands for artisanal pop music that typically stays safe in the middle of
… the road. That is also where the strength of Mike + The Mechanics lies. Just when the band deviates from the beaten track for a moment, it falls through the basket. For example, Are You Ready reminds us of 'In The Shadows, with a dance beat that might have been hip around the turn of the century, but sounds mostly stale in 2017. No, then the soft rock from The Best Is Yet To Come, Don't Know What Came Over Me or The Letter, with its intro that nods to Mama. Yet a touch of old Genesis glory, on this especially rock-solid album. (RME)more
