Rando Ken's Album Reviews
The album Acting Very Strange needs very little introduction or listening to assess the listener's mind. Simply, what was Mike Rutherford thinking!?
Compared to The Fugitive, Rutherford's Genesis bandmate Tony Banks's responsive solo album, AVS has some better songwriting with Rutherford sharing the writing hand with some other writers. The musicians on this album are more distinguishable than on Banks's album, such as the almighty Stewart Copeland! Copeland notwithstanding, Rutherford and whatever musicians he recruited could not bring this record to the heights of Collins', at least in the U.S, but maybe it was meant to be. Rutherford's singing is even more unlistenable than Banks' and I can only stand to raise the audio bar up on Hideaway. The songs Maxine and Halfway There could have been catchy pop hits had Rutherford not sung them. The guitar riff on the former sounds like it belongs in a horror movie. I may be too harsh since I've not listened to the full album but I cannot bear it! Just give Maxine, Halfway There, and Hideaway a listen to get the feeling and then go back to Banks or Collins or Genesis. This is just Rutherford, a good guitarist, an alright songwriter, and a terrible singer.
Compared to The Fugitive, Rutherford's Genesis bandmate Tony Banks's responsive solo album, AVS has some better songwriting with Rutherford sharing the writing hand with some other writers. The musicians on this album are more distinguishable than on Banks's album, such as the almighty Stewart Copeland! Copeland notwithstanding, Rutherford and whatever musicians he recruited could not bring this record to the heights of Collins', at least in the U.S, but maybe it was meant to be. Rutherford's singing is even more unlistenable than Banks' and I can only stand to raise the audio bar up on Hideaway. The songs Maxine and Halfway There could have been catchy pop hits had Rutherford not sung them. The guitar riff on the former sounds like it belongs in a horror movie. I may be too harsh since I've not listened to the full album but I cannot bear it! Just give Maxine, Halfway There, and Hideaway a listen to get the feeling and then go back to Banks or Collins or Genesis. This is just Rutherford, a good guitarist, an alright songwriter, and a terrible singer.
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