Acting Very Strange
| Acting Very Strange | ||||
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| Studio album by Mike Rutherford | ||||
| Released | 7 September 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, Pop rock | |||
| Length | 38:43 | |||
| Label |
Atlantic (US & Canada)/ WEA (Rest of World) |
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| Producer | Mike Rutherford | |||
| Mike Rutherford chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Acting Very Strange | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Acting Very Strange is the second solo album by Genesis bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and the only album to feature him on lead vocals. It was released on 7 September 1982. Unlike the previous album Smallcreep's Day, Acting Very Strange uses a very raw and unpolished sound. None of the album's singles charted in the US or UK top 100, but the lead single "Maxine" did make US Billboard charts' Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart at No. 37. The song was also a top 40 pop hit in Canada, peaking at No. 39. The album itself was much more successful, reaching number 23 in the UK.
Rutherford opted to do the lead vocals on the album himself, simply because, in his words, "It does feel odd when someone does... a solo album and they don't sing, because the voice is so much the character of a song. So I thought, 'What the hell? I'm gonna give it a shot.'" However, this proved to be easier said than done; he recounted that recording the backing tracks for the album was very easy and enjoyable, but that the vocals were "hard work".
Stewart Copeland became involved in the recording because he and Rutherford were on the same polo team. Copeland did session work very rarely during his time in The Police. Recording his drums at The Farm gave them a unique sound not found on any other recordings.
Looking back on Acting Very Strange in later years, Rutherford was not proud of the album, saying he felt that the songs were very good but poorly executed on the actual recordings. He singled out "Hideaway" as the only track which he felt worked. Dissatisfaction with his solo work in general, and with his vocals in particular, prompted Rutherford to form Mike + The Mechanics (However, Rutherford did sing lead on one more solo track -- performing stronger vocals than on Acting Very Strange -- titled "Making a Big Mistake", which appears on the soundtrack to "Against All Odds".)
In their retrospective review, Allmusic said that most of the songs were weak, and that even the few good ones would have been better had Rutherford not done the lead vocals himself: "There's no denying his sincerity, but he should let his fingers do the talking."
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