Mike Rutherford-Smallcreep´s Day (1980)

Once Genesis had finished their world tour promoting the album "...And Then There Were Three...", its three members, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks, decided to take a break from the band to pursue their solo projects. Thus, in 1980, Mike Rutherford released his first solo album, "Smallcreep's Day", for which he collaborated with his former Genesis bandmate, Anthony Phillips, who handled keyboards (a departure from his usual guitar), drummer Simon Phillips, percussionist Morris Pert, and singer Noel McCalla, while Rutherford played guitar and bass. Recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm, it was produced by David Hentschel, the engineer who had worked on Genesis's later albums, in the final months of 1977. With "Smallcreep's Day", Mike Rutherford demonstrated his enormous talent for composing great pieces with excellent progressive melodies, alongside others with a clear symphonic pop feel. Instrumentally, the choice of the almost unknown McCalla was a wise decision, with very emotive and convincing vocal performances, while Anthony Phillips does an excellent job with an instrument that is not his usual one, while the rest show the perfect solidity for the execution of the pieces on this album. The album has two quite distinct parts. The first is composed of progressive and symphonic sounds, featuring the extensive suite "Smallcreeps' Day", divided into seven parts. While it's certainly more focused on individual pieces than a concise, cohesive theme, it boasts a wide variety of progressive rhythms, styles, and atmospheres, with numerous 12-string guitar passages, electric guitar solos, and sublime synthesizers and mellotron. All of this is supported by the magnificent work of a powerful rhythm section and the vocals of Pert and McCalla, which perfectly complement the album's musical philosophy. It culminates in the wonderful melody "At The End Of The Day", an epic song worthy of any of their main band's greatest hits. The second side has a much more commercial orientation with a symphonic undercurrent, featuring powerful tracks like "Moonshine", the passionate "Time and Time Again", and the progressive "Romani". This is undoubtedly one of the best solo albums by one of the members of Genesis and one of the great albums of the eighties, where you can still hear the echoes of such emblematic works as "A Trick Of The Tail", "Wind & Wuthering" or "...And Then There Were Three...".