On his second solo album, Mike Rutherford brings his estimable know-how and experience from almost fifteen years as bassist and guitarist with Genesis and combines them with some fanciful ideas about pop songwriting. The result is a hung jury. Acting Very Strange is strange indeed, for promising ideas never really pan out: dramatic moments dissolve into quirky keyboard noises, and potential rockers end up as bump-and-grind exercises in futility. To Rutherford's credit, "Halfway There" and "Who's Fooling Who" are a ton of fun, while "Hideaway" is by far the most emotionally engaging song on the album. Yet much of the music is laden with synthesized trimmings that serve only to disguise lapses of inspiration.

The production values on Acting Very Strange, unlike much of the LP's blithe pop spirit, cannot be taken lightly–as debilitating guitar-synthesizer assaults and other keyboard barrages will attest. As the wall of sound gets thicker, one is reminded of Rutherford's origins, and in the end, the conflict between his pop ambitions and the sometimes ponderous Genesis style becomes an uneasy one.

Though Acting Very Strange is sometimes reminiscent of Genesis, this cannot be taken too critically, for it reveals the extent of his influence and stature in one of the world's most durable bands. It'll take another solo effort before Rutherford steps out from under the shadow of Genesis–but then again, there's not a whole lot of evidence that he may actually want to. Despite certain indications otherwise on Acting Very Strange, he's still very much a Eurorocker. (RS 382)

ERROL SOMAY