Living Years
by Mike & The Mechanics

Living Years by Mike & The Mechanics
Year: 1988
Overall rank: 8,213th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
68/100 (from 38 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1988 (108th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (1,189th)
Award Best albums of all time (8,213th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
Mike & the Mechanics – Living Years LP 1988 Atlantic 7 81923-1 VG+/EX
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
MIKE & THE MECHANICS - LIVING YEARS – DELUXE – REMASTERED – 2 LP + 2 CD
Condition: Nuovo


eBay
eBay
Living Years (Deluxe Edition) by Mike & The Mechanics (2CD, 2014) NEW
Condition: Brand New


  My favourite store:  

Mike & The Mechanics bestography

Living Years is ranked as the best album by Mike & The Mechanics.

Mike & The Mechanics album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (8,213th)
Living Years
Lower ranked (8,532nd) »
Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Mar
13
Fri
Walter Trout @ Rialto Theatre
Rialto Theatre-Tucson, Tucson, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
23
Thu
SOULJA BOY's The Drip Tour with special guest Lil Xan
Bogart's, Cincinnati, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
18
Sat
Mt. Joy: Hope We Have Fun Tour 26
Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chasta, Atlanta, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to Living Years on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Living Years rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 8,213th | 1980s rank: 1,189th | 1988 rank: 108th

Living Years collection

Living Years ratings

Average Rating: 
68/100 (from 38 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 38 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
12/26/2025 10:13 zsolti  Ratings distribution  66681/100
 
60/100
 
10/23/2025 02:44 dhbarrett  Ratings distribution  8,35665/100
 
75/100
 
09/07/2025 08:35 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  22,93769/100
 
10/100
 
08/10/2025 05:12 Kingturtle  Ratings distribution  7,57973/100
 
60/100
 
06/01/2023 04:19 zags7000  Ratings distribution  20,41064/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 67.9/100, a mean average of 65.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 66.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.1.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Living Years favourites

Showing all 1 members who have added this album as a favourite

Living Years comments

Showing all 3 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 06/26/2020 08:11 | #254532
The title track quite rightly stole the headlines for this release but there are some good songs under the radar here, Nobody's Perfect, Nobody Knows (my favourite from the album), Don't and Black And Blue. A solid album, the 2 lead vocalists make this a nice mix.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 07/28/2013 20:09 | #82637
Earnest is a good word for this album. He's trying harder than Phil Collins for sure.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 01/16/2012 17:54 | #35322
A more earnest album than their debut, this one's punctuated by the title track ode-to-deceased-father. "nobody's perfect", "seeing is believing" and fine ballads "blame" and "don't" also ground the album in solemn song-craft, while the meandering last 2 tracks deflate what could've been a stronger album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Living Years

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1988
1. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
2. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
3. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
4. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
5. ...And Justice For All by Metallica
6. Tracy Chapman by Tracy Chapman
7. Isn't Anything by My Bloody Valentine
8. Green by R.E.M.
9. Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A
10. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Iron Maiden
11. I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
12. Nothing's Shocking by Jane's Addiction
13. Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 by The Traveling Wilburys
14. Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche
15. If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues
16. 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens
17. Viva Hate by Morrissey
18. Tender Prey by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
19. Starfish by The Church
20. Rattle And Hum by U2
Back to Top