Mr. Big – What If…
Release Date: January, 2011
Highlights: Undertow, American Beauty, Still Ain’t Enough For Me, As Far As I Can See, Around The World, Unforgiven
In all honesty, Mr. Big was never really a band that did much for me but managed to have a song here and there that I would find myself enjoying. In 1989, their first single “Addicted To That Rush” was pretty cool but I loved their cover of “30 Days In The Hole.” I also really dug “Green Tinted 60’s Mind” but found myself cringing at the song “To Be With You.” So for a band that didn’t do much for me in their hayday, just how would a new Mr. Big album sound in 2011? Well, the answer is: Surprisingly Awesome.
I was absolutely blown away by the opening track “Undertow” with its heavy, crunchy groove and Eric Martin’s still amazing vocals. I was immediately drawn in to settle in and open my mind and ears for a musical ride full of musical dynamics ranging from the fun to the dark and all else in between. “American Beauty” reminded me right away of “Shy Boy” by David Lee Roth but and even guitar god Paul Gilbert seemed to be nodding to Steve Vai on this one. The interplay between bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Pat Torpey really reminded me of that classic David Lee Roth band that once featured Sheehan and drummer Greg Bissonette playing like a well oiled machine. I don’t know if this was an intentional move but whatever it was it totally worked. This song kicks so much ass that I had to listen to it 2 or 3 times before moving forward onto the rest of the album.
“Stranger In My Life” brought things down a notch or two and while it was a good song, it was just another “lighters in the air” ballad in my opinion. It didn’t really seem to stand too strong this close to the beginning of the album and was pretty much a mood killer coming off such a kick ass song as “American Beauty.” Luckily, the album picks up steam again with “Still Aint Enough For Me” and the heavily groove laden “As Far As I Can See.” This particular song has some great melodic playing between Gilbert and Sheehan. On “I Won’t Get In The Way”, Mr. Big channels their inner Van Halen as they deliver a song that I can best describe as post-Roth sounding Van Halen with a singer singing good lyrics. They should’ve contacted Eric Martin after Roth bailed and if this song is any indication, Van Halen just may have had some pretty awesome songs with this guy.
“Around The World” is without a doubt the highlight of this album as this is the one song where Mr. Big completely shows just what they are capable of pulling off. The song is so damn dynamic and it is prog rock at it’s finest. Harmony vocals, amazing interplay between Sheehan, Gilbert and Torpey and Eric Martin totally ripping out some serious vocals. In all honesty, I would love to hear them do more of this. The album closes out with “Unforgiven” which is yet another dark sounding groove laden track that possess all the qualities of a great heavy prog rock band.
Mr. Big has managed to surprise me with a really enjoyable album with “What If…” My only gripe about this album is the two or three ballads that really bring the vibe down a few notches. I’m not opposed to hearing ballads by a band but for a band that can play at this caliber, it’s hard to hear them using only ¼ of their potential on these slower, sappier songs. With that aside, I found this to be a really fun album to listen to and everything about it is stellar from the production, to the playing to vocal delivery. The songs are well written and performed with a lot of passion. I would love to hear how these songs translate in a live setting. “What If…” is a very pleasant surprise and something that I feel any fan of great, melodic hard rock could enjoy having in their collection.
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