Mr. Big (Atlantic) 1989
1. Addicted to That Rush (4:44)
2. Wind Me Up (4:09)
3. Merciless (3:53)
4. Had Enough (4:54)
5. Blame it on my Youth (4:10)
6. Take A Walk (3:56)
7. Big Love (4:45)
8. How Can You Do What You Do (3:54)
9. Anything for You (4:31)
10. Rock and Roll Over (3:45)
11. Thirty Days in the Hole (4:13)
Mr. Big is a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, US in 1988 and was composed of Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey (drums). Each of the individual members of this band had been in other bands with varying success, the biggest being Billy Sheehan and his stint with David Lee Roth. Sheehan's bass sound is quite prominent in parts of this album. However, he is not necessarily the only star of the show here, as the songs are driven by the world-class chops of guitarist Paul Gilbert (Racer X) as well as Eric Martin's clean, rambunctious vocals. The music is mostly vanilla, 80's, melodic hard rock. However, the band spices things ups with spatterings of blues and funk. At times they remind me of Y&T, or perhaps Whitesnake.
The albums lead off track is also the first single from the album and it is a lively mover and shaker. The song was even a minor hit for the band. Other songs like "Wind Me Up" and "Merciless" are driven by a strong groove. And what would a good 80's band be without the obligatory ballads. On their debut, Mr. Big produced two of them, "Had Enough" and "Big Love". "30 Days in the Hole" is a Humble Pie cover. Sure, some of the lyrics are cheesy, cliché 80's ("zip the lipstick on, like BBQ sauce"), but so what! These were the days when rock 'n' roll was suppose to be about fun and good times, not about anger, depression and grunge.
Mr. Big - Lean into It (Atlantic) 1991
1. "Daddy, Brother,
Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (3:54)
2. "Alive and Kickin'" (5:28)
3. "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (3:30)
4. "CDFF-Lucky This Time" (4:10)
5. "Voodoo Kiss" (4:07)
6. "Never Say Never" (3:48)
7. "Just Take My Heart" (4:21)
8. "My Kinda Woman" (4:09)
9. "A Little to Loose" (5:21)
10. "Road to Ruin" (3:54)
11. "To Be With You" (3:27)
"Lean Into It" combines hook laden melodic rock (AOR) with plenty of virtuoso solos from guitarist Paul Gilbert (Racer X) and bassist Billy Sheehan (David Lee Roth/Talas). Eric Martin's bluesy wail adds the appeal as well. "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy" is a speedy, blues based romp. Perhaps one of the discs best is "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind", a smokin' Paul Gilbert penned rocker. "To Be With You" is a beautiful, sing-along ballad that gave the band a hit single and helped push this album over gold status. Overall, nothing here is earth shattering, but the entire disc is enjoyable listen, which I think is exactly what Mr. Big was going for. Picked up this disc after hearing the stellar "Live Like Sushi II" for a mere $2.99 at SecondSpin.com.
Mr. Big - Raw Like Sushi II (Atlantic/Japan) 1992
1. "Daddy, Brother,
Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (4:58)
2. "Voodoo Kiss" (5:34)
3. "A Little Too Loose" (5:59)
4. "Road to Ruin/guitar solo" (12:54)
5. "CDFF-Lucky This Time/bass solo" (12:47)
6. "Shyboy" (4:11)
7. "Woman From Tokyo-Baba O'Riley" (7:30)
Yet another band that I ignored for years; and for reasons unknown to me. This live album is spectacular, although a bit haughty in that much of it is made up of individual solos. Still who would have thought a bass solo could be so intriguing. On top of the insane guitar and bass solos, there are three covers; Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo", which becomes a medley with The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and Talas' "Shyboy". Of course Talas was bassist Billy Sheehan former band after a short stint with David Lee Roth. (David Lee Roth also recorded "Shyboy".)
Mr. Big - Bump Ahead (Atlantic) 1993
1. "Colorado Bulldog"
(4:12)
2. "Price You Gotta Pay" (3:56)
3. "Promise Her the Moon" (4:06)
4. "What's It Gonna Be" (3:57)
5. "Wild World" (3:28)
6. "Mr. Gone" (4:32)
7. "The Whole World's Gonna Know" (3:52)
8. "Nothing But Love" (3:45)
9. "Temperamental" (4:55)
10. "Ain't Seen Love Like That" (3:31)
11. "Mr. Big" (4:14)
"Bump Ahead" continues in a similar AOR direction as prior CDs, but seems to me to be a bit mellower overall. The disc starts of with some guitar and bass pyrotechnics before jumping into one of the albums more rockin' songs, "Colorado Bulldog". "What's It Gonna Be" also rocks pretty hard, although this track adds a bit of funk and groove. Eric Martin belts out a few impressive screams. "Wild World" is an excellent acoustic cover of Cat Steven's hit. I love this track. Once again, Martin's vocals are superb and just come to life here. As with any Mr. Big album there are plenty of ballads, and "Bump Ahead" is no exception. The better of the many ballads is "Nothing But Love", which sounds to me like it could have been a single. Overall, probably not the band's best, but not bad either.
Mr. Big - Get Over It (Atlantic) 2000
1. "Electrified"
(4:12)
2. "Static" (3:07)
3. "Hiding Place" (4:46)
4. "Superfantastic" (3:45)
5. "A Rose Alone" (3:52)
6. "Hole in the Sun" (3:46)
7. "How Does It Feel" (4:14)
8. "Try to Do Without It" (4:54)
9. "Dancin' With My Devils" (3:43)
10. "Mr. Never in a Million Years" (5:40)
11. "My New Religion" (3:20)
Exit Paul Gilbert who left to pursue a solo career as well as to continue recording with Racer X. Mr. Big reformes with ex-Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen. Because of the popularity in Japan, "Get Over It" was released in there in 1999. Finally in 2000 it was released in the U.S. Without Gilbert, Mr. Big have a slightly bluesier sound. However, I think the material here is not as strong as some of the material from the band's past but still an enjoyable, albeit laid back, listen. Some outstanding bass work in album opener "Electrified."