Mr Big – Ten
Mr. Big’s tenth album, conveniently called Ten, featuring the core triumvirate of Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitars, vocals) and Billy Sheehan (bass, vocals) along with the multi-disciplined drum talents Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Big Big Train, solo), doesn’t stray too far from the musical path of 2017’s Defying Gravity.
But Ten doesn’t follow on as a seven years later extension to that album; the similarities are more in the lack of noodling from Messrs Gilbert & Sheehan and a bigger focus on tighter songs.
Indeed, as Eric martin made clear in pre-release press, Ten "doesn't copy anything from the nine previous studio records;" but it’s still Mr. Big, albeit Martin’s voice is not as loud, round and proud as it once was.
For his part, Nick D’Virgilio gives the band a solid, at times deceptively intricate foundation to build upon and play off, much like original Mr Big sticks man, the late and great Pat Torpey.
Opener 'Good Luck Trying' is quintessential Mr. Big. Staccato choppy rhythm, blues rockin' riff, clever tempo shifts, a slight drawl on the bluesy vocal delivery from Eric Martin and a wicked little solo from Paul Gilbert while Billy Sheehan & Nick D'Virgilio take up the rhythmic riff of the number.
Strong start; strong song.
The band then showcase the varying Mr. Big styles from the heavy acoustic and big-beat shapings of melodic rocker 'I Am You' and the eastern-tinged and off-kilter 'Right Outta Here' (which owes more than a nod to Aerosmith at their quirkiest) to 'Sunday Morning Kinda Girl,' a heavier, slightly glam stomper that sounds like the hooky, heavy-pop lovechild of The Kinks and Cheap Trick (and a solo that’s about two treated effects removed from early Queen/ Brian May).
And therein lies the problem. While many of the songs have something, that something is oft-borrowed or influenced by others, and usually those others did it better.
There are also some stumbles. Downtempo ballad 'Who We Are' provides both a change of pace and contrast, but fails to impress (as does Eric Martin’s vocal, which struggles in the stripped back light). Similalry struggling is the poppier AOR rock of 'As Good As It Gets,' although it does feature some great drum work from Nick D'Virgilio.
Rock 'n' roller 'What Were You Thinking,' mid-tempo, melodic rock-blues 'Courageous' and the raunchier 'Up On You' are stronger offerings, but equally each could be described as Mr. Big by Numbers.
However the bluesy, lighter shaded charm of 'The Frame' makes for a far stronger downtempo moment than 'Who We Are,' primarily because of Eric Martin’s more considered and focused vocal and the song’s lyrical poignancy ("time slips right through my fingers… cut right out of the picture… now I don’t even fit in the frame").
While 'The Frame' is, fittingly, the tenth song of Ten, it’s not the final track on the European release of the album.
That honour goes to a slower and funkier take of Foghat classic '8 Days On The Road,' with Messrs Gilbert & Sheehan stretching a little on a song clearly included to dovetail with the band’s European dates.
While the latter brace help make the album finish as strongly as it opened, the marks for Ten don’t equate to 'The Big Finish' (the name of their 2023/2024 tour) Mr. Big may have hoped for on what is, potentially, their final album. It’s more, title ironically, about a seven.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But Ten doesn’t follow on as a seven years later extension to that album; the similarities are more in the lack of noodling from Messrs Gilbert & Sheehan and a bigger focus on tighter songs.
Indeed, as Eric martin made clear in pre-release press, Ten "doesn't copy anything from the nine previous studio records;" but it’s still Mr. Big, albeit Martin’s voice is not as loud, round and proud as it once was.
For his part, Nick D’Virgilio gives the band a solid, at times deceptively intricate foundation to build upon and play off, much like original Mr Big sticks man, the late and great Pat Torpey.
Opener 'Good Luck Trying' is quintessential Mr. Big. Staccato choppy rhythm, blues rockin' riff, clever tempo shifts, a slight drawl on the bluesy vocal delivery from Eric Martin and a wicked little solo from Paul Gilbert while Billy Sheehan & Nick D'Virgilio take up the rhythmic riff of the number.
Strong start; strong song.
The band then showcase the varying Mr. Big styles from the heavy acoustic and big-beat shapings of melodic rocker 'I Am You' and the eastern-tinged and off-kilter 'Right Outta Here' (which owes more than a nod to Aerosmith at their quirkiest) to 'Sunday Morning Kinda Girl,' a heavier, slightly glam stomper that sounds like the hooky, heavy-pop lovechild of The Kinks and Cheap Trick (and a solo that’s about two treated effects removed from early Queen/ Brian May).
And therein lies the problem. While many of the songs have something, that something is oft-borrowed or influenced by others, and usually those others did it better.
There are also some stumbles. Downtempo ballad 'Who We Are' provides both a change of pace and contrast, but fails to impress (as does Eric Martin’s vocal, which struggles in the stripped back light). Similalry struggling is the poppier AOR rock of 'As Good As It Gets,' although it does feature some great drum work from Nick D'Virgilio.
Rock 'n' roller 'What Were You Thinking,' mid-tempo, melodic rock-blues 'Courageous' and the raunchier 'Up On You' are stronger offerings, but equally each could be described as Mr. Big by Numbers.
However the bluesy, lighter shaded charm of 'The Frame' makes for a far stronger downtempo moment than 'Who We Are,' primarily because of Eric Martin’s more considered and focused vocal and the song’s lyrical poignancy ("time slips right through my fingers… cut right out of the picture… now I don’t even fit in the frame").
While 'The Frame' is, fittingly, the tenth song of Ten, it’s not the final track on the European release of the album.
That honour goes to a slower and funkier take of Foghat classic '8 Days On The Road,' with Messrs Gilbert & Sheehan stretching a little on a song clearly included to dovetail with the band’s European dates.
While the latter brace help make the album finish as strongly as it opened, the marks for Ten don’t equate to 'The Big Finish' (the name of their 2023/2024 tour) Mr. Big may have hoped for on what is, potentially, their final album. It’s more, title ironically, about a seven.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ