Mr. Big : Ten

Posted on by J. Hubner

At the end of my freshman year of high school the supergroup Mr. Big dropped their debut, self-titled album. Supergroup you say? Well, if you were a 15-year old fledgling guitarist that worshipped at the alter of Vai, Satriani, and Gilbert then yes, they were a supergroup.

The band consisted of David Lee Roth’s former bassist Billy Sheehan, Racer X shredder Paul Gilbert, drummer Pat Torpey, and singer Eric Martin. Sheehan and Gilbert were guitar God royalty, with Sheehan playing his bass like an absolute maniac(keeping up with Steve Vai note for note in the DLR band), and Paul Gilbert blowing minds with speed, style, and a knack for melody in the speed metal neo-classical band Racer X.

As Mr. Big the group kept up their musicianship, but honed it into a more pop metal sound ready for rock radio airplay. The band hit pay dirt with their sophomore release Lean Into It, scoring big with the pop rock classic “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” and the acoustic sing-a-long “To Be With You”. But after that album they never quite got the airplay and attention of those first two releases(damn you, Seattle!) The band continued to release albums throughout the next three decades, a few sans Paul Gilbert. But in the end he returned and continued to record with his Mr. Big compatriots.

We now have Ten, the band’s tenth and supposedly final record. Recorded at Sweetwater Studios and with Sweetwater’s own Nicholas D’Virgilio on drums, replacing Pat Torpey who passed away in 2018. Ten does what it’s supposed to do, which is to bring back all those warm, fuzzy feelings from the band’s past. While never quite elevating the sound to new heights, it’s still a solid pop rock LP with some killer playing.

Ten come shuffling out of the gate with “Good Luck Trying”, a groove-heavy, blues-soaked rocker that shows the band still has their chops. Singer Eric Martin’s vocals, while not quite reaching those soaring highs of the early days, still has that rough, soulful quality. “Right Outta Here” is another big groove track with some hefty vocal chops and some serious shred from Mr. Gilbert. “Who We Are” has a southern rock quality that teeters in balladry.

Highlights are the driving one-two punch “As Good As It Gets” and “What Were You Thinking”, bringing to mind 70s heavy hitters like Queen and Mott The Hoople. There’s even a Stones-y rocker in “Up On You”.

Overall, this is a subdued rock record with equal amounts middle of the road rockers, balladry, and a couple caffeinated showboaters. If Ten is indeed the last Mr. Big studio LP, while they didn’t quite put an exclamation point on their final a paragraph they still made a pretty decent swan song record.

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8 thoughts on “Mr. Big : Ten”

    1. I mean, I didn’t dislike it. For a band that’s been around for over 30 years they still sound good. Martin’s vocals were pretty rough when I saw them live in February but as long as he stayed away from those high parts he still sounded good. Musically they’re still a tight band, and new drummer Nick D’Virgilio is one hell of a drummer. Overall, a solid B.

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      1. I won’t spoil our score, but higher than a B. Right now they have Michele Luppi from Whitesnake helping out on vocals live. I thought it was weird that Billy didn’t write anything, but Paul and Eric and Andre Pessis more than compensated for that!

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  2. Caffeinated showboaters! hahaha…I streamed this when it came out but didn’t give that much of a real good listen. I bought there RSD live album of Lean Into It a few months ago as I wanted to hear that album’s track over the studio version to be honest with you.
    So now I see their releasing it again with a bunch of other live songs from this tour this fall. Piss me off haha…
    I have to add I grabbed the debut a while back on vinyl and thats a solid record as well…

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    1. I saw that too about them re-releasing the live one. I can only imagine that that had to piss off some folks that picked the RSD release up. And that debut was a hell of a record. Seeing Gilbert perform “Addicted To That Rush” by himself at a guitar clinic a couple months before it released was pretty amazing. And playing to a 4-track cassette player to boot through some PA speakers!

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      1. That’s amazing you saw Gilbert that up and close. That dude does not get his due. I grabbed that RSD title as a store in Montreal had it and it was limited to 3000 copies so I snagged it and now this…hahaha…
        Crazy thing is I’m fine with it as I will stream the other live stuff that is added…..
        RSD titles can’t be trusted at times!!!

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      2. RSD is pretty sketchy anymore. The “limited” releases end up sitting and collecting dust in the stores after RSD. Some do sell out, but mostly they press too many making them not really that limited at all. And yeah, Gilbert is still one of my favorite guitarists. Absolute wizard and completely down to earth. He played a game of “name that tune” that night. My brother guessed Beatles ‘Mother Nature’s Son” and Gilbert was like “Yes!” Pretty great. Btw, this clinic we saw him at was at Music Spectrum, a now closed music store in Ft. Wayne. I believe they are thanked in the liner notes in a couple Rush albums as Neil Peart got his drums from there. Moving Pictures-era I believe.

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Published by J. Hubner

Complex Distractions is a little corner of the universe where music and conversation reign supreme. Intellectual discussions and essays written about heady records, both big and small, that despite what you might think can truly change your life. Spinning the records for the good of mankind.