MR BIG
WHAT IF?

Frontiers Records

JANUARY 21st 2011

Track Listing:

01. Undertow 4:49
02. American Beauty 3:44
03. Stranger In My Life 4:26
04. Nobody Takes The Blame 4:20
05. Still Ain't Enough For Me 3:04
06. Once Upon A Time 4:03
07. As Far As I Can See 3:55
08. All The Way Up 5:12
09. I Won't Get In My Way 4:40
10. Around The World 3:51
11. I Get The Feeling 4:34
12. Unforgiven (Bonus Track) 4:16

To be honest I didn't expect too much from this one. I had never been a huge Mr. Big fan, they always struck me as being four talented musicians rather than a band, so this really is a pleasant surprise.

First single 'Undertow' demonstrates melodic swagger on a grand level, coming across a bit Van Halen, it's a great song and one of the best here. In truth though there's plenty to keep us interested. 'American Beauty' could easily have been recorded by the band back in the day, it's no nonsense rock 'n' roll and Mr. Big at its best.

The best tracks here are sewn amongst the lesser tracks, but there really are only a couple of lows. 'Stranger in My Life' really doesn't do too much for me and 'Nobody takes the blame' really is filler.

It's good to see there is plenty of room for Sheehan and Gilbert to show off their considerable talents, and there are a couple of big showcases for Eric Martin too.

Mid tempo 'Won't Get in my Way' is probably the peak here with some cool harmonies, but some of the faster numbers like 'Once Upon a Time' and 'Around the World' are also great tunes.

I have enjoyed Paul and Eric's solo work since the band originally called it quits and this makes me want to also revisit the Mr Big back catalogue.

A very satisfying album by some talented musicians.

Mark