Mr Big – …The Stories We Could Tell – Caroline
By Michael Knowles
Three years after the release of their comeback record What If, in this fans opinion the best record they had released to that point in their illustrious career, Mr. Big has returned with dare I say an even more impressive release titled …The Stories We Could Tell. The greatness of the songwriting unveils such a healthy continuity in the band, and this record from beginning to end is more heavy hitting, bluesy, and soulful than just about any other rock album you’ll here today. As members of Mr. Big have stated in recent interviews, this is an album Mr. Big has been tempted to make their whole career, and it is sure to dazzle longtime fans of the legendary rock super group, as well as new fans delving into the band.
The album opens with a massive bluesy riff by Mr. Gilbert and roles into an extremely catchy soulful verse and chorus belted out by Eric Martin. The message of Gotta Love the Ride is simple, stop and smell the roses. Something that Mr. Big has certainly learned to do over the past 5 years. Track 2, I Forget to Breathe, begins with another huge bluesy 70’sesque riff, followed by a dynamic musical break paving the way for Billy’s silky smooth bass and Eric’s powerful emotionally filled vocals; leading into another classic super catchy Mr. Big chorus. What is so clear just after the first 2 tracks is how massive the production is on this album. Producer Pat Regan certainly put his stamp on this record. The third track, Fragile, has radio hit written all over it. More of a mellow track but not quite a ballad, really emotionally charged chorus, and overall one of Eric Martin’s finest moments. The next song ‘Satisfied,’ a collective writing effort by the band and it shows as every member truly gets a chance to shine. This track also contains one of the best choruses on the entire album.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Mr. Big record without some great ballads. The first entitled The Man Who Has Everything, is simply a beautiful song, acoustic laden, with a background orchestration, and a very touching heartfelt verse and chorus. The Monster in Me is a powerful rocker with a really heavy guitar riff and bass line, some punchy aggressive playing by Pat Torpey, and features one of the best Gilbert solos on the album. As the title indicates this is a monster track. The following Song, What if We Were New, has almost a country rock feel dare I say in the realm Aerosmith, truly an Eric Martin staple song and he rocks the mic on this one. Track 8, East/West, is a very acoustic driven song, allowing Billy’s bass playing to really stand out. It’s a really nice breather track following some of the more hard heavy rock songs. Featuring another one of those super catchy Mr. Big choruses that you can’t help but sing along to, and there’s also some great collective background vocals, of course a Mr. Big staple.
The tempo of the album picks way up with track 9, The Light of Day, a song that would have fit nicely with the previous album What If, just with the overall feel and pace of the song. One of the stand out elements of this song is the tradeoff between Paul and Billy, it’s truly safe to say these one of a kind musicians are a tandem never quite seen before in hard rock music. Song 10 Just let your heart decide is the next official ballad on the record, and this one may even be stronger than the first. One of the most emotionally driven songs on the record, very resonating lyrics, and Eric’s vocals really soar on this one. It’s Always About that Girl and Cinderella Smile really have that great early to mid 70’s bluesy rock feel with more power and energy thanks to Mr. Gilbert. The latter song being another potential radio hit with a very memorable head bopping chorus. The album closes with the title track, and leave it to Mr. Big to go out on style. This song is about the highs and lows of Mr. Big and really epitomizes what blues rock is all about.
It really can’t be overstated how great this album turned out. It’s hard to believe how quickly this album came together as well with members being involved in solo projects and other band obligations, but boy are Mr. Big fans lucky it did. As mentioned before this album deserves consideration for being the best Mr. Big record to date, and it is just amazing to see musicians with unmatched individual talent, come together to create an album that they clearly poured their heart and souls out to make. Up next for the band is a European and Japanese tour in October and November, and hopefully for the sake of U.S. fans many more tour dates opening up in the not so distant future.
Buy …The Stories We Could Tell
Official Mr Big Site
By Michael Knowles
Three years after the release of their comeback record What If, in this fans opinion the best record they had released to that point in their illustrious career, Mr. Big has returned with dare I say an even more impressive release titled …The Stories We Could Tell. The greatness of the songwriting unveils such a healthy continuity in the band, and this record from beginning to end is more heavy hitting, bluesy, and soulful than just about any other rock album you’ll here today. As members of Mr. Big have stated in recent interviews, this is an album Mr. Big has been tempted to make their whole career, and it is sure to dazzle longtime fans of the legendary rock super group, as well as new fans delving into the band.
The album opens with a massive bluesy riff by Mr. Gilbert and roles into an extremely catchy soulful verse and chorus belted out by Eric Martin. The message of Gotta Love the Ride is simple, stop and smell the roses. Something that Mr. Big has certainly learned to do over the past 5 years. Track 2, I Forget to Breathe, begins with another huge bluesy 70’sesque riff, followed by a dynamic musical break paving the way for Billy’s silky smooth bass and Eric’s powerful emotionally filled vocals; leading into another classic super catchy Mr. Big chorus. What is so clear just after the first 2 tracks is how massive the production is on this album. Producer Pat Regan certainly put his stamp on this record. The third track, Fragile, has radio hit written all over it. More of a mellow track but not quite a ballad, really emotionally charged chorus, and overall one of Eric Martin’s finest moments. The next song ‘Satisfied,’ a collective writing effort by the band and it shows as every member truly gets a chance to shine. This track also contains one of the best choruses on the entire album.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Mr. Big record without some great ballads. The first entitled The Man Who Has Everything, is simply a beautiful song, acoustic laden, with a background orchestration, and a very touching heartfelt verse and chorus. The Monster in Me is a powerful rocker with a really heavy guitar riff and bass line, some punchy aggressive playing by Pat Torpey, and features one of the best Gilbert solos on the album. As the title indicates this is a monster track. The following Song, What if We Were New, has almost a country rock feel dare I say in the realm Aerosmith, truly an Eric Martin staple song and he rocks the mic on this one. Track 8, East/West, is a very acoustic driven song, allowing Billy’s bass playing to really stand out. It’s a really nice breather track following some of the more hard heavy rock songs. Featuring another one of those super catchy Mr. Big choruses that you can’t help but sing along to, and there’s also some great collective background vocals, of course a Mr. Big staple.
The tempo of the album picks way up with track 9, The Light of Day, a song that would have fit nicely with the previous album What If, just with the overall feel and pace of the song. One of the stand out elements of this song is the tradeoff between Paul and Billy, it’s truly safe to say these one of a kind musicians are a tandem never quite seen before in hard rock music. Song 10 Just let your heart decide is the next official ballad on the record, and this one may even be stronger than the first. One of the most emotionally driven songs on the record, very resonating lyrics, and Eric’s vocals really soar on this one. It’s Always About that Girl and Cinderella Smile really have that great early to mid 70’s bluesy rock feel with more power and energy thanks to Mr. Gilbert. The latter song being another potential radio hit with a very memorable head bopping chorus. The album closes with the title track, and leave it to Mr. Big to go out on style. This song is about the highs and lows of Mr. Big and really epitomizes what blues rock is all about.
It really can’t be overstated how great this album turned out. It’s hard to believe how quickly this album came together as well with members being involved in solo projects and other band obligations, but boy are Mr. Big fans lucky it did. As mentioned before this album deserves consideration for being the best Mr. Big record to date, and it is just amazing to see musicians with unmatched individual talent, come together to create an album that they clearly poured their heart and souls out to make. Up next for the band is a European and Japanese tour in October and November, and hopefully for the sake of U.S. fans many more tour dates opening up in the not so distant future.
Buy …The Stories We Could Tell
Official Mr Big Site