Mr. Big – What If…

Mr. Big is a band that doesn’t need much of an introduction. They have written themselves into Rock history with some very strong albums since their beginning in the late 80s, and now they are back with a new album featuring all the four founding members:  Gilbert, Sheehan, Martin, and Torpey. The album is entitled What If…

If there’s any doubt about this release, it will be long gone after hearing the first few seconds of the opening track ”Undertow,” which is one of the highlights. It has a great sing-along chorus and mindblowing riffs provided by Gilbert and Sheehan. The song truly sets the standard for the rest of the album, and the following songs stay in the footsteps of the opener. ”American Beauty” keeps the atmosphere and has a bit more tempo than the opener. Yet again they push out a great chorus and outstanding riffs. Other standouts are ”Still Ain’t Enough For Me” and ”Once Upon A Time.”

The production is great, it’s not too polished and that’s a big relief because annoyingly-polished records seem to be a comon problem in this genre. Actually, the production is quite dirty and that serves the songs very well. After all, this is a Rock ‘N’ Roll album and it should have a little attitude soundwise as well. Most of the songs are great, however, there are some nowhere-going ballads that take the album a bit downhill, like ”All The Way Up.”

Mr. Paul Gilbert once again proves that he is one of the most unique guitarists in Melodic Metal. Gilbert is accompanied by the extraordinary bass player Billy Sheehan, who delivers a fantastic performance (as always). Check out the song ”Around The World” where these two outstanding musicians go completely nuts. The ”masters of the strings” sure are a barrel of gunpowder together, and with Eric Martin’s outstanding voice on top and the tight foundation provided by drummer Pat Torpey in the bottom, nothing can go wrong.

All in all; What If… is a release that every fan of Melodic Rock/Metal should be sure to check out. This release, without a doubt, will be considered one of the greatest albums of 2011!