MR. BIG - Ten
September 9, 2024, 3 months ago
(Frontiers)
The early '90s saw several usually melodic-yet-rockin' bands score surprise hit singles with an acoustic ditty. Case in point, Extreme, Saigon Kick, and especially, Mr. Big – the latter with “To Be With You.”
Which, put the band in a bit of a predicament, as they now had a new pop audience which they could choose to cater to, or, continue on in their usual direction. Apart from a soft number here or there (most obviously a cover of Cat Stevens' “Wild World”), the Big-men continued to crank up their amplifiers.
But with the passing of their long-time drummer, Pat Torpey, in 2018, the group's future was put in doubt. Instead of deciding to abruptly call it a career, the remaining original members, singer Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert, and bassist Billy Sheehan, decided to put out one final album with Nick D'Virgilio filling in for Torpey, and a farewell tour. And that album arrived in May 2024 – the appropriately-titled Ten (as it was their…I'll let you finish the sentence).
And the result is exactly what you'd expect – tunes that rock (the album-opening “Good Luck Trying” and the single/video “Up On You”), tunes that are soft (“The Frame”), and tunes that lay somewhere in the middle (“As Good as It Gets”).
Despite missing one of their key members, Ten certainly sees Mr. Big go out on a high note.
