Take the world's best rock bassist, add one of the finest shredders in the land, add a virtuoso drummer, and a rough-voiced rockin' R&B singer (as in real R 'n' B, not that Destiny's Child pop crap which is really just slow and crappy pop ballads with lame looped drums and someone moaning over the top), and what have you got? Mr. Big.

Were they even a hair metal band? Hmmm… well, they arrived on the scene a bit late for hair metal, with hair and outfits smacking more of traditional heavy rock than glam. Their sound is more AOR with great musicianship, and they're a bit too grown up for the teeny-rock of Poison and co. Still, good songs, vocal harmonies, hard rock… close enough. VH-1 saw fit to include them in their Top 40 Hair Bands countdown.

What's the story then? Musicians will remember bassist Billy Sheehan from his days with muso band Talas, but for most he is remembered as David Lee Roth's bassist of choice for the Eat 'Em and Smile era. After departing from Roth's happy troupe, Sheehan decided to form a bluesy rock & roll band with an all-star line up. Enlisting former Racer X axeman Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey (Impellitteri, Robert Plant), the line up was completed by Eric Martin, who'd just finished with his eponymous band (of which Tesla's drummer had been a member). With a line-up like that they were inevitably tagged a supergroup. Still, their debut album was in impressive collection of hard rock and AOR, which, though not exactly original, was set apart by the group's staggering musicianship. It wasn't hugely successful outside of musical circles, however, but the band struck back in 1991 with Lean Into It, a fine and mature effort which demonstrated that the band had found their own sound. "To Be with You" became a massive international hit, topping the US chart and hitting #2 in the UK. "To Be with You" rescued Mr. Big much as "More Than Words" had saved Extreme's Pornograffiti album from obscurity, but unlike Pornograffiti the melodic AOR found on Lean Into It was much to the taste of those enjoying its hit single. The album sold strongly and in 1993 the band retuned with Bump Ahead, an album with a more bass-heavy sound and darker feel, but otherwise broadly in the same vein as its predecessor. The album charted internationally and had some Top 40 singles, but it failed to match the success of Lean Into It. Three years later came Hey Man, but the band were largely forgotten and the atrocious album that was Hey Man did nothing to rejuvenate their fan base. After the world tour to support it, the band went on hiatus, with Gilbert putting out a solo record and the greatest hits package Big, Bigger, Biggest surfacing with three new tracks. When discussions for another Mr. Big record began, Gilbert decided not to participate, and was replaced by Richie Kotzen. The record was hailed as their best since Lean Into It., and sold particularly well in Japan, where Mr. Big have always had a vast following (between each studio album a live one was released to Japan).  In 2001, news came that Sheehan had been fired from his own band. After much wrangling, the band  agreed to release their new studio album and tour together, on the condition that Mr. Big would break up afterwards.

Were they any good then? Well, their musicianship is completely faultless, but on all their albums instrumental frenzies are few and far between, with songs taking precedence and guitar solos simply adding colour. They can be a little on the light side in the studio, but this is contrasted by their reputation for rocking out in a live setting, and their songs are usually melodic and catchy while excluding corny or tired musical clichés.

And their best album was: Lean Into It, no question. Fans of melodic rock such as Def Leppard, Van Halen, or Bryan Adams should be able to appreciate all of Mr. Big's albums (or at least the first three studio albums), but Lean Into It has a level of consistency that is lacking on the others. It simply exudes class; while not the greatest song, the opening "Drill Song" is a wild enough blast to kick your ears into gear, and then you need only sit back and enjoy the flow of quality AOR. It's not that heavy, mind; kind of a light Firehouse with better songs. There are moments of heaviness; the verses of "CDFF Lucky this Time" (but not the choruses), "Road to Ruin", "My Kinda Woman", and "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (the Electric Drill Song)" all have a severe crunch factor. It's not that it's all ballads; there are only a couple of them. Just think In God We Trust type Stryper rather than Slave to the Grind type Skid Row and you'll be fine. This is still far from being your mum's music.

Ahh, come on, you don't expect me to believe they were all good, do you? You wanna know what sucked about 'em? Two words: Hey Man. That CD has become quite hard to find (impossible to find in UK high street shops, I'll tell you that for nothing), but upon tracking down a copy, I soon discovered why. Also, without original axe man Paul Gilbert, they hold zero interest for me.

Band rating: 86%

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