Mr. Big - 'Ten'

The more I’ve played it, the happier I am with ‘Ten’. It won’t ever rival their first four albums, but if you told me then that three decades later three of the original four members would issue this, I’d take it all day long.

I have made no attempt to hide it, Mr. Big are my favourite band. I was sad to see them call it a day at the beginning of the 2000s, delighted when they reformed in 2009 and I thought their comeback album ‘What If’ was fantastic. ‘...The Stories We Could Tell’ was another good effort, if not as immediate as its predecessor, but was created during drummer Pat Torpey’s struggles with Parkinson’s Disease. In 2017, they issued ‘Defying Gravity’, which by the band’s standards was lacklustre, due to the fact they were given just six days to write and record it.

Torpey sadly passed away and the band announced their ‘Big Finish’ farewell tour with Nick D’Virgilio on drums. I didn’t want ‘Defying Gravity’ to be their last studio work and fortunately the band seemed to share that sentiment as they have issued ‘Ten’. Written mostly by guitarist Paul Gilbert and singer Eric Martin, ‘Ten’ is a much stronger statement to end things on – although it will take a few spins for that to become apparent.

‘Good Luck Trying’ is, to me, a strange choice to open the album and be the lead single as my first impression was “what the hell is this?” It took several plays to finally “click” with me and the cheerful ‘Sunday Morning Kinda Girl’ or ‘As Good As It Gets’ seemed much better bets. Whereas ‘Defying Gravity’ lacked any classic Mr. Big rockers, ‘Ten’ boasts two beauties, ‘What Were You Thinking’ and the infectious ‘Up On You’ which is the second single, accompanied by an equally fun video.

Elsewhere, ‘The Frame’ is a textbook Mr. Big ballad, while Gilbert steers the band in a more Blues Rock route with ‘Right Outta Here’. Martin sings in a lower register and the raw sound sticks to his vision of wanting a stripped back, seventies Rock feel.

The European version features a sizzling Blues cover of Foghat’s ‘8 Days On The Road’ with Gilbert on lead vocals and is the only track which sees he and bassist Billy Sheehan let off the leash musically.

The more I’ve played it, the happier I am with ‘Ten’. It won’t ever rival their first four albums, but if you told me then that three decades later three of the original four members would issue this, I’d take it all day long. A grower, but well worth persevering with.