Essential Mr. Big Songs
Mr. Big is a band that I've only been listening to for roughly three months, so I'm hardly qualified to rate their most essential songs. However once I dove into their catalog this summer, I was hooked, and they're the band I've been playing the most since June. They've even distracted me while trying to listen to Van Halen and Foo Fighters and rank their own songs. So there's no questioning whether Mr. Big is well deserving of a list of their own.
The music in the verses, especially the cow bell, remind me of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat." I feel like that's why I'm drawn to that one the most on their self-titled debut album.
9. "Take Cover" (Hey Man)
This album is apparently out of print, although I was able to purchase it through iTunes. I actually came across this song on Youtube, when it was one of the "recommended videos" that appear along the side. I think it automatically played after the song I was listening to had ended, so it was a pleasant surprise. I love the percussion in this song, which earns "Take Cover" it's placement in the top ten.
8. "Just Take My Heart" (Lean Into It)
Even though I said I dove into Mr. Big this past June, it was actually a year prior in the summer of 2014, when I bought Lean Into It. The singer of Mr. Big, Eric Martin, was booked to headline a festival in the area however he was moved to a summer concert instead. My buddies Brent and Bryan had talked about their songs "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" and "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy", so I thought I'd check them out because I was only familiar with "To Be With You." I listened to those two songs and didn't get the hype, so I put the CD aside to collect dust for a year. Flash forward to this year and Eric Martin was booked for a solo show. I was only attending because my friends' band was opening, and I'm glad I went anyway, because Mr. Martin was the living definition of a "hoot." As for the actual song, after giving Mr. Big another chance, I realized they have a softer side with a few outstanding ballads.
7. "Nothing But Love" (Bump Ahead)
I bought this album the night before the Eric Martin show and listened to it the entire morning of the show in preparation. I must've played it at least three times through. While this song is cheesy and sounds like their attempt at writing a song for weddings, it still hooked me regardless of the cheese factor.
6. "To Be With You" (Lean Into It)
This song had to be here. It's their biggest hit, and many (myself included), likely are familiar with the song but don't have a clue about the band's name. When I thought of Mr. Big, I always thought of the guy in Wayne's World or even an alias that Hank Hill used in an episode of King Of The Hill. The villain in the James Bond movie Live and Let Die is also known as Mr. Big, too.
5. "The Whole World's Gonna Know" (Bump Ahead)
A killer song from Bump Ahead, which could arguably be their best album, as it features a balance of ballads and rockers, along with covers too. I love the solo, so that's why this one gets the nod. "Nothing But Love" and this song are two fine examples of how Mr. Big mixes ballads among flat-out rock songs.
4. "Goin' Where The Wind Blows" (Hey Man)
I knew this one would be in my top ten as soon as I heard it. Yet with each listen I found it climbing higher and higher. I feel like this song could be my theme song. I've never taken many risks in my life and I've stayed put in many situations, thinking I could ride it out as things may improve. Perhaps I think too much about "what if's" and "whys", as if Eric Martin peered into my brain and read my mind. These lines epsecially, "I've been living on my great expectations. What good is it when I'm stranded here. And the world just passes by. Where are the signs to help me get out of this place."
3. "Lucky This Time" (Lean Into It)
I wish I had given Mr. Big more of a chance when I first purchased Lean Into It. I only listened to the first few tracks and then the final track, and judged it without sampling any of the middle portion. "Lucky This Time" is one of those gems of a song that I was able to discover this year. So even though there may not be many second chances it life, there are always opportunities to discover and even rediscover music. Time and perspective are powerful things. While not credited to any member of the band, "Lucky This Time" shares similar lyrics to that of Eric Martin's "To Be With You", although they differ musically.
2. "Alive and Kickin" (Lean Into It)
This song reminds me A LOT of one of my favorite bands, Dream Theater; as Denny Smith tells me is "weedly deedly" music. Mr. Big and Dream Theater share similar musical traits, although Mr. Big's songs are much more condensed. So it could be Dream Theater for the ADHD listener, "for those who don't have 15 minutes to spend listening to a single song."
1. "Shine" (Actual Size)
I became aware of this song through an acoustic version on a Richie Kotzen album, Change, that Brent burned for me roughly a year before I bought Lean Into It. I was drawn to this song, both lyrically and musically, but was surprised when I heard the Mr. Big version. While it's the same song, the poppier, upbeat style of the Mr. Big recording was distracting; Richie's seemed much more powerful in it's stripped down form. I've grown to like the Mr. Big version, obviously.
Comments
Post a Comment