Simon RushworthMr Big — Ten (Frontiers)
Listen to guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert describe the undercurrent of emotion running through Ten and it would be reasonable to expect a rather downbeat affair.
“Overall, it’s about being overwhelmed with life, and realizing that you won’t win many of the battles, but [you’re] still fighting to the end,” he says.
“And it’s about keeping a sense of humor about it by saying to anyone nearby, ‘Wish me good luck trying!’”
Fortunately, the emphasis is frequently on the sense of humour and the determination to battle on regardless.
And it’s impossible, therefore, to listen to this long goodbye from Mr Big without keeping the late, great Pat Torpey in mind.
This album’s a tribute to the much-missed drummer, who passed away in 2018 after fighting Parkinson’s.
Consequently, the reverential jostles for position with the raucous as Gilbert and co. seek to balance their grief with a joyous gang mentality.
Bringing in experienced stixman Nick D’Virgilio to fill Torpey’s seat is a masterstroke: Phil Collins’ stand-in on the Genesis album Calling All Stations is the perfect fit.
The reflective, heartwarming lyrics drip off Eric Martin’s tongue like treacle off a spoon and Gilbert’s right — life’s various challenges come to the fore.
But when all’s said and done, Ten’s overriding sense is one of overwhelming optimism and it represents both a fitting tribute to Torpey and a glorious goodbye from one of America’s truly great rock and roll bands.
Who We Are and As Good As It Gets say it best of all: the canny juxtaposition of two peak Mr Big ballads proving class really is permanent.
The perfect Ten? As close as it gets.
Mr Big: bigger and better?
Described by Eric Martin as ‘raw, unadulterated riff rock and blues with all the Mr. Big trimmings’, Ten’s all of that and more.
Of course, there’s Gilbert’s virtuoso axe work — catching this consummate master of his trade on The BIG Finish tour will be one of the true treats of 2024.
And Martin, who, by his own admission, is struggling to recapture his early 90s form these days, never falters on this fond farewell to fans and band mates.
Opener Good Luck Trying captures that can-do attitude Gilbert references as the bluesy Uriah Heep-meets Led Zeppelin kicks things off in fine style.
And there’s more than a hint of another much-missed US rock icon on I Am You as Martin channels his inner Tom Petty on a modern Americana must-listen.
The ballads, as outlined, are brilliant.
A band that turned the genre into an art form could write an entire album of affecting, acoustic classics.
Here they include a few and Who We Are — ‘Connected by the heart/it’s a metaphor for who we are’ sings Martin — is enhanced by a dreamy Gilbert solo.
UK blues rock royalty Thunder could have penned the upbeat, Beatles-styled Sunday Morning Kinda Girl such is its impossibly catchy, singalongability.
But maybe it’s best to sign off with Right Outta Here… Mr Big will be, very soon.
But this colourful burst of Jimmy Page-inspired melody is a timely reminder that, at their best, few are better.
Ten out of 10? Go on then.
