01 – Come And Dance 
02 – Georgia 
03 – Die In Love 
04 – Bitter Streets 
05 – Chance Intrigue 
06 – My Sweet Medicine 
07 – Baby Come Around 
08 – Sandy 							play
09 – God Save Me From The Blues 
10 – Why Wait For Love 
11 – I Am Here For You 
12 – It’s Over 
13 – Something Special 
14 – Romeo							play

Eric Martin – lead vocals 
Pat Torpey – drums, percussion, backing vocals 
Billy Sheehan – bass, backing vocals 
Paul Gilbert – guitar, backing vocals

Mr Big, not to be mistaken for the American soft rock band of the same name, have been kicking for the best part of four decades with each of the members having played together since the sixties. The band never really lifted off into mainstream prominence however have instead become quite a cult band over the years after supporting the likes of Tom Petty, Journey and Queen on their Night At The Opera tour back in the late seventies.

With the collective disbanding several times over their career we are now reintroduced to Mr Big as the band have this week released their first album since 1996’s Rainbow Bridge. Bitter Streets sees the band back to their old habits with the release of some soft, nostalgic numbers that take us back to the days of the bands beginnings with a fairly revitalized and fresh feel with the majority of its track-listing.

Come And Dance opens the record with some gentle piano tinkering and swaying melodies while Die In Love casts us back to the seventies with a disco inspired addition.

The albums leading single Georgia represents the record with a combination of strings and synths while the groups front man Dicken enters the track with some soothing vocals that hit some rather hit peaks and display a vocally versatile number for Bitter Streets.

Further down the record mid tempo balladry is the order of the day with Chance Intrigue. A persuasive, country tinged rhythm and a swaying guitar sit softly around a sentimentally lyrical addition before the bluesy intro of My Sweet Medicine and God Save Me From The Blues introduces us to the bands southern influences.

Among some of the nostalgic numbers we get to hear on Bitter Streets there are unfortunately also an equal number of bombs that simply don’t fit among the modern times of today’s power electro-pop and sound more dated than fresh. Among these Something Special is far from what is declared in the title, as is Sandy, both of which sound more like karaoke numbers than ambitious, hopeful numbers for a band that is well overdue for national recognition if only for the their length of service in the UK music industry.

Bitter Streets promises some quality additions but as you approach the mid way point on the new collection and given that the record is 15 years in the making, we were hoping for a little more of the wow factor and instead given a bit of a hit and miss. ---Brendon Veevers, renownedforsound.com

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• Clean Cache

01 Undertow
02 American Beauty                   play
03 Stranger In My Life
04 Nobody Takes the Blame
05 Still Ain’t Enough for Me         play
06 Once Upon a Time
07 As Far As I Can See
08 All The Way Up
09 I Won’t Get In My Way
10 Around The World
11 I Get The Feeling
12 Kill Me With A Kiss (Japan Bonus Track)

Personnel:
* Eric Martin - lead vocals
* Paul Gilbert - lead & rhythm guitars
* Billy Sheehan - bass guitar
* Pat Torpey - drums, percussion

Mr. Big were one of the last hair metal outfits to score a hit before January 1992, when Nirvana’s Nevermind topped the charts and ushered in the grunge revolution. With America starting to shift its focus away from ‘80s music, Mr. Big turned their focus to countries like Japan, where audiences remained sympathetic to the band’s supersized hard rock until their breakup in 2002. Released eight years later, What If... marks the return of Mr. Big’s original lineup, with guitarist Paul Gilbert (who originally left in 1997) joining his bandmates for a back-to-basics collection of muscled rock songs and over-proficient instrumentation. Of course, 2010 isn’t exactly the right time for a Mr. Big album -- it’s nearly two decades too late -- but What If... has something working for it that none of the earlier Mr. Big albums had: nostalgia. Those who miss the hairsprayed days of guitar virtuosos and Reagan/Bush-era machismo are in luck, since this is a product of an earlier time, with few signs of the 21st century apart from vocalist Eric Martin’s diminishing range and his bandmates’ shorn heads. Gilbert still fingertaps his way through more than a dozen solos, Billy Sheehan still plays the bass like a guitar, and the full band still sings harmony, an asset that helped Mr. Big differentiate themselves from other hair metal groups during the genre’s heyday. The album’s biggest asset, however, is nostalgia, and those who are willing to forgive the somewhat outdated approach of What If... will get the most out of this reunion record. ---Andrew Leahey, AllMusic Review

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