When bands make the grand announcement that their next album is to be their last this usually means one of two things. It won’t actually be their final record at all, or the end product will probably ending up being some lacklustre, contractual obligation full of second-hand riffs that never made it onto previous records.
Now, although nobody can see what the future holds, due to the feelings of the band after the untimely death of former drummer Pat Torpey in 2018, it would seem that a return of any type is highly unlikely, so that leaves the latter option. And that is where, thankfully, Mr. Big is definitely an exception. No disappointing swansong release for the L.A. quartet here, the appropriately titled Ten (Frontiers Music s.r.l.) is everything you’ve come to expect from a band who, over the course of several decades and nine previous albums, continue to hold themselves to a bar of such high distinction.
It’s not unheard of for musicians to fall into a habit of taking shortcuts, becoming lazy in their craft later in life. But as all four members prove here, repeatedly and unequivocally, that simply isn’t the case with Mr. Big.
“Good Luck Trying” opens proceedings, the lead-off single an uptempo rocker with its roots firmly in the seventies. Drummer Nick D’Virgilio, on both his first and presumably last studio appearance with the band, lays down his authority from the start, the song shifting to a sleazy crawl as bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Paul Gilbert contort their fingers into shapes that only octopuses with extra tentacles can pull off.
Uplifting yet melancholic commercial rock from days gone by, “I Am You” is classic Mr. Big, pure and simple. Strummed guitar with Sheehan’s bass acting as the backbone, all topped off by a sensational performance by singer Eric Martin.
A perfectly balanced mix of slow and fast, light and shade, songs like “Right Outta Here” with its Middle Eastern vibe and bluesy Aerosmith style riff, and the moody but lyrically empowering “Courageous” are offset by faster cuts like “Sunday Morning Kinda Girl” and “What Were you Thinking,” the former boasting a strong, insistent beat and a quirky guitar solo from a different time, the latter featuring a fast blues shuffle that could possibly be the soundtrack to every American bar-room fight ever filmed for cinema.
Again, songs like powerful slowie “Who We Are” and reflective final cut “The Frame” are juxtaposed by the lightweight, almost Rush-esque, jangling chords of “As Good As It Gets,” and the classic hard rock strut of “Up On You”. Bonus-wise, the Japanese version comes with bizarrely titled instrumental cut “See No Okapi” while the European version gets the bluesy as hell “8 Days On The Road”.
Every song a virtuoso showcase, from the music to the crystal clear production, Ten stands as an ageless and exciting swansong, and the worthiest farewell from a band who will be missed by many.
Buy the album here:
https://ffm.to/mrbigten.OPR
8 / 10
GARY ALCOCK