#2 — Mr. Big — Defying Gravity
I love Mr. Big. I’ve loved them since they put out their first record in 1989. I’ve seen them live a bunch of times and have everything they have ever released. So I knew I would love the new album just like I’ve loved everything they’ve ever done.
Defying Gravity will not go down as my favorite Mr. Big record, and it may not even be in my top 5 from them, but there are a bunch of very good songs on this record. This one deserves a song by song review…
Open Your Eyes — Not your typical Mr. Big opening song. Usually it’s the heaviest song on the record and that’s not the case here. More groovy than heavy — still a good song.
Defying Gravity — One of the highlights on the record. I really like the guitar part that runs through the song. Classic Mr. Big song.
Everybody Needs A Little Trouble — Another groovy one. The band has seemed to lean more groovy than heavy the last few records and this one fits right in.
Damn I’m In Love Again — Upbeat acoustic love song. Eric Martin at his best. Just a happy song about being in love.
Mean To Me — More heavy groovin’. Good song, just not much new here. Does show off how great these musicians are.
Nothing Bad (Bout Feeling Good) — Almost sounds like they put two songs together here. The chorus sounds straight out of the 70s. Interesting song.
Forever And Back — The band gets serious on this one. Not quite a ballad, but has a similar feel. More great stuff from Eric.
She’s All Coming Back To Me Now — A little more poppy here, almost sounds more like an Eric solo song. Almost reminds me of something The Cars would do.
1992 — A song about themselves. Cool riff that the song is built around. Story of the band when they hit it big in 1992. Another highlight of the record.
Nothing At All — Some cool rhythm section stuff going on here. Billy Sheehan is the best bass player in the world and you don’t hear him too much on this record. But he stands out here.
Be Kind — Sounds like an old song with the heavy backing vocals and slide guitar. A slow bluesy feel to end the record.
I’m just happy that the band keeps releasing records. It looked like they were done 10 years ago or so, but this is now 3 records in the last 6 years or so which makes me happy.