Did we expect that? Yes we did! When . Eric Martin, Pat Travers, Billy Sheehan και Pat Torpey decided to re-form Mr.Big for some shows in Japan, and released a couple of new tracks for their best of compilation “Next Time Around”, it was rather obvious that a new album was on the way.
What also was expected from most of the people that guessed the release of Mr.Big’s new album, almost ten years after their last one was true… “What If” cannot be compared with “Bump Ahead”, or “Lean Into It”, neither their first one from 1989. And that’s quite reasonable. However, having one of the best voices in hard rock ever, as well as the technique, and talent, they can make every new composition sound pretty interesting. On the other hand, the other three, although they are great players, with tons of accreditations, they don’t even think about showing off their limitless abilities, that are sacrificed in favor of the songs. By the way, that was always the case with every Mr.Big studio album back in the days when the band ruled in record sales, and airplay.
“What If” is a decent album, but not worthy of the huge name, and legacy of Mr.Big. some songs are quite cool, like “Undertow”, and “All The Way Up”, but I don’t think that the fans will like the overall album too much. Still, I am sure that the band will “blind” everybody who is going to see them live at any summer festival they will be playing, with their playing abilities on their back catalogue, because I don’t think they will be playing much from “What If”…
