Mr. Big Releases All Acoustic “Live From the Living Room”
When you’ve been rocking as long as the members of Mr. Big have, it stands to reason that you might want to shake things up from time to time.
Last year, the quartet did just that.
After 14 years, Mr. Big’s original line up of bassist Billy Sheehan, vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey reunited and hit the studio to record What If… in late 2010. The release came in early 2011, and the band supported it with a world tour that year.
During a promotional trip to Japan, the quartet was invited to perform at the WOWOW TV Studios in Tokyo. That’s when the band decided to do something they’ve never done before: perform an acoustic set. The result is a new release from Mr. Big, Live From the Living Room, released yesterday.
The group enlisted a string quartet to back them up, and while Sheehan and Gilbert pick up electric instruments on a few songs, the performance was really all about the acoustic vibe.
In an interview with Rock Music Star, Sheehan shared that he’d never worked with strings before, but that he’s a huge classical fan. He said the band’s new approach was also a welcome challenge.
“…whenever you record anything live, there is always that risk of catastrophe or major screw up,” Sheehan shared. “It’s a pressure situation, but it’s a good pressure, it makes it so you have to have it together, or you can fall right on your face. So, we worked very hard to be prepared for this.”
The group performed ten of their tunes, reimagined for the intimate performance setting and instrumentation, all recorded for the band’s first acoustic album.
We wonder what they’ll come up with next.
Preview and download Live From the Living Room:
Live From the Living Room Track List:
- Undertow
- Still Ain’t Enough for Me
- As Far As I Can See
- Voodoo Kiss
- Take Cover
- Around the World
- Stranger in My Life
- All the Way Up
- To Be With You
- Nobody Left to Blame
