Search - Mr Big :: Actual Size

MR. BIG'S BEST ONE YET

cd-heaven | ROCK CITY | 09/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Holy smokes, I thought Get Over It rocked. New boy Richie on guitar and bringing some umph back into the band. Well, they improve upon Get Over It a 100 times over with Actual Size. 12 brand new rocking songs, and riffs so smokin' you haven't heard Mr. Big this good ever!!! Richie is one hell of a guitarist, back up vocalist and songwriter. Why heck, his song "Shine" is #1 in Japan, and it's AWESOME. Rest of the tracks are 1. Lost In America 2. Wake Up 3. Shine 4. Arrow 5. Mary Goes 'Round 6. Suffocation 7. One World Away 8. I Don't Want To Be Happy
9. Crawl Over Me 10. Cheap Little Thrill 11. How Did I Give
Myself Away and 12. Nothing Like It In The World. The band
explode open with Lost In America, with a killer riff provided by Richie, and continue to rock with Wake Up. The best track on the album is Suffocation. Richie sings lead with Eric and it's just
another killer song. As a whole, the album is one Big highlight and it's a shame because this probably won't sell a million copies here in US when it the best album I've heard all year.
GET IT!!!!"

More poppy, very "polished", but it really grows on you

Bill M. | MA, USA | 11/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was slightly disappointed when I first got this CD. I really loved "Get Over It", the album prior to this and the first made with Ritchie Kotzen in the band. At that time, the band said they wanted to go to more of their heavier acid-rock roots, and I think they succeeded. So my first impression of this CD, "Actual Size", was that they were going in the complete opposite direction. The different production is noticably very bright and clear, like a pop album. The songs themselves all sound rather polished, less risky, and "radio-friendly". The one exception is the Billy Sheehan-penned "Suffocation". It does sound much more like the type of hard rock song you'd find on "Get Over It". But anyway, that was all only an initial reaction, because WOW...did this CD ever grow on me! I couldn't get enough of the catchy, well-written, well-played songs. "Lost In America" seemed a weak opener to me at first, but Eric's vocals on the verses have since really gripped me. "Wake Up" is my favorite track, a wonderfully catchy song about getting a grip as a troubled teen in this day and age. My close second favorite is "Mary Goes Round", a great blend of rock and melencholy. "Shine" and "Arrow" are slow numbers that I find myself singing along to alot. "I Don't Want To Be Happy" is a really well-done folk/rock song.I could go on about the other tracks, but needless to say, this is the Mr. Big CD I find myself listening to the most these days. I can't get enough of it."

Last blessing of Mr. Big

Amartuvshin Zuunnast | SF, CA, USA | 09/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Actual Size is the last album of Mr. Big, the culmination of 12+ years of rock n roll stardom. This is the album I love the most since Use your illusion of GN'R. I recommend this album to everyone who loves rock music. Eric Martin and boys will blow you away with amazing songs like "shine", "arrow", "wake up" and "lost in america"."