Mr Big Addicted To That Rush

Steve Allsworth guides you through the frenetic awesomeness of a classic Mr Big track. Get ready for a typically outrageous Paul Gilbert solo!

Japan (which is still true today). it wasn’t until their second release Lean into it (1990) where they finally made their commercial breakthrough. against the backdrop of Extreme’s huge hit More Than words, Mr Big also hit the big time with their ballads, To Be with You and Just Take My Heart. This then spawned further mainstream success with green Tinted sixties Mind (a gymnastic tapping classic) and a cover of Cat stevens’ wild world which was part of the follow-up album Bump ahead (1993). although the band never quite replicated this commercial success with later albums, their popularity in Japan and south East asia continued unabated, culminating in several live releases and sell-out tours in the Far East. Paul left in 1997 to reform his original band racer X and was replaced by another shrapnel mainstay and former Poison guitarist richie Kotzen. The two albums released with this lineup, get Over it (2000) and actual size (2001) received a lukewarm response by their high standards and perhaps was a sign of things to come. The band’s ultimate demise in part came about from growing tensions between Billy - who began touring with steve Vai’s band - and the rest of the members. Most of their writing output was without him and further conflict eventually led to his sacking. Unfortunately, a Mr Big without arguably its most important members in the form of Billy and Paul just wasn’t popular amongst its loyal fanbase. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original lineup reformed in 2009 and past differences were put aside. Despite Pat Torpey’s tragic diagnosis of Parkinsons Disease, the band have to date released their 8th studio album. Our track is taken from their debut and is a typically furious and technical workout, yet still has all the hallmarks of great songwriting that typified their music. All the members are great singers and multi-instrumentalists (check out some of their latter-day live versions of this track where they all change instruments mid-song). Like many guitarists of his generation, Paul’s sound and rhythm playing is just as inventive and groovy as the frightening lead work.

The most exciting day of my guitar life was when I learned how to bend a string. I still love bending strings so much - it gives the guitar a voice. Paul Gilbert