What If... is the seventh full-length studio album by the American rock band Mr. Big, which was released on January 21, 2011, through Frontiers Records. It was the band's first album since their 2009 reunion, their first album in 10 years since 2001's Actual Size and their first album with the original line-up featuring guitarist Paul Gilbert since 1996's Hey Man.
| What If... | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 15, 2010 (Japan) | |||
| Recorded | September–October 2010 | |||
| Studio | The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California, The Cave, Malibu, California | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 46:38 | |||
| Label | WHD/Victor (Japan),[1] Frontiers (Europe) | |||
| Producer | Kevin Shirley | |||
| Mr. Big chronology | ||||
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| Singles from What If... | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Rock Hard | 8.0/10[3] |
The album was recorded between September–October 2010 in a Los Angeles-area studio with producer Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Rush, Black Country Communion).
The first single from the album, "Undertow", was released on November 27, 2010. A music video was filmed for the single and featured on the special edition DVD of the album. The album was supported by a world tour in 2011.
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Undertow" | Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey, Kevin Dotson | 4:49 |
| 2. | "American Beauty" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Stranger in My Life" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, André Pessis | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Nobody Left to Blame" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 4:20 |
| 5. | "Still Ain't Enough for Me" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 3:04 |
| 6. | "Once Upon a Time" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 4:03 |
| 7. | "As Far as I Can See" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, Dotson | 3:55 |
| 8. | "All the Way Up" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, Dotson | 5:12 |
| 9. | "I Won't Get in My Way" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, Pessis | 4:40 |
| 10. | "Around the World" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, Dotson | 3:51 |
| 11. | "I Get the Feeling" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 4:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Kill Me with a Kiss" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey, Pessis | 5:59 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Unforgiven" | Martin, Gilbert, Sheehan, Torpey | 4:16 |
Personnel edit
- Mr. Big
- Eric Martin – lead vocals
- Paul Gilbert – guitar, backing vocals
- Billy Sheehan – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Pat Torpey – drums, percussion and backing vocals
- Production
- Kevin Shirley – producer, mixing
- Vanessa Parr – engineer at Village Recorders
- Jared Kvitka – engineer at The Cave
- Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc, Los Angeles
Charts edit
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] | 71 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[5] | 171 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] | 50 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[7] | 71 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] | 7 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] | 36 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[10] | 11 |
Release history edit
| Country | Release date | Label | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | December 15, 2010 | WHD Entertainment, Victor Entertainment | IECP-10240 (CD), IEZP-26 (Dual Disc - CD+DVD) |
| Europe | January 21, 2011 | Frontiers Records | |
| United States | February 8, 2011 | Frontiers Records | |
| Korea | February 18, 2011 | LOEN Entertainment | |
| Hong Kong[11] | March 18, 2011 | Evosound | EVSA-123A |
References edit
- ^ What If... (Mr. Big album) on CD Japan
- ^ Leahey, Andrew. "Mr. Big - What If... review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
- ^ Rönnebeck, Jenny (February 2011). "Review Album : Mr. Big - What If...?". Rock Hard (in German). No. 285. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mr. Big – What If..." (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Mr. Big – What If...". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mr. Big – What If..." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Mr. Big – What If...". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "ホワット・イフ…". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mr. Big – What If...". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ http://www.hmv.com.hk/product/rockpop.asp?sku=370030 [dead link]