[distressed_romeo]

This is actually a hell of a lot better than I expected it to be (given how often reunions suck). Paul's single-coil tone is really good.

 

[darren]

Solid song and great playing! And i agree... fantastic tone from Gilbert. I usually find his tone is a little too gainy and buzzy, but the singles give it a bit more of a roundness that makes it sit nicely in the mix.

 

[shannon]

The tone is always great, but I find the song underwhelming.

 

[483]

I was positively surprised by that song actually - I thought it would suck (like most of post-Gilbert Mr.Big) and I found myself liking it

 

[DaveCarter]

Not bad! Doesn't quite beat the classics though:

 

[eleven59]

I really dug that :yesway: Super-catchy riffs, and really killer tone.

If there's one thing I love about Paul Gilbert, it's that everything he does just seems "fun", and he always seems like he's having a great time (probably because he is :lol: ).

 

[playstopause]

Woah, i'm quite surprised. I had to listen to it 3 times in a row. :lol:

Catchy, Tone with a capital T, very cool "simple" melodic solo.

 

[Randy]

I thought it was good, but it sounded a little too... old guy sounding?

 

[eleven59]

I thought it was good, but it sounded a little too... old guy sounding?

Well, they're not young guys :lol: I'd rather they sound honest and play what they play, than try to sound current

It's a really cool mix/production too, tasteful as hell and not over-the-top. The verses being driven by just a single rhythm guitar with the super-subtle clean-ish guitar adding texture behind it, and then they double up the rhythm on the choruses. Really gives the whole thing a natural dynamic shift and energy, and helps the live feel without sounding overly sparse (as if Gilbert and Sheehan jamming together could ever sound truly sparse :lol: ).

 

[599]

If there's one thing I love about Paul Gilbert, it's that everything he does just seems "fun", and he always seems like he's having a great time (probably because he is :lol: ).

It's funny you mention that. I asked a friend of mine why she liked Paul Gilbert records and basically nothing else I liked. Her response was "Because I imagine him having a huge smile on his face and having a great time while hearing it." Fwiw, she'd never seen him before.

I'll be buying this record though, sounds like it's going to be cool. If nothing else, I know the tone will be great :yesway:

 

[eleven59]

It's funny you mention that. I asked a friend of mine why she liked Paul Gilbert records and basically nothing else I liked. Her response was "Because I imagine him having a huge smile on his face and having a great time while hearing it." Fwiw, she'd never seen him before.

I'll be buying this record though, sounds like it's going to be cool. If nothing else, I know the tone will be great :yesway:

Yeah, he's got a definite love for what he does, and it comes through in his playing :yesway: I'm going to have to give this album a listen too, as I've listened to this song a good 5 times today and random intervals :lol:

 

[Elysian]

Wow, that song was surprisingly good.

 

[Randy]

Well, they're not young guys :lol: I'd rather they sound honest and play what they play, than try to sound current

Current isn't so much what I meant as much as... I dunno, it sounds like a mid-90's revival moreso than what it is. Plus, Billy and Paul have released a significant amount of material in the last few years that felt more "Mr. Big-y" than this. I know, I'm whining. It's good, but I was expecting something else.

 

[F1Filter]

Well that was an unexpectedly catchy tune. Not a chopsfest like you'd find in the early Mr.Big material. But it's a nice surprise nonetheless. :yesway:

On a side note, probably only interesting to maybe 3 other people on the forum besides myself. The bass world just collectively fell on it's ear; as it's the first time ever that Billy Sheehan didn't have some sort of Ampeg rig behind him. There's been a mass exodus of Ampeg endorsers recently. Although I'd never thought I'd see the day when Sheehan had a Hartke rig.

 

[Randy]

Good eye. I missed that.

 

[Groff]

Not bad, pretty catchy.

...Call me crazy, but the main riff in this song sounds a lot like the riff at :20 in this song:

 

[Bogan-Nick]

I thought that was great, nice to hear some tasteful lead playing going on too.

 

[eleven59]

iTunes has the pre-order up, along with samples of all the songs. Sounds decent, the production/tones are consistent, the "live" feel of this track with minimal guitar overdubs is something they use a lot.

What If... by Mr. Big - Preorder What If... on iTunes

 

[Desensitised]

Wow, that song was surprisingly good.

as above , loved this although I'm not much of a Mr.Big fan.

I always think of them as that band with Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan and two other guys.

This song doesn't change that,