Mr. Big - Deep Cuts: The Best Of The Ballads (2000)

Although 15 tracks of ballads is more than enough for anyone, Mr. Big’s compilation Deep Cuts has value to collectors. A number of these songs are rare or previously unreleased versions.

Most of Mr. Big’s hits are ballads, so that’s why this thing exists. All the important ones are present: “To Be With You”, “Wild World” (Cat Stevens cover), “Just Take My Heart”, and lots of deeper cuts too. The selling point of this album is the rare stuff, and there’s more than average. “Had Enough”, “Promise Her the Moon” and “Just Take My Heart” are all re-recorded with Richie Kotzen on guitar (who was in Mr. Big at the time). That’s fine; at least they had a reason to do it. “Promise Her the Moon” isn’t vastly different, but “Had Enough” and “Just Take My Heart” have slightly new arrangements. “Had Enough” is much more fleshed out, and sometimes even a little funky. That’s the Kotzen influence.

There are also two “new” songs, one amusingly called “Where Are They Now?” It’s a cool song with a decent chorus, though it certainly can’t compete with the big hits. It could have used more Kotzen. The other newbie, “I’ll Leave It Up to You” sounds more like Richie, and more like a laid back blues. Finally, there is a B-side from the Kotzen era: “You Don’t Have to Be Strong”. This one (from “Superfantastic”, which is also on this CD) is the best of the bunch, not least because it’s a duet with Eric Martin and Richie Kotzen. This is the kind of stuff that is nice to have. It beats hunting down an obscure CD single to get it.

Deep Cuts is rounded out by a whole bunch of classic ballads from the Paul Gilbert albums. And yes, “To Be With You” is the original version, so if you’re buying the CD for one song (shame on you!) then at least you get what you wanted.

Still…it’s a CD with 15 ballads in a row. Not the kind of thing that gets played all the way through in a single sitting.