I got into Mr. Big rather late. Sometime in spring / summer 2009 to be exact. I was hanging out with a shred guitarist guy and we were talking guitars and Paul Gilbert came up. I knew of Paul from Racer X and when guitar guy asked me if I'd heard of Mr. Big, I replied with, "Uhhhh, wasn't that like, Paul's soft rock band or something?" Now, up to that point all I had ever heard from the band was their mega ballad To Be With You. The guitar slinger balked at my unfamiliarity and was like, "Bro, they have Billy Sheehan AND Paul Gilbert." He proceeded to show me several clips starting with the "Electric Drill" song and I became hooked. As I was checking out their discography, I noticed that Mr. Big had two albums with renowned blues guitarist, Richie Kotzen. I will openly admit that when I first heard Get Over It I was slightly butthurt. This was completely different than anything they did with Paul Gilbert. And this was a late nineties album! I then proceeded to be a chode and shelved this album after less than ten listens for, oh look, about ten years! Now, in 2021 as I go back and rediscover Mr. Big, I'm rediscovering the Kotzen albums and holy hell, I want to kick my own 2009 era ass for missing out on this record and the other Kotzen / Mr. Big album, Actual Size.

The first thing that you notice is that Get Over It is completely devoid of any hair metal characteristics in any way. The music contained here is a combination of blues powered rock, soul, funk, and contains some seriously, blisteringly intense guitar solos. One of the things about ol Richie is that he is a decidedly Fender guitars man. He mainly plays Telecasters and plays Strats secondarily. Because I'm a nerd, it's really cool to hear that "Tele sound" of twang and bite coming through his fleetly fingered solos. Take the very first song, Electrified. The very second the guitar solo kicks in at 2.18, you KNOW that's a damn Telecaster being wrung like a mofo! Static can definitely scare some eighties fans off with its very nineties riffing. However, the chorus is still infectious and energetic and of course there's a cool guitar solo. Yet another interesting tidbit to point out is that during guitar solos on some songs, like this one, there won't be a rhythm guitar track playing along. I really like when bands do this because it gives such a raw, live feeling, even in a studio recording. Hole In The Sun is a rather funky leaning tune that shows Mr. Big stretching out. Extremely tasty lead guitar fills just make the pre-chorus explode. You can definitely hear Richie's blues influence here. This sounds like a bar room jam track. Try To Do Without It is also reminiscent of a bar band song, and is another illustrative example of Richie's Telecaster sound. This is really soulful, with an almost church like choir in the chorus. Despite the twangy tone from the Tele, Richie's blues melodies and licks translate well to this setting. There's even a couple ballads here such as Superfantastic that got released as singles but I don't listen to them.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to have someone to approach Get Over It. From the outset, it seems to have quite a few things working against it. Nineties album, replacement guitarist, post grunge, in the midst of mallcore / nu metal, former hair metal band. Then, the people that were fans of the band's original incarnation will definitely be put off by the new sound. So, I think the best way to approach these albums as a newbie is to ask yourself a couple questions. Do you like blues? and Do you like Richie Kotzen? If the answer to both questions is "yes" then there is a definitely above average chance you will like Get Over It quite a bit. But, be aware, there is nothing like Green Tinted Sixties Mind, Colorado Bulldog, or on here, but it is also not some late nineties turd drying up on the sidewalk of life like so many records from 1994-199. A deep dive fo sho, but a fulfilling one to take part in.