Mr. Big - Defying Gravity

This is the third studio release since the original Mr. Big line-up reformed in 2009 and released the Back to Budokan live album.  "Defying Gravity" follows the same Mr. Big formula that can be found on the 2011 release "What If..." and the 2014's "...The Stories We Could Tell" which highlights the virtuosity of Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, which is not entirely a bad thing, and good straight forward hard rock/heavy metal.  One change is that drummer Pat Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2014 has been unable to play on this and last release.  Pat does serve as "drum producer" on this album for his stand-in Matt Starr and does play on select songs when the band does tour.   Defying Gravity also acts a reunion between the band and producer Kevin Elson who worked with the band on their first four releases and recorded the band biggest hits in the early 90's.  This is where, in my opinion, is the real issue with this album.  In interviews, the band members repeatedly stated that the album was written and recorded in six days and seem proud of that fact.  At times the songs do sound like they are "rushed" but it is the production of the music which I feel is lacking.  The overall sound of the album is, again in my opinion, very muddy and lacks the power of "What If..." which was produced by Kevin Shirley or the crispness of "...The Stories We Could Tell" by Pat Regan (who also produced 1999's Get Over It).  It begs to question if the band went their separate ways during final mixing and production.  The group released three singles from this album; "1992", "Defying Gravity" and "Everybody Needs a Little Trouble".  "1992" serves as a sarcastic look back to the band's "hey day" when they had a #1 single with "To Be With You" and received heavy rotation on Mtv.  "Everybody Needs a Little Trouble" is a classic Mr. Big song in every aspect.  The album also has its obligatory ballad "Damn, I'm in Love Again" complete with acoustic guitars and does not fit into the overall sequence of songs.  The most surprising song on the album is the closing song "Be Kind" which clocks in at over 7 minutes and a slow burn/bluesy number which is not typical Mr. Big.  Mr. Big has already completed a brief tour in support of this album and, unfortunately, most of the dates were overseas and with Billy Sheehan turning his attention towards Sons of Apollo for 2018 and Paul Gilbert returning to his solo career, nothing is planned for the near future.  Having seen Mr. Big open for RUSH twice and headline once at Hammerjack's in Baltimore.  They are one band who should definitely checked out.