Eric Martin

Bannermans, Edinburgh

26 Mar 2015

Reviewer: Peter Scallan

The first time I heard Eric Martin was just after Sucker for a Pretty Face came out and both the songs and his voice just blew me away. I have been a fan ever since through his solo stuff and most of Mr Big with Paul Gilbert. In my humble opinion he has the perfect rock voice from crooning to screaming and all stops in between. Therefore, the opportunity to see him in an intimate setting such as Bannerman’s in Edinburgh doing a solo acoustic set was just too much to resist.

Mr Martin opened the evening with a Mr Big number from the last album (which I think was Where Do I Fit In?) followed by a Ritchie Kotzen album song (called Electrified I think) both of which I am not overly familiar with. But they were still awesome despite that! However, the rest of the evening we were treated to more familiar material. This included superb renditions of Voodoo Kiss and Burning in my Mind before a newer song was introduced which I didn’t quite catch the name of. This was mainly due to the delay while there were technical problems with the sound, which Mr Martin duly filled in with some hilarious rock’n’roll tales. I can’t repeat them as he ‘asked us all no to’ but they involved chicken salad and two legendary British rock vocalists! This was followed with Just Take My Heart, Take Cover, Going Where the Wind Blows and Shine from a number of Mr Big albums. We were then treated to an awesome rendition of Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song) followed by Cat Stevens Wild World which Mr Big covered on the Bump Ahead album. The place was singing in full voice when Mr Martin did a stellar version of To Be With You which nearly raised the roof. There was also time for another sing-along song in the shape of Dancin’ With My Devils with the crowd playing its part to the max. We were finally treated to an encore of Undertow which closed the evening perfectly.

I have been lucky enough to see Mr Big a few times and once back in the 90s when they first toured the UK and Mr Martin has never failed to deliver. However, I was intrigued to see what he would be like in such a small venue having played some spectacular venues in his time.

Not only did he sparkle as much as he always does vocally and proved himself a handy guitarist, we got to see what a consummate professional and excellent front man he really is. He not only comfortably filled the time while the sound problems were sorted with his amusing stories, but engaged freely with the audience throughout the gig. His one-liners were priceless and he even held some conversations with people in the audience. He came across as humorous and affable and the kind of guys you could happily spend an evening with socially, which I can’t see about many musicians, I have met, although there are some very notable exceptions! There were no airs and graces and he seemed as comfortable in this intimate setting as he is on bigger stages. Add this to his absolutely humongous voice and a back catalogue of songs that any singer would be envious of (me for one!) and I just wonder if there really is any justice in the world, as this guy should still be filling stadiums as both solo artist and Mr Big singer.

Mr Martin you are indeed Mr Vocalist and more! Awesome, just absolutely awesome!