Eric Martin's claim to fame was being singer in the excellent band Mr. Big.
After a detour with the brilliant acoustic mini album "Pure"
Eric Martin's latest "real" solo album from 2002 "I'm Goin' Sane" was a great Rock album. Unfortunately I agree with Eric, when he describes the songs on "Destroy All Monsters" as having a modern distorted pop feel to them. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it only works on around half the album. Sometimes it gets too simple and pop oriented. Especially
What If sounds uninspired, but also the doll ballad
Living In Black & White, the reggae alike
I Can Die Now and
Something There all sound below
Eric Martin's usual standard.
Overall "Destroy all Monsters" is a bit uneven. The highlight is the 3 songs at a stretch starting with
I Woke Up Too Late, which has a great structure with a great middle play, which adds really cool guitars and thundering drums. The song has a special atmosphere with a unique guitar sound and a stunning signature riff of the song.
Janie Won't Open is a melodic gem. If radio would embrace this song I am sure it would be a hit. It has a great chorus where you can't help to stomp your foot.
Where Are You? combines the atmosphere of
I Woke up too Late and the melodic elements of
Janie Won't Open. The atmosphere of the song generates
Led Zeppelin associations.
The best ballad on the album is the Spanish guitar driven
You're Too Good For Him, but definitely not among the best
Eric Martin ballads at all.
This album has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. At first I was about to reject this album totally. Later I thought it was real good with the 3 highlighted songs as the most brilliant songs I heard in a long time. After living with this album I must conclude - all in all, the entire album is a minor setback for
Eric Martin. Eric's voice still sounds fabulous and his fantastic voice is the fixed point on "Destroy all Monsters", but half the material is disappointing.
Written by
Michael Wednesday, January 21, 2004
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