By the late 80s, "shred" was somewhat popular -- the new wave of progressive "musician's bands" who could play mind-blowing complicated riffs on their instruments at lightning speeds. Mr. Big combined two popular musical trends of the rock scene: a particular brand of hard rock, often referred to as cock-rock, focused on melodies and listener-friendly choruses, and impressive technical proficiency, then called shredding.

Mr. Big, one of the few bands to master both technical playing and "song" playing, and it's a shame that most people aren't familiar with them beyond one song.

"Lean Into It" certainly has its share of dazzling playing in the solos and certain intros, but over all it's an album that non-musicians are going to like too. This was the real big turning point in their writing direction. The album includes solid rock such as Daddy Brother.., groovy sound such as Road To Ruin, great soulful melodic rock track Green-Tinted Sixties Mind. It could give you nice starting point to get to know the BIG rockers.

Mr. Big was an American hard rock super group. Formed in 1988, Mr. Big was particularly popular in Japan. Mr. Big are probably best known for their 1991 rock hit, "Lean Into It" released in 1991 is their greatest success so far in the U.S. To Be With You became #1 and Just Take My Heart became huge hit in the U.S.

The seeds for the group were sown when bass player Billy Sheehan (bass guitarist for guitarist STEVE VAI) left DAVID LEE ROTH's solo band (also with Vai) in 1988. Almost immediately after his exit, Sheehan began piecing together a new outfit, with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label specialized in the shredding genre. However, what Sheehan did not know was that he was about to form one of the most revered "supergroups" to come out of America.

Lean into It is an album by hard rock band Mr. Big, released in 1991. Known as the band's breakthrough release, it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 charts, while the single "To Be With You" became the band's first and only song to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, "Just Take My Heart", was their only other Top 40 hit, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

PAUL GILBERT left the band in 1997 to pursue a solo career and eventually reform Racer X. Richie Kotzen, another Shrapnel artist and former guitarist for POISON, was brought in to take on guitar duties, also contributing occasional vocals. Two studio albums were released by this lineup: Get Over It in 2000 and Actual Size in 2001, which featured the single "Shine", used as the ending theme in the animation series of Hellsing.

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