Year : 2026 (Metallic Blue Records Edition)
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Rock , AOR
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 91 mb
Bio:
Eric Lee Martin (born October 10, 1960 in Long Island, New York) is an American rock singer/musician active throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s both as a solo artist and as a member of various bands. He earned his most prominent success as the frontman for the hard rock band Mr. Big, a supergroup (currently reunited) who scored a big hit in the early 1990s with "To Be with You," a song that Martin wrote during his teen years.A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Martin first started his career in the music industry in 1978.Martin had decided to live independently by the age of 18. His first job was selling ice-cream.The big break he needed came when John Nymann, guitarist for the band "Mile Hi", gave him a call and asked if he would want to form a new band together. The two had known each other since their former bands (Mile Hi and Kid Courage) had played together at the Mabuhay Gardens on Broadway in San Francisco. In agreement, John Nymann and Eric Martin got people together from both their previous bands and formed a new group named 415 – which was the telephone area code for the San Francisco Bay Area, since every person in the band was from there.415 was formed in late 1979. It marked the start of Eric Martin's career as lead vocalist. Eric says, "415 played hundreds of shows at area nightclubs, beer parties, even high school and college dances, before eventually headlining San Francisco's premiere night club – the Old Waldorf. Selling out in advance, word quickly spread about our dynamic live shows and soon we were opening for established acts like Billy Squier, Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, Molly Hatchet, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Foreigner, to name a few. Eventually, without yet being signed to a recording contract, we played in front of 60,000 fans at Oakland Stadium at Bill Graham's Days on the Green Concert."The band became a popular local draw, all the while still being an unsigned act.415 was later signed on to Elektra/Asylum Records under the management of Walter "Herbie" Herbert, Ron Chiarottino, and Sandy Einstein. These three persons managed and worked for the band Journey. The management decided to change the name of the band to the "Eric Martin Band" (EMB), as singer-named bands were popular during that time.EMB debuted their first album in 1983, entitled Sucker for a Pretty Face. The LP received a gold disc (certification?), and consequently led to the band's appearance on American Bandstand and in various arena tours as the opening act for the likes of ZZ Top, Night Ranger, and Journey.In one interview, Eric mentions that they "worked thousands of shows, from clubs, to frat house parties, Bill Graham concerts, opening for anybody and everybody."One of the most acclaimed performances of the band was a solo tour in 1983 held at Honolulu, Hawaii. But despite continuing to land high-profile gigs as support for some of the most popular acts at the time, the band decided to split up in 1985 after returning from the ZZ Top tour.After the break-up, Martin continued involving himself in several recordings and gigs. He contributed to the track "I Can't Stop the Fire" from the movie soundtrack Teachers, as well as "These Are the Good Times" and "Eyes of the World" from the movie Iron Eagle.In 1985, Eric Martin released a self-titled album Eric Martin, featuring the minor hit "The Information" which peaked at #87 that summer.It was followed later on in 1987 by I'm Only Fooling Myself which was re-issued in 2008 by Rock Candy Records. The album is a compilation of songs written by such people as Myles Hunter, John Waite, and a whole host of other established songwriters. It also included top West Coast session musicians such as drummers Mike Baird (who worked with Rick Springfield and Journey) and Mickey Curry (with Bryan Adams and Hall and Oates), guitarists Richie Zito, Tim Pierce, Michael Landau, and Rick Nowells.A compilation of the two solo albums are available on Soul Sessions – The Capitol Years CD.In 1988, Martin teamed up with Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey, and Paul Gilbert to form Los Angeles supergroup Mr. Big. The band combined "shredding" musicianship with melodic vocal harmonies.The reputations of the players generated immediate interest in fellow musicians, and the band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1989. That year, the band released their eponymous debut, which received critical and commercial success in the US and Japan. In June 1990, the group toured America with the Canadian band Rush.The group's 1991 release, Lean into It, featured two ballads that established them as a commercial success: "To Be with You" (number one song in 15 countries) and "Just Take My Heart".The album was followed by a British tour in April and May of the same year, supported by bands The Throbs and Heartland.After another British tour, the band released the Mr. Big Live album in 1992. Mr. Big continued work on a third album as they headlined shows across the U.K. in 1993. In December, the band notably broke away from this run to play as support act for Aerosmith's three-night, sold-out stand at London's Wembley Arena.In 1993, another ballad from Mr. Big's new album Bump Ahead rose to the top 10 of the charts – a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World". Although the band was unable to sustain commercial success in the US, their popularity in Japan continued to soar, leading to several Japan-only live albums as Raw Like Sushi I, Raw Like Sushi II, Japandemonium, and Mr. Big in Japan.In 1996, Mr. Big released Hey Man, which sold strongly in the Far East. In 1997, the band released the album Live At Budokan before taking a break from recording and touring.While recording their fifth studio album, Paul Gilbert announced his decision to leave the band, and new guitarist Richie Kotzen was added to the lineup. The new line-up of Mr. Big released Get Over It on September 1999 in Japan. Get Over It yielded "Superfantastic", a number one hit in Japan that went multi-platinum. It proved to be Atlantic's biggest selling release in that territory. Mr. Big put in a 20-date tour of Japan followed by a rousing New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the Osaka Dome in Osaka. Get Over It was released in the U.S. on March 21, 2000, followed by a short club stint at The Roxy Theater in West Hollywood.In the summer of 2001, Martin and the rest of Mr. Big released Actual Size in Japan and the rest of Asia. The CD stayed on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine" the first single off the album was number one. The song was also used as the ending theme for the animation series, Hellsing. Though headed for a breakup, the members of Mr. Big performed a farewell tour of Japan and Asia in 2002 as part of a contract they were obliged to comply with.
Album:
In 1983, the album “Sucker For A Pretty Face” was released by “ERIC MARTIN BAND” on Elektra Records. The band entered “Prairie Sun Studios” (studio where most of the 1980’s Shrapnel Records albums were recorded as well as many other top recording artists: JOURNEY, GRATEFUL DEAD, JEFFERSON STARSHIP, PAT TRAVERS, DAMN YANKEES, TOM WAITS, ICON and many more) and recorded songs for the follow-up album “Looks Can Be Deceiving” before they went out on tour with ZZ TOP. Due to an unrelated dispute between band manager Herbie Herbert and the newly appointed CEO of Elektra Records many years prior, ERIC MARTIN BAND were dropped from their contract, and the newly recorded album was shelved. Y&T quickly recruited guitarist John Nymann, CITY KIDD (later known as TESLA) nabbed drummer Troy Luccketta, Gregg Rolie would bring in guitarist Mark Ross for his self-titled album. Eric Martin would release 2 solo albums and then go on to help form the supergroup MR. BIG! The band UFO had grabbed keyboardist Dave Jacobsen a few months prior. The “Looks Can Be Deceiving” album would sit for more than 40 years, until Metallic Blue Records would come along and sign Eric Martin and company to a 6-album deal. We are very proud to announce our biggest album yet, with the release of “ERIC MARTIN BAND – LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING” being released on both CD and vinyl.ERIC MARTIN BAND's follow-up album to "Sucker For A Pretty Face" still has many of the AOR elements as the "Sucker" album, but also brings a little more of a hard rock edge (which is a step closer to what Eric would be doing in MR. BIG). The "Looks Can Be Deceiving" album opens up with the song "Pictures" (only song on the album that would get re-recorded and released by Eric Martin on his first solo album). This original version has a much more upbeat almost "Bruce Springsteen" vibe in some parts. This song should appeal to all mid-80's melodic hard rock fans. Up next is the title track which is one of two tracks where Eric Martin plays the keys on (the other track is "Pictures"). Eric's voice and emotion really comes through here, and we can all relate to "trust" issues in relationships. Tracks 3-8 have special guest keyboards played by Loren Gold who is known for playing in the bands THE WHO and CHICAGO and is now on tour playing keyboards for RUSH. The last track on the album "Brand New Face" features original keyboardist Dave Jacobsen and is a super upbeat catchy song made for the radio. This album is a must have for fans of the genre.
Line Up:
Eric Martin – lead vocals, piano - See also: Mr. Big, Eric Martin, Tak Matsumoto Group, Avantasia..
Tracklist:
01. Pictures
02. Looks Can Be Deceiving
03. Read My Lips
04. Action & Adventure
05. Love Is On The Line
06. Outside Looking In
07. Mental Breakdown
08. On Your Side
09. Brand New Face
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
