Lean into It

This article is about the album by Mr. Big. For the song by Joe, see Lean Into It (song).

Lean into It
Studio album by
Mr. Big
ReleasedMarch 26, 1991
April 16, 1991 (Europe)
Recorded1990–91
Studio
Genre
Length46:09
LabelAtlantic
ProducerKevin Elson
Mr. Big chronology
Mr. Big
(1989) 		Lean into It
(1991) 		Bump Ahead
(1993)
Singles from Lean into It
  1. "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)"
    Released: March 1991[1]
  2. "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"
    Released: May 1991
  3. "To Be with You"
    Released: November 1991[2]
  4. "Just Take My Heart"
    Released: April 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[5]
Rock Hard7.5/10[6]

Lean into It is the second studio album by the American rock band Mr. Big, released on March 26, 1991. The band's breakthrough release, Lean into 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 a top-20 hit, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]

"Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy" features Gilbert and Sheehan running Makita cordless drills over their guitar strings in harmony to create an unusually fast solo which is likely not possible to replicate with hands.[8] The "CDFF" prefix of the Jeff Paris-penned "Lucky This Time", is the song "Addicted to That Rush" from the band's 1989 eponymous debut album, played at a higher playback speed; hence the "CDFF" for "Compact Disc Fast Forward", "CDFF" is also the chord structure to the song.

The cover image is a picture from the Montparnasse train accident that occurred on October 22, 1895, in Gare Montparnasse station in Paris.

The album was ranked No. 49 on Rolling Stone's list of the 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time.[9]

The album includes the song "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind".[10][9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)"
3:54
2."Alive and Kickin'"
  • Gilbert
  • Martin
  • Pessis
  • Sheehan
  • Torpey
5:28
3."Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"Gilbert3:30
4."CDFF-Lucky This Time"Jeff Paris4:10
5."Voodoo Kiss"
  • Martin
  • Pessis
4:07
6."Never Say Never"
3:48
7."Just Take My Heart"
  • Martin
  • Pessis
4:21
8."My Kinda Woman"
  • Gilbert
  • Martin
  • Sheehan
4:09
9."A Little Too Loose"Gilbert5:21
10."Road to Ruin"
  • Torpey
  • Paris
  • Gilbert
  • Sheehan
3:54
11."To Be with You"
  • Martin
  • David Grahame
3:27
Total length:46:09
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Love Makes You Strong"Gilbert3:28
2010 remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Love Makes You Strong"Gilbert3:28
13."Alive and Kickin'" (Demo)
  • Gilbert
  • Martin
  • Pessis
  • Sheehan
  • Torpey
4:56
14."Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (Demo)Gilbert3:42
15."To Be with You" (Demo; reggae version)
  • Martin
  • Grahame
1:17
2021 30th anniversary edition bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stop Messing Around"
  • Martin
  • Tony Fanucchi
4:02
2."Wild Wild Women"
  • Martin
  • Roger Silver
  • Pessis
3:35
3."Just Take My Heart" (Piano version)
  • Martin
  • Pessis
3:49
4."Shadows"
3:42
5."Strike Like Lightning"
  • Moroder
  • Whitlock
  • Lee
  • Bates
3:43
6."Love Makes You Strong"Gilbert3:27
7."Alive and Kickin'" (Demo)
  • Gilbert
  • Martin
  • Pessis
  • Sheehan
  • Torpey
4:56
8."Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (Demo)Gilbert3:41
9."To Be With You" (Demo; reggae version)
  • Martin
  • Grahame
1:18
10."Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (Minus guitar)
  • Sheehan
  • Gilbert
  • Pessis
  • Torpey
  • Martin
3:47
11."Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (Minus guitar)Gilbert3:31
12."Love Makes You Strong" (Minus bass)Gilbert3:27
13."Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" (Minus bass)
  • Sheehan
  • Gilbert
  • Pessis
  • Torpey
  • Martin
3:55

Personnel

Mr. Big
  • Eric Martin – lead vocals, handclaps
  • Paul Gilbert – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, handclaps, backing vocals, electric drill
  • Billy Sheehan – bass, six-string bass on "Just Take My Heart",[11] handclaps, backing vocals, electric drill
  • Pat Torpey – drums, percussion, handclaps, backing vocals
Production

Charts

Chart (1991-1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 20
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[17] 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 9
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 18
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 28
US Billboard 200[25] 15

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[27] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Platinum 100,000^
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[30] Platinum 200,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[31] Gold 25,000^
Taiwan (RIT)[32] Gold 20,000[32]
United States (RIAA)[34] Platinum 1,200,000[33]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 573. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ "Mr Big singles".
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mr. Big. - Lean into It review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  5. ^ Garza, Janiss (February 1, 1992). "Lean Into It Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  6. ^ Albrecht, Frank (1991). "Review Album : Mr. Big - Lean Into It". Rock Hard (in German). No. 49. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Mr. Big. Billboard Charts". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Cassette liner notes
  9. ^ a b Beaujour, Tom; Bienstock, Richard; Eddy, Chuck; Fischer, Reed; Grow, Kory; Johnston, Maura; Weingarten, Christopher (August 31, 2019). "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Prato, Greg. "Mr. Big | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2019. The quartet broadened its horizons on its sophomore effort, 1991's Lean into It, which included the melodic psychedelic rocker 'Green Tinted Sixties Mind' as well as a pair of ballads that would become sizable singles...
  11. ^ "Billy Sheehan Explains Why He Doesn't Like to Play 5- & 6-String Bass, Calls ZZ Top's Dusty Hill 'One of Greatest Players Ever'".
  12. ^ "Chris Kupper Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  13. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Mr. Big – Lean into It". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mr. Big – Lean into It" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2089". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mr. Big – Lean into It" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mr. Big – Lean into It" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  19. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Mr. Big – Lean into It". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  21. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mr. Big – Lean into It". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mr. Big – Lean into It". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mr. Big – Lean into It". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  25. ^ "Mr. Big Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  26. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  27. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Mr.Big – Lean Into It" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  28. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Mr. Big – Lean Into It". Music Canada. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  29. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mr. Big; 'Lean Into It')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  30. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Mr. Big – Lean Into It" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1994年1月 on the drop-down menu
  31. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Lean Into It')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  32. ^ a b "Paul Gilbert Taiwan Gold Record". IFPI Taiwan. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) archived.
  33. ^ Jon Cold (1992). "Biggest Metal Sales – The Mr. Big Interview". Metal Edge Magazine. United States: Zenbu Media.
  34. ^ "American album certifications – Mr. Big – Lean Into It". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 26, 2017.