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From Melodicrock.com:
Also, in the wake of the departure of Steve Farris after Go On…, Mr. Mister was able to work with a variety of guitarists, among them musician's musician Buzz Feiten, Trevor Rabin of Yes, and James Harrah, as well as Cuban percussionist Luis Conte. The other element was a reunion with producer Paul DeVilliers, who produced Welcome to the Real World, and engineer Kevin Killen who worked on Go On… "Paul is sonically very experimental and very pioneering," says Page. "He just liked to try new and odd things, and he had great arrangement ideas, so he definitely had a lot to do with construction and arrangements of the songs and their sonic quality. Kevin mixed most of the album, he really understands space and e.q. and how to create a panorama." The whole concoction described the essential chemistry of Mr. Mister. "That's really how we worked off each other and how we complemented each other."
Their spirit, however, may have been too adventurous. In 1990, with new A&R and a new president, RCA rejected the "sneak previews" of tracks they heard from the new album by Mr. Mister. Despite the high level of craftsmanship in "Close Your Eyes," "Waiting in My Dreams," "We Belong To No One," and "No Words To Say" (Page's autobiographic paean to growing up in the segregated Jim Crow deep South of Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950s) – Pull was ultimately shelved. Mr. Mister disbanded that year, and the members went their separate ways. Page began recording as a solo artist and then collaborated in 3rd Matinee with Madonna's producer Patrick Leonard. Page and Leonard wrote Madonna's #2 hit of 1994, "I'll Remember," but after Page released his solo album Shelter Me in 1996 (on Blue Thumb Records) he put his public career on hold. Steve George toured as Kenny Loggins' music director from 1990-96, and later worked with Jewel before leaving the industry and settling in Sedona, Arizona. One of the busiest drummers on the planet, Pat Mastelotto has been a member of King Crimson since 1994 (some 20 studio and live albums' worth), and works with bassist Tony Levin on many KC side projects. As for any long hoped-for Mr. Mister get-together happening, Page has the final word: "There's always a chance for a reunion, never say never."
Comments On Mr. Mister's Pull
Richard Page: "Albums are much like your children. You do everything you can to nurture them and hope they grow up to be happy and successful. Pull is like an orphaned child who had the potential of being a stand out, but was denied the opportunity. Finally, after 20 plus years, it will get its chance to shine. This album, I believe, best represents what our band was all about; stretching the boundaries of pop music, not conforming to the conventional wisdom that you have to write within accepted perimeters, allowing ourselves the freedom to express the musicianship and writing skills we encouraged in each other. Like many other successful bands, Mr. Mister will always be remembered and defined by our hits and understandably so. But there is so much more to what we did in our short time together, and I think Pull is proof of that. I have to acknowledge Paul DeVilliers, who co-produced this album with us (Paul also co-produced Welcome to the Real World). Paul was an uncompromising force in the studio, who left no stone unturned. He was responsible for so many of the unique arrangements and the sonic quality of Pull. Truly an under-appreciated talent. Also, Kevin Killen, who not only mixed most of the tracks, but even volunteered his own time and money to see it finished. We love you Kevin. Lastly, I'd like to mention all the fans, who over the years have never given up their passion and desire to have this album properly released. And, selfishly, I'm glad I will never hear again, "Man, when is Pull going to be released!"
Steve George: "It's hard to believe that it's been twenty years since we recorded this album. It has such a timeless quality about it that it sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. That's due, in no small part, to the superb engineering and co-production by Paul DeVilliers and masterful mixing by Kevin Killen. Thank you, gentlemen. In addition to the great sound of the album, I also believe that this represents some of Mr. Mister's best work in all respects – songwriting, arranging, singing and musicianship - and it's a privilege to have been a part of it. An enormous amount of effort by all involved went into making this record and I'm thrilled that it's finally going to be heard. Rich, Pat, John, George – I love you guys. To our fans everywhere – Thank you!"
Pat Mastelotto: "It was 20 years ago today, that Sgt. Pepper. . . --no wait-- that was another melodic pop band with a paronomastic name that went all artsy. And that was 20 years before the 20 years I'm talking about. I'm talking 1990 and Pull the last recordings of Mr. Mister, the group that had brought RCA its first back to back number one hits since Elvis, but had since moved into uncharted territory and got dropped from their label for being too Artsy (wtf? - music that has too much art??)
What we have here, in Pull, is a time capsule, the cache left on a shelf. . . until now."
The gang's all back (besides the departure of Steve Farris) -- this record sees the trio, of Rich, Steve and Pat, reunited with John Lang (co-writer of "Broken Wings"), engineer Paul DeVilliers (who co produced the #1's like "Broken Wings" & "Kyrie"), sonic wonder boy Kevin Killen (Peter Gabriel, U2) to oversee mixing. Listen closely, and you might even recognize additional guitar from Trevor Rabin of Yes.
Truly a time capsule recorded and mixed in (then state of the art) Analog and (early) Digital at the very best of the classic L.A. studios, Ocean Way, Sunset Sound, Sound Castle, Sound Factory, and Mastered by legendary Bob Ludwig.
When we set out to make our Pull, we wanted a different sound so gone are the sequencers and drum machines used on the massive hits. A more intermittent style of 'big' production took hold. After first entering the studio with 10 new songs the band retreated to smaller studios to write and nurture arrangements of another dozen songs till we felt we had the right balance of material.
Since the demise of the Misters and being the drummer in King Crimson, XTC and many other bands favored by the discerning highbrow critics I am often asked how it was, or even why, I was in Mr. Mister. . . why? I'll tell you why -- because these guys were good! Still to this day I've never worked with singers the quality of Rich and Steve, and by this 4th record our sense of band self was codifying as we stretched arrangements using metric modulations and beat displacements, words I'd never even heard at the time, that would become such a large part of today's progressive music. Personally I think Pull is the missing link to explain how I got from pop music to the avant-garde art music. . . but the fact is I never saw them as anything but two sides of the same coin, and I think many of the Mister's fans always understood and embraced that."
So after 20 years of fans asking when can we hear Pull? I can answer 'now'.
WebLinks: legacyrecordings.com / MrMisterofficial.com / Littledumerecordings.com.
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"We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors."—College Basketball player Weldon Drew
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