Eric Martin, the vocalist of the American band Mr. Big that broke up in 2002, has announced that he will release an English-language cover album of hits by female Japanese singers. The project is similar to Hideaki Tokunaga's "VOCALIST" series, though Martin's album will be appropriately titled "MR. VOCALIST."

Since the disbanding of Mr. Big, Martin has been involved in various musical projects, including the Tak Matsumoto Group (a supergroup including Tak Matsumoto of B'z) and the band Scrap Metal. Meanwhile, he has been raising a family, but now that his twin sons have turned 4 years old, he has decided to refocus on his music career.

Because of Mr. Big's popularity in Japan, Martin has chosen to make his comeback there, starting with this cover album. It was recorded in San Francisco and Tokyo during the past two months. Tracks include "Hanamizuki" (originally by Yo Hitoto) and "PRIDE" (originally by Miki Imai). The latter will already be available as a chaku-uta starting this Wednesday.

"MR. VOCALIST" is scheduled to hit stores on November 26.