Review | Mike Tramp – Songs Of White Lion Vol.II

Frontiers Music srl

Just over a year ago singer/composer Mike Tramp revisited the songs of his old band White Lion, and he did that some 30 years ago after the last studio-release of that group called ‘Mane Attraction’. ‘Songs Of White Lion’ was certainly not a bad effort with Tramp singing in a lower key, sticking reasonably close to the original versions and treating the songs with the respect they deserved. Producer Soren Andersen did a good job, as did guitarist Marcus Nand (once with Tramp in the formation Freak Of Nature), as is it certainly not easy to step in the footsteps of original White Lion guitar slinger Vito Bratta.

A SECOND ATTEMPT

Tramp toured with Nand for that above mentioned album and as things have turned out a second attempt at some other White Lion songs has been made and is ready for release. On this record Tramp again sticks close to the original versions of songs such as ,,Lonely Nights’’, ,,The Road To Valhalla’’, ,,El Salvador’’ and ,,Till Death Do Us Part’’ and again I am rather impressed with his latest interpretations. His voice is very natural and has so much more matured.

THE DIFFERENCE WITH THE FIRST VOLUME

There is a big difference with the first volume though. On his 2023 record Tramp obviously chose for the more popular tracks such as ,,Wait’’, ,,When The Children Cry’’, ,,Lady Of The Valley’’, ,,Broken Heart’’ and ,,Hungry’’. But they were also the best tracks of White Lion, no doubt. Most of the songs on ‘Vol. II’ are good to reasonable, but towards the end of this ride the quality of the songs starts dropping with ,,Out With The Boys’’, ,,All You Need Is Rock ’n ’Roll’’ and ,,Farewell To You’’ as primary examples. Well played and sounding okay but clearly as song itself not as impressive.

MIKE TRAMP – THE CONCLUSION

To be brutally honest… I think it would be best if there will not be a ‘Volume III’ in the future. The first one had all the good songs, this one is mainly good except for the last three songs that are just very plain and ordinary, so there is not much left in the White Lion repertoire/catalogue to justify a third attempt. But I guess that Mike Tramp himself is quite aware of that fact. He gets away with this one as his singing is very good and his musicians are up to scratch. It was a good initiative that was and is a joy to hear. Now it is time for some fresh and new songs.

Release date: 23 August 2024