Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
We hit the trilogy of Mike Tramp’s White Lion reinvention and as with Vol 1 & 2 you cannot look at these releases on par with the original songs. In most cases you cannot touch those classics so you have to view them as if they are an additional source.
I have enjoyed the distraction of these new versions and if anything they made me revisit the earlier albums and to be reminded of what incredible songs this band produced and just how talented Mike is.
This volume kicks off with “Dirty Woman” and this harnesses the groove of the original whilst kicking up some dirt. I find it really hard to look past the guitar work of Vitto Bratta but this one hits the spot.
Next up is one of my all time favourites in “Warsong” from Mane attraction and as much as I appreciate the new take it is so hard for me to remove the blockbuster version from my memory. This is different in many ways and I will leave it to you to check out and make an opinion on it.
“Fight to Survive” is next and this is gritty and holds onto the feel of the past. It really brings out Mike’s voice and this is up there with my top tracks from all three volumes.
The opening of “She’s Got Everything” grabbed me just like it did all those years before. It was so easy to lump White Lion into the non descript hair metal pile but they were so much more as proved by how these songs hold up today.
We go all the way back to the beginning with “In the City” and it was way back then that you could have mapped out exactly how Mike would follow his path. This song is the backbone to his solo work and it is those slower, simpler songs that show you what a songwriter he is and this version is sublime.
We hit the Big Game era as we delve into “If My Mind is Evil” which I always held on par with Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil” as it had the same vibe and brought out the same reaction in me. This take holds close enough to the 1989 version to get you automatically invested but it twists it to give you a new love for the song.
One of the songs that kick started White Lion’s shoot to the top was “Cherokee” and it is dipped into that love for everything that Mike has. You have to love his naive innocence that a harsh world has been unable to knock out of him. This had to be one of the first songs I heard from the band, it was before we had ever heard that horrible word Grunge, we had hair, we had hope and a rock world in front of us that was everywhere. This version captures all of that.
“All Burn in Hell” kicks like a beast just like it did before. Another intro song that has faded amongst the huge hits but it was part of the story and had me diving for my original Fight to Survive vinyl to crank it out again. I love this deep cut.
“Don’t Say it’s Over” has a very different feel here. A bit more laid back, a bit more elevator music so not one of my preferred numbers but it sits well in the collection.
We finish on what could possibly be my favourite cover song of all time in “Radar Love”. It is perfection to my ears and I know it inside out as it was a constant companion on MTV so I struggled with cutting a minute off the song. That video is seared into my brain so there was no way anyone…I mean anyone is getting close to that song.
I played that original video and I could not visit this version for a day. I had to have some time between it. I had to get that guitar solo out of my head (and the barmaid) and try to come in neutral but it was hard. Maybe a live version would have been a better option as Mike kills this live but if we have to look at this version as it stands I would love it were it not for the original. Maybe time will treat it better.
Regardless of highs and lows I have loved these visits to the past viewed through the present. Mike is one of my heroes and that will never change. I am grateful for anything the man puts out as our heroes are all bowing out or trying to hang onto the past very badly. Mike is definitely not the later and I will be at the barrier the next time he comes to town.
Order ‘Songs of White Lion — Vol. III’ HERE
