Customer Reviews

Best of White Lion (Ocrd)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The 80s metal scene will always be remembered for its style-over-substance approach to music, among other unique traits. White Lion, however, brought more than a little musical talent to the table than most, and for that, they deserve a better fate.

`The Best of White Lion' is a fantastic collection from a band that, while they teased their hair as high as anyone, actually carried musical chops that were rare within the genre. In other words, they could PLAY.

Vito Bratta was, at one point, considered the heir apparent to Eddie Van Halen as THE metal guitarist. He displayed a technical proficiency that garnered enormous respect for him. That respect hasn't faded away, even though Vito himself seems to have. Greg D'Angelo could pound the skins with the best of anyone at that time, and James Lomenzo's bass playing rounded out the rhythm section. Mike Tramp added a very distinct vocal style, helping to complete the band's unique sound.

While most bands of the time wrote songs almost strictly of partying, White Lion dug a little deeper, utilizing their chance to communicate a more personal or even a political message. And yes, they also wrote their share of party tunes. Were they philosophers? No. Were they cut from the same cloth as artists such as U2? No. But they did seem to be aware of the world around them, and it inspired their music.

Mike Tramp recently stated on Eddie Trunk's show that there would never be a White Lion reunion. Whether it happens or not is unknown, but it's nice to know that the band, during their brief few years together, created some really great music.

I can't really complain because this was the CD that got me into White Lion in the first place. But after getting all of their other studio albums, I feel as though a White Lion greatest hits album should include songs such as, Goin Home Tonight, Broken Home, Lonely Nights, El Salvador and Living on the Edge. But, nonetheless, this is a great album.

The more I listen to and research "typical" hair metal bands, the only conclusion I can come to is that none were "typical". Most hair metal bands were filled with excellent musicians and, more importantly, good songwriters. White Lion was no exception.

White Lion had a sound all their own, a sound that, it seems, was built on Van Halen and Dokken. In fact, guitarist Vito Bratta's playing style is somewhat of an amalgam of Eddie Van Halen and Dokken's George Lynch. Bratta is really a top-notch guitarist, easily holding his own with guitar virtuosos such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and the aforementioned Eddie Van Halen. Vocalist Mike Tramp has a unique voice (that, for some, may take some getting used to) that compliments Bratta's guitar perfectly. As for this album, The Best of White Lion, it is an accurate representation of White Lion's best work. White Lion, unlike many hair metal bands, avoids most of the sleaze and hair metal cliches. Instead, Mike Tramp (White Lion's lyricist) focuses on politically charged lyrics and love songs. And while I do not necessarily agree with Mike Tramp's politics, I am at least thankful to Mr. Tramp for giving us something different.

If you like strong songwriting and catchy guitar work, pick up this album.

For whatever reason, I never checked out White Lion during their brief late-80s chart run. Big mistake. The caliber of musicianship and vocals really sets them apart from similiar bands of the era. Mike Tramp's vocals display so much emotion, while Vito Bratta is an amazing guitarist, adept at both electric and acoustic guitar. You can hear both on the band's biggest hit "When the Children Cry." I can think of few bands where the lead guitarist and lead vocalist complement one another so effectively. Highlights include "Wait" (one of the best singles from the hair metal era), "Little Fighter," "Love Don't Come Easy," "Cry For Freedom," and a killer version of "Radar Love" (love the drum break) that I prefer over the original version cut by Golden Earring. White Lion The Best Of is a great introduction to the band. All the singles and key album cuts are here. This disc is the perfect introduction to a band that never received the critical due it deserved. White Lion created some of the genre's finest melodic metal...don't *Wait* any longer to hear what you've been missing.

I was never a White Lion fan growing up. But I bought their best of album anyways. I was shocked at how good they really are. They were really a great 80's band. It's too bad that people don't respect them more.

Songs like When the Children Cry, Love Don't Come Easy, and Little Fighter are SO good. Sure they are 80's, but they really knew how to rock. Thier live cuts of Lady in the Valley, and All You Need Is Rock and Roll really show how they rocked.

If you want to learn about this cool band, buy this best of album. It is jam packed with songs that were not hits, but were great songs of that generation. When Childern Cry was their radio hit, and you will know that when you hear it. But it's the songs that you may not have heard before that make this disk worth the 13 bucks.

"I've run into kids that can play 'Wait' better than I can, but what's the point? Being a technician is only part of the equation, and I'm trying to study the other half--songwriting." said Vito Bratta once. I think this statement makes it quite clear what sets him and his band apart from his contemporaries and the other 80's hard rock/heavy metal bands out there. Vito wrote some of the most melodic, intricate, emotional, poignant songs of all times. His phrasing, as a songwriter, was different from any other guitarist out there and he always attached enormous importance to melody. His tone was one of a kind. It's his tone that made him special along with his fluid and articulate guitar playing to convey his emotions. People have been influenced by his two hand tapping and clear legatos for years.

The Best of White Lion was released one year after the band broke up in September 1991. Apart from the three studio albums Pride, Big Game and Mane Attraction released on Atlantic Records it also contains two live songs recorded in 1988 on the band's New York Ritz show. Both songs are from the band's pinnacle of success album Pride: "Lady of the Valley" and "All You Need is Rock'N'Roll". Vito absolutely shines on the solos in both songs and they both exceed their normal running times with 2+ minutes. Mike sounds very emotional, especially in "Lady of the Valley", and the crowd makes themselves heard during the bridge. It must have been a great experience for those who saw that show live. I saw it on the video and it was fantastic! Other than these live tracks, we have the band's biggest hits "When the Children Cry" (the short intro with the acoustic guitar has got to be one of the best musical pieces ever written), "Wait" (I still see people talking about the solo in this song after 16 years of its release) and "Little Fighter" (a tribute to the Rainbow Warrior which was a Green Peace ship sunk in the Gulf War). Also featured is the band's epic Heavy Metal song "Lights and Thunder" with its almost 9 minutes running time and a perfect rendition of the band's first ever song "Broken Heart". "Love Don't Come Easy" which didn't bring them the radio support is also contained on this CD. "Farewell To You", another song off of Mane Attraction, beautifully closes the album. It, however, was a mistake of their label to exclude Vito's magnificent instrumental "Blue Monday" from this best of collection.

"Hungry" and "Tell Me" are two other Pride songs we hear on this compilation. Their Big Game album offers "Cry For Freedom", which is a somewhat political song where Mike Tramp depicts his views on racism that was going on in South Africa at the time. The song being longer than the average 4-minute radio hits never got MTV and radio support, thus it couldn't reach the masses. It was these things that made White Lion an "unusual 80's metal band". Their members, with the exception of Mike Tramp perhaps, didn't look like over-decorated Christmas trees with big hair, spandex and make up. Vito never was one to show off his chops on stage or on the videos to become a "sex idol" to the female fans. He never let the image of his band diminish his music. And this is why he was the most underrated guitar player of the decade. Only those who truly appreciated good songwriting, good musical expression and well thought out lyrics prefered White Lion, and are to this day still the biggest of fans. It's a shame this band didn't last, for they had all the potential there was to have. The late 80's, just like today, was an MTV and single-driven world. I guess those people were scared to air songs like "Warsong", "Lights & Thunder", "El Salvador", "All The Fallen Men" and "Cry For Freedom" putting this band in the spotlight for the fans to enjoy.

While this is a very good starting point to get into White Lion, I still feel all four albums from this band are amazing. Pride is still among my all time favourite albums. Period. It's like magic and the music on that CD has kept me going for years. Vito and Mike were a great duo writing some of the most beautiful, emotional and enjoyable songs. It's sad they broke up. In case you wonder what's happened to the band members feel free to check out my review of the band's Mane Attraction album also reviewed on Amazon.

It should be in your best interest to give White Lion a listen if you like melodic heavy metal and hard rock mixed up without getting too over the top. Good lyrics, emotional vocals, and excellent guitar solos with an intricate rhythm section are also present on this disc. Very highly recommended.

A good compilation of rock tracks from the glam rock era of the eighties by quite a popular band of the time. Though I can only give this 3 stars as I don't regard the guitar playing as original as some reviewers have given credit for. In my view this guitar player was just a clone of Eddie Van Halen, though he wasn't the only one around at the time.

I'm not much into "best of" CDs, but with some bands it is the best way to listen to them. White Lion never has been a strong album group. The singles are for the most part what made them. So if your wanting the "Big Hits" and the rest of the tracks worth anything, pick it up.

In the world of hair-metal, I wouldn't say that "White Lion" was king of the jungle, but they were a pretty good group. Not as huge as they may have wanted to be, but I liked them better than alot. This is a decent collection that includes most of what it should. "Wait" and "When The Children Cry" seem to be the most popular, but I also really like "Tell Me", "Little Fighter", and "Farewell To You". Their cover of "Radar Love" is good too. Overall it's a great bunch of songs, and will go perfectly with your "Great White" and "Whitesnake" albums.

I don't think that I can add much to what all of the other great reviewers have said about this great CD and great band. 80's rock is my favorite style, and im my opinion the best decade for head-banging, fist pumping, good time rock. This 'Best Of' collection truly captures the mood and spirit of this great era in music. It angers me to hear critics that look down on AND make fun of the big hair bands because of the image(make-up, big hair, etc.), the stuff that doesn't matter. They somehow fail to pay attention to the GREAT music that bands like White Lion played. Larger than life vocals, drums, awesome guitar solo's, great melodic rhythm, to sum it up: just great balls to the wall rock-n-roll!! You see my point, now on to the music: Anyone who recalls this great era will surely remember the huge, memorable hits 'Wait', with that great guitar solo by Vito Bratta, and 'When The Children Cry', a beautiful and emotional ballad. Also here is an AWESOME cover of 'Radar Love' which just rocks from start to finish. Also a fav of mine is 'Lights and Thunder', just simply great musicianship on that song. There are also a few great live tracks here: 'All You Need Is Rock-n-Roll' and 'Lady Of The Valley'. There are 13 songs in all, and all are great. Vito Bratta is one of the most under-rated guitarists of all time. I play guitar, so I can really appreciate how great he plays. Mike Tramp is also a very under-rated singer. This band had great chemistry together, and thus produced some of the greatest music of the era. If you're a fan of great 80's rock, you'll absolutely love this CD. If you're new to this band or to this style of music, don't listen to the critics who don't know what they're talking about. Buy it and treat yourself to some great rock music. I've got just two more words for ya: ROCK ON!!!