Customer Reviews

More to Life Than This

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album rocks.
From the moment I listened to the album, I find myself singing the songs.I go everywhere with my discman.
The songs are wonderful and very powerful, the lyrics are great.
Nothing at all, more to life than this, day by day, the good the sad and the ugly, don't want to say goodnight and the goodbye song are the best ones.
I love all albums by Mike but this album is special for me.
I rank it as 2nd among all of his albums.
(1st one is always "mane attraction")

Looking for a finely crafted, honest, solid rock album? Then save yourself some bother and pick up Mike Tramp's new album "More to life than this" from your local CD emporium or favourite mail-order house. After 1996's "Capricorn" and the album "Recovering the Wasted Years" released in 2001, this is the third solo work from the former White Lion and Freak of Nature singer. By now everyone probably realises that a Mike Tramp solo disc does not sound like White Lion. All the songs on the new album plough a very melodic furrow. Naturally the unique and charismatic voice of Mike Tramp is centre stage but all ten songs on "More to life than this" earn top marks for the quality of the song writing. The lyrics themselves are also top notch. Most of the tracks feature acoustic guitar parts endowing the songs with a certain intelligence and flair and their special quality. The opener and title track "More to life than this" is the albums first smash and kicks off after a short intro with some rocking guitar before soaring to the beautifully melodic chorus. Next up, " Lay down my life for you" and " Don't want to say goodnight", are relatively similar to the opener but just as good. " Nothing at all " is the first ballad. With the spotlight firmly on Mike Tramp's vocal talents, the song invites the listener to forget their problems and their environment for a few minutes. On "I Won't Let Go" Steve Lukather (Toto) lays down a first-class guitar solo. Eric Johnson is another well-known guitarist guesting with a beautiful part on the balladesque "The Good The Sad and The Ugly". Even those songs not mentioned individually are no slouches; in fact there's not a bad track here. The album had me hooked even on first play back and nothing has changed since. Without a doubt Mike Tramp's best solo album and his most melodic. Here is an artist en route back to renewed success. Mike Tramp rules OK !!!!

This is ex White Lion singer Mike Tramp's third solo album. If you like his earlier work ("CAPRICORN" 1998 & "RECOVERING THE WASTED YEARS" 2001) you shouldn't hesitate buying this album because Tramp continues in the same (adult rock) direction. I wouldn't call "MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS" an effort in world class but songs like the title track, "Live for today" and "Goodbye song" stand out a bit from the rest. Critic voices might say that Tramp is writing the same song over and over again, and one can't deny that it's slightly true.

Former vocalist/songwriter of White Lion and Freak of Nature, Mike Tramp, has been doing solo albums since 1997. More To Life Than This marks his third record, excluding the Remembering White Lion compilation which consisted of re-recorded versions of his previous band. I can easily say that out of the three CDs, More To Life Than This is Mike Tramp's best offering to date. I still like Remembering White Lion the best, but I don't necessarily consider it a real solo album--it's more like a re-worked album by Tramp to me.

After a long search for labels, Tramp finally decided to ink a deal with the German indie label Ulftone and has released two albums in the last two years. Considering that we had to wait for five years for the release of Recovering the Wasted Years, it is quite a surprise to see his new label supporting him the best they can. While the previous album Recovering was good in its own right, it did contain some unfocused material that seemed unnecessary, and it lacked the punch in melodies, guitar riffs and solos, hooks, etc. On More To Life Than This, Tramp has obviously noticed this problem, since he got back to working with several talented guitarists: his old bandmate from Freak of Nature, Oliver Steffensen, the well-known guitarist Steve Lukather, the Danish axeman Wolfe, and one of the best guitar virtuoses to ever walk on earth, Eric Johnson. Needless to say it was a much anticipated change in Tramp's solo career, since some of his songs seemed to suffer in the lack of melodic hooks, sharp guitar solos and an overall more guitar-driven sound. The album starts off with the title track, which in my opinion is the best opening song in his solo career: both musically and lyrically. It deals with various subject matters, stuff with more substance. More thought provoking ideas. Tramp wrote some of the best lyrics in his former bands White Lion and especially Freak of Nature, and honestly I was a little disappointed when his solo albums, despite being mature, were a bit too single-minded. They were introspective, moody, personal, but also a bit too average by Tramp's standards. So, I welcome this song all the way. The depiction of once-a-rock-star's life and the current condition of rock'n'roll music is awesome. It's a much better way of writing than composing songs titled "Rock'N'Roll Forever" or "Don't Take My Rock".

Some of the songs still sound like Tramp's first two albums, with the vocals being very focal, lots of melodic choruses, which can be a tad repetitive at times, though not to bore the listener. This is good melodic rock music with one of my most favourite singers in the world. Tramp has got a very emotional voice and he never fails to deliver with the utmost sentiment. The fact that Steve Lukather has played quite a few solos on the album pushes this CD a step ahead from the others. Mike also experiments a bit on this album. I love it when he tries to do different things, because the outcome is invariably impressive. It's a shame he isn't as experimental as he was back in the FON days. The song "Nothing At All" features keyboards and Tramp's bare vocals with some layered synth effects. It's not really something I'd like, but it suits the album very well. Moreover we hear a Danish female singer who actually duets with Mike. It's not the typical background female vocals like the ones on "Running out of Life"--this time Mike and her really duet. It's not the best song on the album, but a very bold attempt on Mike's part. The best track, however, is the closing song "The Good The Sad And The Ugly" featuring Eric Johnson on guitars. Not only is it my favourite song on this album, this is perhaps Tramp's angriest and most expressive track since Freak of Nature. The dynamics in this composition are really powerful and Tramp's articulation hits hard. The song makes references to his loved ones, his wife; his fans; his friends, perhaps his counterpart from White Lion, Vito Bratta. Though that's just my intuition, I could be wrong. No matter what Mike had on his mind when writing his dark album, I think he has released his best solo album to date. I hope he continues to work with high calibre guitar players to keep up his legacy.