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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vito where are youuuuuhuuuuuuu? Come back !!!, July 22, 2003
Vito Bratta is one of the most underrated guitarists in the whole guitar history which is full of bad players considered "gods". Vito had a tremendous sense of melody, technique to sell, extraordinary rhythmn and harmonic chops, pure sense of blues. He recorded only four albums but in a so short space he established himself as a terrific gifted guitarist. This album is probably his best together with Pride. The music is classy , melodic, catching, technical, immortal super rock'n'roll. Unbelievable the fact that grunge trend killed a lot of fantastic talented bands like White Lion. Thanks Cobain, we really didn't need your horrible meanigless music. Vito, come back. Life is too short to hear bad music and bad guitarists.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captures the essence of the 80s..., September 7, 2005
It was a better era. The hair was big, the music was melodic, the songs had guitar solos, the musicians actually could play, the pop stars wrote some of their songs, Madonna was still hot, supermodels were in, Nintendo was the video game system of choice, athletes were not juiced, gasoline cost under $1.00 a gallon, the Berlin Wall came down, our troops were not being hunted by Iraqi insurgents, I was not $100,000 in debt, etc., etc.
This cd captures the essence of that better time. It is the type of music that you listen to when you are driving in your car, with your windows down, on a warm summer night. All the songs on this album are upbeat, even the ones about broken homes and sunken ships. The general theme for this album is that people must rise up and overcome obstacles--such as potential breakups, political resistance, lost loves, long workdays, and tough family circumstances. Whatever life throws at us, we can handle, White Lion seems to be saying.
Oh, and the music is unbelievable. As everyone else has noted, Vito Bratta is a killer guitar player. I mean, that guy just rips. I have no idea how he is able to pull off some of those natural harmonics so cleanly. All of his guitar solos are technically amazing, and his rhythm playing is stellar as well. Based on his appearance and his virtuosity, there is little doubt that he dropped out of school at a young age and did nothing but practice trills, hammer-ons, bends and slides for fifteen hours a day. We the listeners are the beneficiaries of his hard work, as his playing on this album is a joy to hear.
Other posters have ripped vocalist Mike Tramp. Well, I will defend him. I think he does a great job with most of the songs, and he has a distinct voice that is perfect for pop metal. As for the songs on the album, they are almost uniformly good if not great, although 1-2 songs on the album could arguably be labeled as "filler." Out of all the songs on the album, my three favorites are: "Goin' Home Tonight," "Little Fighter" and "Don't Say it's Over."
Buy this album. If you lived in the 80s, this album should bring you back to that better time. If you were deprived of the 80s experience, first of all I feel sorry for you, but you should buy this album anyway. You just don't hear guitar playing this good on the radio anymore, and the songs should give you a feel for the zeitgeist of the 80s, a much better time that I certainly miss now.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still my favorite White Lion album, August 2, 2007
THE BAND: Mike Tramp (vocals), Vito Bratta (guitars), James Lomenzo (bass), Greg D'Angelo (drums & percussion). Formed in New York City by Tramp (having just moved to NYC from Denmark) and Bratta (from Staten Island, NY).
THE DISC: (1989) 11 tracks clocking in at approximately 53 minutes. Included with the disc is a 6-page booklet containing song titles/credits, song lyrics, band photos, and thank you's. This is the band's 3rd studio album. Recorded at Amigo Studios in Los Angeles. Label - Atlantic Records.
COMMENTS: In the mid to late 80's several of rock's biggest bands like Def Leppard, Guns 'N Roses, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, and Van Halen were stealing the headlines. Grabbing some attention, but not nearly enough, were the other long-haired glam rock bands of the time - Dokken, Mr. Big, Y&T, Enuff Z'Nuff, Bulletboys, LA Guns, and White Lion. In the late 80's I was living just outside Los Angeles - and the California bands simply dominated the big hair scene. I had grown up on Long Island and had all ready moved west by the time White Lion made the scene. Since White Lion did not make a big splash in California (my opinion only)... I sincerely hoped they were having more success in their native northeast. White Lion was all about emotion and melody. Tramp's throaty yet impassioned vocals, and Bratta's amazing guitar-work were always the highlights. Lomenzo in the background on bass and D'Angelo (ex-Anthrax) being the steady back bone - rivaling Sib Hashian (Boston), Hirsch Gardner (New England) or Bobby Rock (Vinny Vincent Invasion) for biggest afro behind the kit. I put Vito Bratta in the same category as John Sykes (Blue Murder, Whitesnake, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy), Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big, solo), Ritchie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big, solo) and Vinnie Vincent (Kiss, V.V.'s Invasion)... simply a wizard on the guitar, but failing to achieve the major success and celebrated status they so justly deserved. After decades of only occasional spins in the CD player, I went back and revisited "Pride" (1987) and "Big Game" with the soul purpose of listening to Bratta's guitar (thank you Murat for the advise). Simply put, Bratta could shred. Sadly (as I've read), due to family obligations and a wrist injury, Bratta is all but out of the music business since the mid-to-late 90's. "Pride" may well be the band's best and most complete/varied work (charting higher at #11 and producing 2 decent hits with "Wait" and "When The Children Cry"), but I still favor "Big Game". To me, "Big Game" was a heavier album featuring crunchier tunes. As for the music on this disc - "Big Game" is full of great tracks, highlighted with 2 minor hits - "Little Fighter" and a remake of Golden Earring's "Radar Love" (dare I say it's as satisfying as the original). Since I lean to the heavier songs, the other gems include "Living On The Edge" (a great tale about a man with a car and only the clothes on his back, no job, looking for a break... riding into the sunset), "Let's Go Crazy" (and outstanding guitar piece - sounding like a fast-paced Van Halen tribute... complete with David Lee Roth-esque howls and whistles), the heaviest song on the album "If My Mind Is Evil" (with a biting story about a man questioning his beliefs and being persuaded by a late night televangelist - one of my favorite tunes in their entire catalog), and the political mid-tempo song about apartheid in Africa, "Cry For Freedom". White Lion was not just another 80's hair band - they were an exciting rock band with talented musicians and intriguing stories to tell. I like "Big Game" as much as "Pride"... and because it rocks harder, I reach for this one first (5 stars).
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