White Lion - The Best of (1992)

Before the rather aesthitically appealing Mike Tramp joined Freak of Nature, he was in a glam-rock band called White Lion. Like many rock bands of the 80s their lyrics focused on the good things in life - sex, parties and rock and roll, with the occasional bit of political commentary thrown in. White Lion originated in Copenhagen, Denmark, when Danish-born Mike Tramp teamed up with American-born Vito Bratta. They had reasonable success - mainly with the songs on this album which is, of course, going to showcase the best of their music. Less of the sex, more of love and rock & roll! (And, of course, the social and political commentary). They are noted for their dyed-blond poodle haircuts, pretty boy eye shadow and the delightful fashions of the 80s (leather jackets, fringed jackets, tight jeans, lether pants etc) . Watching the videos is a little like stepping back in time!

It's a best of album, so it's not the most exciting of sleeves - a lion head, inked in exquisite detail, above wings, beneath the band logo, looking rather like an elaborate door knocker. Inside there's not much of anything - just a track listing and a photograph of ephemera, which includes a rather cute white lion plush.
The album opens with "Wait". Taken from their 1987 album "Pride" (which I own on cassette tape), this track peaked at #8 on the charts in the USA. It is a sweet love song, with Tramp's melodious, but raw-edged vocals adding a hint of pleading.

It's so dated, it sparks something in me, that gentle hint of nostalgia - the memory of long car journeys plugged in to my walkman; of lying in the grass during my lunchbreaks, lost in a world of music; of day-dreaming that one day I might find a poodle-haired musician of my own to make my world a brighter place...

Then we rock on in to the cruisy "Radar Love". This is a cover song, originally performed by Dutch band, Golden Earring. It's rockin' good fun with a bitchin'ly competent guitar solo. A great driving song, play it loud in the car!

More relationship angst, it's time to mourn a "Broken Heart" - starts with heartbreaking loss, then moves into a determination to move on and find something new:

"...I know that things will get better, I know the sun will shine again..."

This would be a good song for a teenage girl suffering her first break-up. Was I such a girl? No, in my teenage/High School years I never dated.

Let's have some real glam - "Hungry" is a song about carnal desires. Filled with all the typical glam-rock metaphors such as "loaded gun". It's fun, frivolous and contains such delightful lines as:

"...baby take off your leather and show me all your lace..."

After that nod to the glam-rock conventions, it's time to show their political side, with the melodious "Little Fighter" - a tribute to the Rainbow Warrior - the Greenpeace ship destroyed by the French Intelligence Service whilst at harbour in New Zealand in 1985, with one activist casualty.*  Filled with determination and passion - this is a love song to a ship, but a ship with a purpose and a mission. This is one song that cannot fail to inspire you.

"... rise again little fighter and let the world know the reason why..."

And now we have a rather impressive array of power and guitars merging into a symphonic intro into the glory and might of "Lights and Thunder". Heavier on the drums, sophisticated structures. Cruising vocals, a gentle and immense purr - like a lion would purr**.

This is followed up with the anthemic*** "All you Need is Rock and Roll". A competent, but repetitive number with skillful guitar solo and a twiddly bass line. Surprisingly long considering there's only about 5 lines to the entire song. But what a guitar fade-out! Very dramatic. Ah, we are back to the days of the long-haired guitar heroes. Not that Vito Bratta ever really made the "guitar hero" list.

Probably the track that made White Lion at least marginally famous, "When the Children Cry" is a gentle, bittersweet ballad beginning with gentle plucking and the taste of tears. Tramp's voice is at its most beautifully broken. It was true in the 80s - and it's even truer now:

"... all that we have broken, you must build again..."

This song never fails to choke me up a little inside.

Another lovesong laden with loss and longing - "Love Don't Come Easy" - nice rhythm, easy to sing along with, nothing special but very likeable. As a follow-up to "Children Cry" it's a bit anticlimactic however. Somewhat repetitive and rather along the line of 'state the obvious'.

Drum and baseline usher us into the cruising, maudlin chords of "Cry for Freedom", another politically slanted piece about the futility of war and the loss of life. Heart-renching with a superbly anthemic chorus. Here again, Tramp's choked, raw voice really adds to the mood. A glorious track.

Another live track, "Lady of the Valley" rips on into the rock and roll with a gloriously enthusiastic guitar riffs, before fading down into a slower beginner and then rising again in passion to crash into a mellow chorus. This is a song of mourning and loss. The lyrics give it a slightly fantastical, maybe almost primeval/pagan air, which makes you wonder who the lady of the valley actually is:

"I have brought my fallen brother and I've laid him, yes I've laid him at your feet..."

"Tell Me" is another song of love lost - teenage love that has turned to ashes. A bittersweet ballad of farewell.

And then the final song of farewell - "Farewell to You" which is a pleasingly mellow, catchy song that works well for any occasion - the last song for a party; a goodbye to your reckless, rock and roll years and also a pleasing way to conclude an album. White Lion, you will always have a place in my heart - rock may come and rock may go.

"It was easier to say hello, than to say goodbye..."

This is probably one of the best choices of White Lion albums for those that are not huge fans - the songs are light on the sexual connotations and lyrics have more substance, with a sense of hope and purity that is somewhat lost in the more cynically-fueled Freak of Nature. Here is a band that is young, and feeling optomistic about the future, despite the pain and suffering caused in the presence. Alas, by the time they had evolved and grown into FoN the pure naivety had been lost in favour of a darker slant and realisation that things were not going to get better, that hope would not necessarily lead to triumph.

This is an album that proves that despite the poodle-hair, the eyeliner, the tight pants, White Lion were (are?) a band with sustance, and beliefs that went far beyond sex, drugs and rock n roll.

Some of these songs bring a tear to my eye, others are mere frivolities. I feel an 8/10 is a fair assessment.

Some of my favourite White Lion songs that don't (for some reason) qualify as "Best of" are "Broken Home" and "'Til Death Do Us Part". I suggest you look them up. The first is heart-breaking, the second beautifully romantic.

* I was only 8 at the time and have vague memories of the event but I guess it wasn't of too much interest  to an 8 year old girl into My Little Pony, Sylvanian Families and collecting erasers, stamps and dinosaurs.

 ** if they could, but lions can't purr.

*** that is to say - stadium rock anthemic - the sort that gets everyone jumping up and down and shouting along. Like Kiss' "God gave rock and roll to you" but not as good.

Freak of Nature - Freak of Nature (1993)

I am a big fan of White Lion, who regretfully broke up in 1992, shortly before I "discovered" them. Luckily, Mike Tramp, their golden-tonsiled vocalist, moved on to form this harder and somewhat darker band. Their lyrics are certainly more serious and meaningful - less of the Glam inspiration (ie: songs about sex and girls) here, and more of the darker side of relationships, more hurt and possibly more political stuff, although not so much in this CD. Essentially, a grown up version of White Lion.

Mike Tramp was born in Denmark (in 1961), and moved to America in 1982, before then living in Australia - giving him a rather strange blend of accents. His singing voice is strong, with an edge to it that works really well with the more melancholic songs - it is a voice that shows emotion. Interestingly enough, I had a bit of a crush on Tramp when I was younger, even though he is 16 years my senior, but even now pushing 52, he's still rather easy on the eyes. He has the most adorable cheekbones. Maybe I should take to drawing portraits of my favourite musicians.


This CD opens with the rockin' "Turn the Other Way", with its harmonic chorus.

"What Am I?" asks the ultimate question and answers with "... I"m just a freak of nature..." It has a solid rock beat and a catchy chorus, and a simple structure.

"Rescue Me" has a slightly aggressive start, pounding away before Tramp's voice soars over it, turning it into almost desperation, as he cries that he wants yo to "rescue me, oh rescue me". I would, Mike!

"'92" is a song that spoke to me a lot in my youth. I got this album in the early-mid 90s, when I was a teenager, afflicted with all the blights that teenagers suffer - low self-esteem, a general sense of awkwardness, a lack of close friends... Well, I DID have one close friend, but one day he up and dismissed me, and we barely spoke again. Hence the beginning lyrics: "What is it that I have done? To deserve a bullet from your gun. I always thought you were my friend, but I guess that I was wrong..." and of course, other lines like "I always knew the day would come, but never did believe..." is an apt one - albeit in a different situation.

"People" is a fairly basic song, with straightforward lyrics discussing the basic nature of humans and how some are negative and dishonest, and dismissing those - "They are people I don't like, they are shadows in my life. They are people I don't need, they will bite the hand that feeds..." Pretty good rules to live by, I suppose, if not exactly the most eloquent lyrics.

"World Doesn't Mind" speaks of how it doesn't matter if you're a little bit weird - you just gotta believe in yourself. Except in far more simplistic terms. It's a good song actually - straightforward lyrics, basic rhythm, catchy and a little bit sinister.

We get even more sinister in "Possessed". With its slightly manic rhythm and frantic lyrics, and just a hint of desperation.  It is probably has the most meaningful and impactful (is that a word?) lyrics of any of these songs, as it speaks of a murderer, damned forevermore.

We have a more melancholic number in "Where Can I Go?" which is essentially one of those "relationship angst" songs, about how hard it is to get by with this absense in your life. This is the sort of song that Tramp's voice is made for, with its edge of desperation and sorrow.

"If I Leave Today" delves more into ballad terrain. Here he is no longer mourning the loss of "you" but pondering instead whether letting "you" go is the right thing to do. Perhaps you would regain the opportunity to fly? It is a song of sacrifice, in its own way.

And the natural conclusion of the death of this relationship is revealed in "Love Was Here", easily the most melancholic and poignant song on the album, heavy with sorrow and loss.

Freak of Nature are an uncomplicated rock band, resplendent with the basic  instruments - Vocals, Bass, two Lead Guitarists (althouth their guitar solos are not especially complicated or extravagant). They have shaken off the Glam shackles of White Lion, and come across as more mature and serious. Their main charm is due to Mike Tramp's emotive vocals.

I give this album a decent 7/10*.

* Obviously most of my reviews will be 6 or higher - these ARE CDs I have forked out money to buy, after all - although yes indeed, I have made a few "mistakes" and they shall become apparent with time - probably when I run out of the "good stuff" for some of the letters of the alphabet.

D.A.D - Riskin' It All (1991)

Now for something a bit Rock n' Roll. It was a hard decision on which of my "D" bands to listen to first, but I thought I'd begin with this fun Danish act. They began performing in the early 1980s under the name "Disneyland After Dark" but that ultimately resulted in the threat of a law suit, and thus they switched to D.A.D, because if there's one thing you don't want, it's to be sued by one of the richest companies in the world. Despite being around for ten years, it took a while for them to find their way onto the international market and I discovered them in the early 90s, when I purchased a sampler cassette with a couple of their tracks on it.

The  CD begins with the rockin' "Bad Craziness" with its catchy chorus, bombastic stylings and all out, a flavour of fun. We are then treated to "D Law" which stands for "Disneyland Law", in case you didn't guess.

"Day of Wrong Moves" follows that up, moving into "Rock 'n' Rock Radar" which is a catchy, rockabily number.

"I Won't Cut My Hair" is one of my favourites, with its ridiculous lyrics and, at times, frantic insistence that "...I won't cut my hair, cos I'm proud of my hair..." Vocalist Jesper Binzer insists that he will never cut his hair, even now - it's the name of his biography.

"Down that Dusty 3rd World Road" is a more mellow number, with almost country rock elements. It rather makes me think of American deserts, for some reason.

We're back into the rock n' roll with the rather amusing "Makin' Fun of Money".

"Grow or Pay" is a rather less cheerful number, heading towards ballad terrain, and Jesper Binzer's voice is raw with emotion and tinged with a little desperation.

The country-ish feel is back in "Smart Boy Can't Tell You."

We become a little more frantic in "Riskin' it All" before concluding with my favourite track, the rather beautiful "Laugh n' a Half". The first chords stir something in me. Maybe it's memories - this is one song that I distinctly recall from my youth - when I first heard it on a ballad album that a friend of mine owned (along with Return's wonderfully emotional "Bye Bye Johnny" one of the finest ballads ever). Whatever the reason, it's a worthy way to end the CD.

D.A.D have been around a LONG time - since 1982, and have changed their line-up very little. They have great acclaim in their home country, Denmark, but never seem to have entirely taken off on the international scene. This is strange, given that, in my opinion, their sound has an almost American feel with aspects of country mixed with rock n' roll. According to wikipedia, they began in 1982 to thumb their noses at the negativity of punk music - calling their style "cowpunk". And, since their emblem is a bull skull with long horns, one cannot but feel that they wanna be cowboys. They do a bitchin' cover of "Horse with No Name" too. Why they never made it big in the US I cannot understand - maybe because they refuse to take themselves seriously - and of course, are up against some steep competition.

This is a decent album, I do not think it is quite as catchy as "No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims", but enjoy it more than "Helpyourselfish" which are the full collection of D.A.D albums that I own (and one is on cassette tape). They have 11 albums in total.

I rate this one = 7/10