On disc: Mike Tramp

 
 Remembering White Lion
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Recovering The Wasted Years
  
- Amir Djawadi -
 
 


 
 Recovering The Wasted Years
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Rock'n'Roll Alive
 
- Anika Peterson -
 
 


 
 Stand Your Ground
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

Stand Your Ground

(earMusic - 2011)



 
 

 

Most hard rock fans will know Mike Tramp as the singer of White Lion, some might remember Freak Of Nature... In the late 90's he started a solo career which he put on hiatus for awhile when reviving White Lion. Now he's back with his Rock'n'Roll Circuz and their second album which is called Stand Your Ground.

The opening track Don't Let Them Put It On You is a classic rock track with a dash Tesla in it. Alright By Me is a dirty rocker with heavy riffs, but also with a positive vibe. Distance is a balladesque rocker - and the first single - based on an interesting drum pattern while the guitar is a very repetitive - but in the mix it works. With Gotta Get Away he revives the days of Freak Of Nature, even if the songs is based  on rock and not on metal. The track changes and becomes an almost happy rocker based on heavy riffs. With Wish You Well Mr. Tramp delivers a melancholy ballad - just the way we know him. Prettiest Girl is pub rocker which gets the special something from Tramp's unique voice. For Say What You Will they add heaviness, a dirty rocker with a nice guitar solo and a catchy hook. They close this chapter with a tune called The Soldier Never Started A War, another song where Mike Tramp is talking about war and it's true it's never the soldier who starts a war. A sad tune. And unfortunately it's the truth, let's hope the fighting stops - not just in the Arabic world which news focus on these days.

If you liked his solo albums or the Rock'n'Roll Circuz debut album, then Stand Your Ground won't disappoint you. Classic rock lovers will dig this album!
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Rock'n'Roll Alive

(ulfTone Music - 2003)



 
 

 

I was waiting for this release, coz I was at the sold-out show in Copenhagen where I live. The double CD presents 18 songs from Mike Tramp's solo career and his time with White Lion and Freak Of Nature. Also there is a 12 minute long med­ley of Neil Young' Rocking The Free World with elements of Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town, It's A Long Way To The Top of AC/DC and Queen's We Will Rock You. You can feel the atmosphere of the club and the pure and sometimes simple - which isn't bad at all - rock. Surely Mr. Tramp - who is from Copenhagen, even if these days he lives in Australia - focused on the material of his solo career, but also played some hits of his past. His backing band gave the songs the power and built the basis for Mike Tramp's vocals. It was great to hear songs like White Lion's Wait, Broken Heart, Little Fighter and their smash hit When The Children Cry. From his Freak Of Nature days he played What Am I and '92. From his 3 solo albums he picked e.g. Better Off, Mr. Death, More Then This To Life, Don't Want To Say Good-night, Live For The Day and If It ain't Gonna Rock. Almost 2 hours of finest rock!

The sound is quite good and powerful and you can feel the atmosphere, what more can you ask for? Resume: If you like rock, AOR or hard rock, then this is a must-buy!
 
 










Anika Peterson
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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Recovering The Wasted Years

(ulfTone Music - 2002)



 
 

 

Mike Tramp is back! News which I personally really welcomed and I think that I'm not the only one. In the 80's the story of the man with the salient and emotional voice, the story of a man who tried to bring emotional lyrics to the thousands of listeners. With White Lion he toured around the world successfully several times. After the band broke up he used his fame and the money he made with White Lion to start his own band. When he returned tattooed and with dyed hair he turned his back to the hard rock of the days of White Lion and sounded heavy, based more in the alternative genre. Freak Of Nature - that's how he named the band - had an intense live performance and Tramp's voice and positive charisma convinced the fans. This chapter in the live of Mr. Tramp lasts from 1993 to 1995. During that episode he was loved by fans for his honesty and that he and his hungry mates followed their own dream. Another break and in 1997 he returned with his solo debut Capricorn. A great album which shows the merits of the singer and songwriter. His fans had to wait several years - again. But now Mike Tramp is back with another solo album. He moved from California to Australia. His latest piece of work is titled Recovering The Wasted Years and presents catchy rock songs like If It Ain't Gonna Rock and Always Tomorrow as well as more balladesque tunes like Darkness.

Now we just have to wait until March 2002 when he returns to the stages to proof that Mike Tramp is back!!!
 
 










Amir Djawadi
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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Recovering The Wasted Years

(ulfTone Music - 2002)



 
 

 

Everybody who expect Mike Tramp to do again something like White Lion or Freak Of Nature will be disappointed, but who like his solo album Capricorn will like this one as well, even if this is simply rock. The days of metal and hard rock are left behind. He always believed in what he was doing and gave everything. The drums of the opening track Falling Down remind me of a Freak Of Nature tune, but this is rock. Never he choose the easiest way and again he will convince the people live, coz rock is live music! The track Mr. Death starts with a mouth organ and guitar, a catchy tune with become alive through the voice of Mike Tramp. But there are rocking songs which have a positive vibe even if some have a bluesy mood lyrically. Sure there are reminiscences to the giants of rock here and there, but this is Mike Tramp 100%. Perhaps more mature, but still fighting for his dreams. Produced by himself, he just ask long-time friend Phil Kaffel to mix it. Endless Highway and Follow Your Dreams are a good choice to check out this album. Or give a try to Darkness, a beautiful ballad.
 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Remembering White Lion

(Rough Trade - 2001)



 
 

 

This is a kind of best-of-compilation, but in a different way. Here Mike Tramp remembers his days in White Lion, but the songs are re-recorded and sound quite different from the original which got obvious with the first track - All The Fallen Men. This one is guitar-based rock, it ain't as heavy as the original. Good, but strange at the same time, when you still remember the original clearly. The following Warsong starts heavy and with a count-down. Still very heavy, but also more rock... with an alternative touch. One of their classics surely is Wait which is less bombastic here - and less intense. No feelings. With an AC/DC riff they present Little Fighter - and again it sounds half-hearted. Very heavy is the new version of Fight To Survive. But very different. Especially El Salvador was one of my favorites from their early albums and this version is more rock and has a touch of Thin Lizzy. Still a great song, but too polished. The rawness of the original was fitting better to the lyrics and made the song more intense.

A nice collection of songs and indeed interesting. The songs sound more homogeneous and are more in the vein of Mike Tramp's solo band. And that's probably the reason for this release, coz live he still plays a lot White Lion songs and his new fans will probably like these versions more. For White Lion fans its interesting, but I guess that most will prefer the original songs... At least I do.




Track list:



All The Fallen Men

Warsong

El Salvador

Wait

Little Fighter

When The Children Cry

Fight To Survive

Living On The Edge

She's Got Everything

Lonely Nights

Broken Home

Til Death Do Us Part
 

 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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