Mike Tramp - Remembering White Lion
(Dreamcatcher)
Under-rated at the time, White Lion always possessed a sophisticated undercurrent that was lost amongst the dramatic noise pollution mustered by the industry at the time. Sure, there's a looming element of lame to vocalist Mike Tramp shacking up with some Danish buddies to re-(jaggedly)-cut these deep album tracks (plus some of the hits). But the new street-hugging Tramp has managed the task with wise perspective, getting close to the electricity, singing lower and sifting out the hormonal hoopla. Plus his voice rules, as does what he does with it, that whole soulful roots rock, rock star, heart in the right place thing. See www.miketramp.com for more on this head held high troubadour.
Rating 7.5
Comes With The Fall - The Year Is One
(DVL)
Second and a half record for this engaging L.A. act, most notable for the fact that they toured as Jerry Cantrell's warm-up act and then as his actual band (saw The Odds do that with Warren Zevon once). The sound is a thoroughly unique collision of er, Collision (great ignored Sony act from the early '90s), Alice in Chains, King's X and Soundgarden with a large chunk of retro, all topped with the vocals of William Duvall who does it all like a starry star, from metal through Manic Street Preachers, Freddie Mercury, Thom Yorke and Lenny Kravitz. Comes With The Fall is true electric crackly power trio magic, mellowed with a no-hurry sense of the blues at times, but usually rocking these thick tribal almost stoner-ish riffs through sparkly production and an alternative sense of smart song that should have these guys all over the radio. I could say the highlight is Duvall's multi-tiered, effervescent vocal flight deck, but that would be shortchanging this whoop ass groove class rhythm section (Bevan Davies on drums, Adam Stanger on bass) who Bonham/Jones power everything grand and timeless. Only complaint: maybe one too many "sensitive" numbers and perhaps too strict an adherence to the power trio format and its limitations, although limited, this ain't. See 'em at www.comeswiththefall.com. I doubt they had much opposition securing that URL.
Rating 8
