WHITE LION – Anthology ’83 – ’89 [Compiled by Mike Tramp] (2021)

Deadline / CleoRecs in conjunction to WHITE LION frontman Mike Tramp has released Anthology ’83 – ’89, a selection of very early recordings by the band compiled by Tramp himself and remastered to get the best quality audio possible – and the overall results are very good.
Among the highlights there’s original versions of “Wait,” “When The Children Cry” and “Lady Of The Valley” which were later re-recorded for the band’s monster major label debut ‘Pride’. We find as well rare, high quality studio demos of tracks from ‘Mane Attraction’ and ‘Big Game’, including songs that didn’t make the final cut of those albums.

What we have here is a comprehensive set of demos, alternate versions and unreleased tracks put together by Mike Tramp. That might put a few people off, but trust me, this is an essential purchase for the White Lion fan.
First, the sound quality of these songs is very good, and second hearing these early versions and comparing them to the definitive is more than just interesting. The songs differ enough to stand on their own and in many cases are much heavier than the ones that ended up being released.

Although these tracks are original versions or demo versions, you can tell the power of the each songs. The voice of Tramp sounds much wild than you hear later. Vito’s guitar sounds like he is, on his edge.
Yes the sound is a bit rough, but there’s some kind of energy on each performance here that you can never get out of other albums. Very powerful, showcasing a band hungry for more.

There are other things that I like about this release; you can hear a different version of songs such as “Hungry”, “Tell Me”, “The Road To Valhalla”, etc, and some are heavier, even better than the final, major label studio cuts.
Fans must hear this one, also if you like ’80s US hard rock with energy.
Highly Recommended

Disc I
01 – Hungry
02 – Lady Of The Valley
03 – Wait
04 – All Join Our Hands
05 – Tell Me
06 – Say Goodbye
07 – When The Children Cry
08 – Little Fighter
09 – If My Mind Is Evil
10 – Living On The Edge
11 – Cherokee
12 – Cry For Freedom
13 – How Does It Feel
14 – The Road To Valhalla
15 – Early Warning

Disc II
01 – Light And Thunder
02 – Back On The Streets
03 – Love Don’t Come Easy
04 – Out With The Boys
05 – It’s Over
06 – You’re All I Need
07 – Broken Heart
08 – Till Death Do Us Part
09 – Farewell To You
10 – Deep In Love With You
11 – Two People
12 – Rock You Tonight
13 – Evil Angels
14 – Ride Through The Storm
15 – We Rock All Night

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