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Mane Attraction

White Lion - Mane Attraction Audio CD

A fair review of the White Lion "Mane Attraction" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all White Lion reviews here, or go back to the White Lion tabs.

Band: White Lion
Title: Mane Attraction
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-04-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Lights and Thunder 2: Broken Heart 3: Leave Me Alone 4: Love Don't Come Easy 5: You're All I Need 6: It's Over 7: Warsong 8: She's Got Everything 9: Till Death Do Us Part 10: Out with the Boys 11: Blue Monday 12: Farewell to You

White Lion Rules!
The material continues with the melodic hard rock/pop metal of the previous recording but with much better sound production. "Mane Attraction" was released in 1991 and it was their final studio release before calling it quits. This group is notable for having a stable line-up throughout their career: Mike Tramp on vocals, underrated guitarist Vitto Bratta, James Lomenzo on bass, and Greg D'Angelo on drums. All songs were written by the Tramp/Bratta team. There's not a single weak moment to be found!
An eight-minute epic composition called "Thunder And Lightning" opens this set. It is filled with strong hooks, memorable chorus/verse and good riffing. "Broken Heart" is another highlight with lyrics about how divorce affects children. It has an awesome melodic solo from Bratta and killer rhythm guitar. I liked the slightly funky "Leave Me Alone" and the other epic anti-war tune "Warsong" that comes complete with dual bass drumming, some mean riffs in the verse/chorus but in the middle it switches into ballad mode with yet another brilliant solo from Bratta that gives off a Brian May/Queen vibe.
Let's not forget the incredible catchy ballads: "You're All I Need" has some marvelous arpeggios from Bratta on the acoustic guitar while in "Till Death Do Us Apart" (the more complex of the two with an excellent bridge) the band mixes the usual guitars with some piano accompaniment for stellar results.
"She's Got Everything" is a pure hard rock number taken at a slow pace with the usual riffing plus a seemingly Eddie Van Halen inspired short instrumental at the end similar in feel to Van Halen's "Spanish Fly" or "Cathedral". Also of note is the tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan called "Blue Monday" (instrumental) who died at the time the band was recording the material. Bratta plays some bluesy licks with plenty of melody as well. Excellent! Keyboards are used to great effect on the mid-tempo "It's Over" but one of my favorites is track number ten: "Out With The Boys"; a pop-metal number with an excellent chorus. Lyrically it is similar to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" talking about hanging out on the streets and having a blast with a nostalgic/melancholic overtone. Finishing off the LP comes the appropriately titled "Farewell To You", a song dedicated to the fans and as the title suggests, it's the band saying goodbye to you. Great conclusion, too bad the band had to part ways!

For fans of melodic hard rock/pop-metal this album is highly recommended! Vitto Bratta is such an underrated guitarist!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later.

My Favorite CD
It's the best wedding song. I used this CD for my wedding with the song till death do us part.

The end of Act 1
And then there was a best of to round it all up. WL put out three albums in their first incarnation. This album was the last o the three and it is very much more of the same good time loud and friendly AOR. Produced by Richii Zito this album has a soft and lush feel and actually adds a few extra tricks to the WL arsenal. Opener Lights and Thunder is an 8:09 minute song and as such is a touch uncommunicative to the bands target audience but it actually increases my respect for them. Other elements here are just what you'd hear on their earlier efforts in terms of gently rolling guitar and Mike Tramp not totally belting out - keeping it in check for the little girls in the audience. We do however get the rather grand Warsong which in terms of heaviness was previewed by If My Mind Is Evil from Big Game, both songs showing a psychological edge to teh band that would probably surprise some of their detractors.

And just like their earlier work the overall arrangements are brash but not too brash - and wow, just how underrated is/was Vito Bratta as he shades the WL catalogue with funky riffs, biting riffs and all sorts of quintessential 80's style solos (remember them?).

Not much more I can add. It's my gut instinct that most metal maniacs have guilty pleasure bands like this. If you fall into that category, or your bag really is heavy AOR stuff, then check out any of WL's albums because they may well be your ticket to a few good times on your next road trip where you can crank up that stereo and eat up the miles!.

Final Roar
I had issues with Big Game (for every great song there was one that was equally bad), but Mane Attraction is the band's best overall album since Pride. 1991's Mane Attraction was the fourth album from melodic rockers White Lion, coming on the heels of the successful (but terribly uneven) Big Game.

Mane Attraction is far more consistent than Big Game. There's almost no filler on this album. Unfortunately there are no real standouts either. It lacks the truly memorable songs that Big Game had to offer. As good as Mane Attraction's songs are, there's nothing at the same level as Cry for Freedom or Little Fighter on this album. Broken Heart comes close, but that's not really a new song, having appeared previously on the band's debut album Fight to Survive.

Unfortunately Mane Attraction didn't bring the band much success. Maybe it was the lack of a great single. Whatever the reason, the band members soon parted ways. Mike Tramp has kept the White Lion name active, but just not the same, especially without Vito Bratta.
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I'm Lion Down Dazed: Inconsistent But Has Some Excellent High Points
If there's a heavy metal equivalent to John Lennon's "Imagine," then it's White Lion's "Lights and Thunder. First, let me say something positive about this cd. " It starts out with a classic, brutal, and trilleriffic Vito Bratta intro. It's got an awesomely rhythmic power-chord mainline. And then you hear the song's message, which is as memorable and hopeful as Lennon's: "There won't be no hell below, and there won't be no God to follow; no religion, no confession, no deceiving; I will take you up on higher, take you to the sky and let you see so you believe; there will be no crying; Would you like to live forever, family and friends together? Come inside and see tomorrow, where happiness replaces sorrow. You can live in harmony with those who were your enemy. You can do just what you want to ; no one here will ever hurt you. There'll be time to wonder. There'll be lights and thunder. " This song ranks as one of WL's best ever. It became an opening song on tour, and Mike Tramp uses it to this day in his revamped WL band. "Broken Heart" is a new recording of the 1985 classic from the Fight to Survive album. I'm not sure why they revisited this song. In my cynical mode, I would say the record company knew they had a weak record and were looking for a single, any single. I might also say WL revisited a song that never quite got the attention it truly deserved. You'll have to decide. "Leave Me Alone" is a solid song with a circuit-tripping Bratta solo, and "Love Don't Come Easy" is an excellent ballad that could have crossed over into any genre and still been a hit. The same could be said about "You're All I Need. " Both of these songs are testaments to Tramp's ability to write hit ballads and make it look easy to do so. Some bands would sell their right arms to be able to write songs like this cd after cd. "It's Over" is a great bluesy-rocker that would make Whitesnake and their fans happy. It's in that tradition and holds up very well. Now, let me get to the negative. Once you get through the first half of this cd, you'll be trying to figure out what in the heck WL and the record company were thinking with the second half of the record. Only bands that are very, very good can get away with extremely varied song selections on their albums. (The only similar case to this one that I can think of is KISS's "Revenge. ") Unfortunately, White Lion's Mane Attraction is such a botched that it literally did the band in. No on -- literally no one -- would record or sign them afterwards. And it's very unfortunate, because the first six songs on the cd are by themselves nearly a very strong cd. But WL ruined themselves trying to flesh out a full cd. They were seven very good songs close to sticking around. "Warsong" is a half-hearted attempt at an anti-war, get into the soldier's head song but goes back and forth between a weird hard-rock, pop bridge without out one, non-cliche or believable set of lyrics. "She's Got Everything" is good musically as far a the song goes, but the lyrics are terrible and absolutely ruin what could have been a good song. We're painfully slowly taken through a party, picking up a girl, driving to her place, going up the stairs. This is unintentionally as anti- a hooking-up song that I've every heard. If it was this slow and tiresome, you'd never even go out to dinner. Here's an example of the lyrics: "She took me upstairs, laid me on her bed. When she got undressed, I just lost my head, `cause there was twenty years of woman, there were more than I could heed; she was ready, ripe, and willin'; I just knew she'd taste so sweet. YUCK! "Till Death Do Us Part" is a tired, exhausted ballad about getting married that's so bad that I predict no one will ever say their nuptials to it. "Out With The Boys" is about looking and calling for some guy named Johnny who's "doing things that you shouldn't do, even though I been calling and calling and calling for you. " It moves form the relation of a near-suicide to a rousing chorus about being young, wild, and, above all, being "out with the boys, out to make some noise. " In other words it's okay to be wild and crazy even if you kill yourself doing so?? I don't get it. "Blue Monday" is a jazz instrumental with some keyboard thrown in that, though technically well-done, makes no sense or point and simply does not belong on this album. It's like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden deciding to do some John Coltrane. Or maybe it's just me. One more positive: "Farewell To You" ends this album on a high note. This is an extremely catchy tune, a we'll-see-each-other-again-soon type of song that makes you believe it. And excellent ending to a very inconsistent cd. In conclusion: Maybe you shouldn't listen to me. This cd has received rave reviews, but maybe there's something to a minor group of die-hard White Lion fans who continue to tell you that this cd isn't their best. Whatever the case, you get at least seven excellent songs here that beat some bands best cds entirely.
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You can see a complete list of all White Lion discography, or go back to the White Lion tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.