Mike Tramp recalls being opposed to re-recording “Broken Heart” for White Lion’s album ‘Mane Attraction’
Mike Tramp recalls being opposed to re-recording “Broken Heart” for White Lion’s album ‘Mane Attraction’
Former White Lion and Freak of Nature frontman Mike Tramp recently spoke with Sleaze Roxx writer Tyson Briden on the latter’s podcast, Non-Stop Rock Talk with Tyson Briden.
Tramp was asked if White Lion’s intention was to always re-record “Broken Heart” on the band’s 1991 release Mane Attraction. The song originally appeared on White Lion’s debut album Fight To Survive.
Tramp indicated (as transcribed by Non-Stop Rock Talk with Tyson Briden with slight edits):
“We were completely against that. This is not, you know, this is what led to me eventually ending the band on September 2nd, ’91 at our final show in Boston. [Guitarist] Vito [Bratta] and I had not had any problems writing songs. We felt it was a step back.
That song I think, that was the first song Vito and I ever wrote at the start of White Lion. That song was always part of our lives from the start to the finish. We knew it’s a great song. It’s a very simple song, but it’s a powerful, rock n’ roll song, but we did not need it there again. But this is once again, we had a new producer on the album, which was Richie Zito.
Our record company was kind of saying you know in lack of better ideas — because they had no fucking idea of what they wanted to do — like stupid comments and things like that. Eventually Vito and I got sort of overpowered to redo the song and things like that and you know, we could just do without it. We could just do without it! It just started getting me bitter and some other things that you know, I told Vito, ‘This is gonna be our final show’ and Vito just looked at me and says, ‘Okay!’ He and I had built that band and you know we parted as friends and we didn’t speak about it for almost 20 years.”
You can check out the interview with Mike Tramp by Tyson Briden for the Non-Stop Rock Talk with Tyson Briden on Buzz Sprout’s website.
Wikipedia states the following about White Lion‘s album Mane Attraction (with slight edits):
“After two years of writing and recording, White Lion released Mane Attraction in the spring of 1991. More of a “back to basics” album, centering on strong hooks and melodic hard rock, the album was received well by the fans. Unfortunately, the album failed to reach the top 20 like the last two albums. It received little or no airplay due to the recent grunge explosion. The album featured the singles “Love Don’t Come Easy” which peaked at number 24 on The Mainstream Rock Charts, “Lights and Thunder” and a re-recorded version of the band’s debut single “Broken Heart”, all of which featured music videos.
The song “Out With The Boys” was released as a rare promo single. The album also contained White Lion‘s only instrumental song, “Blue Monday”, a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, who had died while the band was writing for the album. The album’s power ballad tracks “You’re All I Need” and “Till Death Do Us Part” gained a huge amount of radio airplay in Indonesia and the Philippines. A music video montage was released for the song “Farewell To You” which featured on the band’s video album Escape From Brooklyn in 1992.
Greg D’Angelo and James Lomenzo left the band soon after the album’s release, citing “musical differences”, but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy “T-Bone” Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T). After briefly touring in support of Mane Attraction, Tramp and Bratta decided to call it a day, their last show being held in Boston at the Channel Club in September 1991.”
White Lion‘s “Broken Heart” video (from Fight To Survive album):
White Lion – Broken Heart (1985) (Music Video) WIDESCREEN 720p
“Broken Heart'” is a song by hard rock band White Lion and was their debut single.The song was originally from the band’s “Fight To Survive” album in 1985 an…
White Lion‘s “Broken Heart” song (from Mane Attraction album):
Broken Heart
Provided to YouTube by Atlantic RecordsBroken Heart · White LionMane Attraction℗ 1991 Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States and WEA Internatio…