White Lion
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
The album took a while to catch on, but when MTV latched onto the quartets melodic rocker Wait, the floodgates opened for the band and Pride raced up the charts. Landing prime tour opening slots with the likes of AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Ozzy Osbourne didnt hurt matters either and the group toured for the better part of 1988, resulting in Pride holding steady on the charts. But it was more than a year after the albums release that White Lion enjoyed their biggest success, with the gentle acoustic allad When the Children Cry, which would eventually push sales of Pride over the two million mark (in addition, Bratta was being recognized for his instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist awards with several guitar-based magazines). But like numerous other young bands that enjoy big-time success early on in their career, White Lion felt the pressure to deliver once more on their follow-up recording, which they decided to write and record directly after coming off tour rather than taking time off to re-focus.
The decision would ultimately prove to be a detrimental one for White Lion, as proven by the lackluster chart performance of 1989s Big Game. Although the album spawned a pair of videos that racked up substantial MTV airplay (the Greenpeace ribute Little Fighter and a cover version of Golden Earrings classic rock standard Radar Love), Big Game stalled on the charts and quickly faded away after being certified gold shortly after release. Down but not out, White Lion regrouped for 1991s Mane Attraction, which saw the group slightly toughen up their sound on such tracks as the politically charged Warsong. But with hair metals audience quickly drying up (and such Seattle bands as Nirvana and Soundgarden waiting in the wings), the album fared even worse than its predecessor. To add insult to injury, both LoMenzo and dAngelo left the band shortly thereafter, replaced with newcomers Tommy T-Bone Caradonna on bass and future Megadeth member Jimmy DeGrasso on drums. But before the new lineup could record, Tramp and Bratta came to the realization that their best days were behind them and quietly laid White Lion to rest.
After White Lions split, both Lomenzo and DAngelo reappeared in Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wyldes Southern rock outfit Pride & Glory (although DAngelo would exit the group before their self-titled 1994 release was recorded), while Tramp issued a solo album in 1998, Capricorn (despite all the accolades he received for his playing, Bratta failed to resurface after the groups breakup). In addition to their four studio albums, the group has also been the subject of a hits set, 1992s 13-track The Best of White Lion.
