It's only been 13 months since
Mike Tramp released his last album, the critical acclaimed "Recovering the Wasted Years". The album was a strong effort with some really strong and personal lyrics, while the music was a bit softer than Mike's first solo album "Capricorn".
"More to Life Than This" has a more rocky side, in the vein of "Capricorn". Again the lyrics are great, but they are not as personal as the "Recovering the Wasted Years" songs. This time it is more straight Rock N' Roll from one of the strongest voices in Rock.
A great advantage about Mike's albums is that they are timeless. Both "Capricorn" and "Recovering the Wasted Years" are still spinning often in my CD player. I am sure that "More To Life Than This" will prove long lasting as well.
The overall style for the album is set with album opener
More to Life Than This. The distortion pedal is brought back from the closet and it is suiting this amazing song perfectly. Mike's friend and former Freak Of Nature guitarist Oliver Steffensen is playing a great rocky guitar. The song has 3 verses each describing a human destiny. The common theme is the injustice that life sometimes treats you with. Mike is questioning if this is real life.
There's got to be more to life than this
a so called reason why we exist
a better way to tell us
Why we live and die
Lay Down My Life for You features a great Hammond organ and a real strong chorus. This is a track that keeps growing every time you hear it.
Don't Want to Say Goodnight might as well been a track off "Capricorn". It's a solid rock song and in my opinion an obvious single release. The song has everything - a great hookline, fantastic chorus and melodic appeal.
The verse for
Nothing at All features only Mike and his acoustic guitar. This is a moody ballad, where Mike's characteristic vocals are unfolded completely. Once again Oliver Steffensen delivers a great melodic solo. Oliver and Mike are made for each other musically.
Day by Day is co-written with ex. Freak of Nature guitarist Kenny Korade. The song is a traditional rock song with a great melodic chorus. Speaking of Freak of Nature the song
Back From the Dead has a similar groove and riff resembling the trademark for Freak of Nature. You might think that Kenny Korade also co-wrote this song, but it is Kasper Damgaard, who co-wrote 5 songs on the last album. This is his only contribution to the album. I will label
Back from the Dead as
Stand Back part 2, since it reminds me of the excellent song from "Gathering of Freaks".
The album has a very rocky middle part starting off with the great song
Live for Today. This is a straight Rock N' Roller with a great atmospheric rhythm guitar. Oliver Steffensen provides licks that are typical for his style of playing. Listen to
Take it Easy from the last album to hear the likeness. The lyrics are not so deep, just the positive message about
Live for Today, which
makes this a happy Rock N' Roller.
I Won't Let Go builds up for the chorus and ranks among the strongest songs on the disc. This song should be perfect for the radio, since the chorus is very melodic. Furthermore
Steve Lukather is brought in to play a great solo that justifies this song entirely.
Surprisingly the album features a duet with female singer Stine Larsen from the Danish band Stripclub Junkies. Stine's solo vocal on the second verse is sounding a bit weak compared with Mike's power organ. The duet contributes to the diversity on the album. In the beginning this was my least favorite song, but it grows and the standard of this song is high, confirming the overall quality of the album.
The album opened with the rocky title track and closes with a fantastic ballad. Like the song structure for
More to Life Than This, this song is divided in 3 independent verses. Verse 1 is about The Good, which is Mike's son Dylan. Verse 2 The Sad is a rather moody lyrical verse probably about Mike himself. The ugly is an unidentified person, who betrayed Mike's trust and hurt his feelings so deeply, that he had to publish them in this verse.
Every verse is rounded off with a chorus theme with changing lyrics, fitting each verse of
The Good The Sad and The Ugly. Another guest star Eric Johnson plays two guitar solos, which rank among the greatest I heard in a long time. The tone of his guitar fits the mood for the ballad perfectly.
With a playing time of 6.19
The Good the Sad and The Ugly is a brilliant moody finisher to one of the guaranteed albums of the year.
The album has everything from beautiful ballads, mid-tempo songs and straight Rock N' rollers. The icing on the cake is
Mike Tramp's amazing vocals, which still are in a great shape. The same goes for his song writing capabilities, which are intact.
Written by
Michael Tuesday, April 1, 2003
Show all reviews by MichaelRatingsMichael: 8/10Members: 7/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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 | Steen (Staff)
Rating: 7/10
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