I have to confess that I wasn't too kind to the last compilation album Mike Tramp proffered forward (2005's 'Songs I Left Behind') so I might need to be a little cautious with the latest collection from the White Lion legend.

 

Don't worry all is good - Denmark's number one export delivers a fantastically accessible collection of hooky tracks spanning his solo repertoire. if you're used to the general sound of Mike's big eighties machine, you may need to cast an open mind. The man takes on a far more pop oriented sound, with tracks more suited to picking on a summer doorstep.

 

Past established favourites 'Dead End Ride', 'Give It All You've Got', 'If I Live Tomorrow' and the southern-tinged 'Take Me Away' re likely to please those partial to a watered downote version of the Big Game era material and bounce you up and about amiably and endlessly.

 

'The Road' features a slice of guitar that turns a bit more towards Freak of Nature while the album's newly-penned title track was a recent Danish Eurovision Song Contest entry (yes, seriously). With a voice that has become gravelly over time, Mike's own work is a major act in its own right, that rocks at a pleasing pace and minus most of the tedium.

 

Definitely one not to leave behind this time.