Big Game

Big Game is the third album, on which White Lion kept the fluid guitar and melody they excel at while turning to broader subject matter. Released on Atlantic in 1989, it reached number 19 on the Billboard 200 and went gold. It has a lighter, more eclectic sound; Mike Tramp and Vito Bratta wrote it in about two weeks in a Palm Springs hotel and recorded it quickly — Tramp later called it “half-finished.” Vito Bratta’s guitar works not just as flashy speed but as melody that guides a song’s emotion. “Little Fighter,” mourning the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior sunk by French intelligence; the Golden Earring cover “Radar Love”; “Cry for Freedom,” on South African apartheid; and the single “Goin' Home Tonight” — strong rockers, a cover and message songs line up so the album never grows monotonous. The band then toured with Ozzy Osbourne and others. Within its polished sound, the band’s sincerity and playing remain — a full record.