Hats off to Escape Music once again for bringing yet another pair of “lost” 80s rock gems to the fore, this time in the shape of Canada’s White Wolf and their debut album from 1984, Standing Alone, along with the follow up, Endangered Species, which appeared a couple of years later. 

As usual, the reissue is beautifully packaged, albeit with one of the naffest covers and least flattering band photos in history !!! 

White Wolf were formed in 1980 by mainman and lead vocalist Don Wolf and had considerable success with both of these releases, touring extensively worldwide to support them in the mid 80s. 

The style is, unsurprisingly, very 1980s, but it has been brilliantly remastered to bring the very best out of the sound. The band evoke memories of Y&T and Deep Purple in particular, with Wolf’s vocals strong, clear and impressive. 

This reissue was timed to act as a great reminder of the band in advance of a brand new studio album, Victims Of The Spotlight, which was released a few weeks back, to decent critical acclaim. 

Given that these songs are all over 20 years old, they hold up pretty well and guitarist Cam Macleod puts in a first rate performance throughout. 

Highlights of the first album would be the opener / title track and the excellent “What The War Will Bring”. On the second album, my favourites are “Riding The Storm” and “Cryin’ To The Wind”, whilst there is also an interesting cover of Magnum’s “Just Like An Arrow” which had only been released the previous year when this album was recorded. 

Overall, if you missed out on White Wolf first time round, or have been after these releases on CD, then this superb package is highly recommended. All fans of classic 80s sounding hard rock will not be disappointed.