Whitesnake – ‘Unzipped’ Box Set – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

Fans have been clamoring for some acoustic Whitesnake (at least according to David Coverdale) and boy did they deliver the goods with this set.  It is a 5CD/1DVD Box set that spans the career of Whitesnake and even some Deep Purple. What all do you get?  Well, let me show you…

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If that isn’t enough for you to see, then read the sticker from the front of the box…

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And how many songs is 96 songs?  Well, the list is extensive.  See if you can read this list because there is no way I am typing all this stuff out for you.  I love you guys, but not that much!!

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Now, 96 songs is misleading as it isn’t 96 different songs.  It is actually around 60 songs and the rest are different versions of some of their most famous tracks. But 60 tracks is still DAMN!! A lot of tracks!  And a very reasonable price.

Let’s get started on the music.

Disc 1: Unzippped…In the Studio: The Love Songs

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This disc is 12 songs and consists of a couple songs from David’s solo album ‘Into the Light’ and the rest are unreleased acoustic tracks of songs on the band’s more recent albums ‘Forevermore’ and ‘Good to Be Bad’.  And there is one previously unreleased track, “All the Time in the World”, which was sensational.

David Coverdale states in the collection that he just loves ‘love songs’ and this first disc are some of his favorites that they have done in the last 20 years.  The sound is great and this is a nice start to the set.  One of my favorite discs in the set.

Disc 2: Starkers in Tokyo (1997)

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This disc is the previously released acoustic live set that David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg released back in 1997 at a show in Tokyo.  The cover is a replica of the original album and it contains 12 tracks that are all top notch.  Sound quality again is amazing especially for a live album.  Dave has never sounded better.

I had always wanted this album and never got it for some reason, this was one of the reasons I wanted this set and I was not disappointed.  The DVD actually has this live show on video for you to watch as well.  Awesome!!

Disc 3: Snakeskin Boots: Starkers in Europe

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Disc 3 is a bunch of Starker shows in Europe.  The quality of some shows are definitely bootlegs, but still worth a listen.  You get the Warsaw show with Adrian Vandenberg and then you get Stockholm, Cologne and Paris with Doug Aldrich.  The only complaint is that the shows are very repetitive with the setlist, so a lot of duplication, but there are still some gems icnluding “Dog”, “Northwind” and “Slow & Easy”.

Disc 4: More Starkers…

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This disc are more acoustic tracks which includes the New York Starker show from 2008 as well as some rehearsal cuts and then some songs from some radio jams which includes “Shake My Tree” (hell yeah).  A couple great songs on this disc are “Judgement Day”, “Mistreated”, “Slide It In” and “Good to Be Bad” among many others.  Another disc that I really like.

Disc 5: Up Close and Personal

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This is the gem of the bunch by far!!!  This a collection of 25 tracks that are demos or just ideas.  It has some fully developed songs that I find incredible such as “Surrender” and “Love’s Gone Crazy”.  But what is great is all the little Blues Riffs and ideas.  They might only be 1 to 2 minutes of playing, but they are fantastic.

This disc is just full of creativity and great peek into Dave’s personal collection of ideas.  Some of these songs became other songs and some have never seen the light of day. And another great thing is the song he does with his daughter, “Just the Two of Us (Together You and I)…really cool!

DVD: Unzipped..The DVD Video

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I can’t believe I sat and watched this from beginning to the end.  It was 3 hours of music and fun.  The video consists of the entire ‘Starkers in Tokyo’ show from Disc 2 as well as the ‘Starkers in New York’ from Disc 4.  You also got the bootleg shows from Sweden, Poland and several other cities that are on Disc 3.  The New York show seemed so unprepared and unrehearsed, but they looked like they were having so much fun which actually makes this a wonderful show. Plus, David says “fuck” a lot.

There are a couple music videos and a bonus interview with David and Adrian (mostly David as Adrian doesn’t talk a whole lot).  All-in-all it is a great watch, but maybe in smaller doses.

The Hard Back Book:

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It comes with a 60-page hard back book.  It has some great photos and commentary on each disc as well as some essays from David and company.  It is done very nicely as all their stuff usually is.

Lyric booklet and Poster:

You also get a lyric booklet for all the songs on the first disc, ‘Unzipped’.  It is another nice companion piece for the set.

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And then lastly, is the Poster of the album cover.  That poster is in the picture at the top with all the goodies on it and around it.  Go back up and take a look if you would like.

There you have it.  The complete details of the ‘Unzipped’ Box Set from Whitesnake.  This is something the casual fan might find to be too much of a good thing, but the insanely crazy fans like myself, this is totally awesome.  I think to sit and go through all 5 discs at once will be a little much, but individually each CD is spectacular and very enjoyable.  Some of these will get a lot of listens (who am I kidding, they all will).

Go out and buy!!  For me, it is an easy 4 out of 5 stars.  If it didn’t repeat some of the songs so many times, I would have gone higher.

If you want to check all the other Whitesnake reviews, click below:

The David Coverdale Series:

  1. Deep Purple – Burn
  2. Deep Purple – Stormbringer
  3. Deep Purple – Come Taste the Band
  4. Deep Purple – Made in Europe
  5. David Coverdale – Whitesnake
  6. Deep Purple – Last Concert in Japan
  7. David Coverdale – Northwinds
  8. David Coverdale’s Whitesnake – Snakebite
  9. Whitesnake – Trouble
  10. Whitesnake – Lovehunter
  11. Whitesnake – Ready an’ Willing
  12. Whitesnake – Live…in the Heart of the City
  13. Whitesnake – Come An’ Get it
  14. Deep Purple – Live in London
  15. Whitesnake – Saints & Sinners
  16. Whitesnake – Slide It In
  17. Whitesnake – “Give Me More Time” 12″ Single (Bonus Review)
  18. Whitesnake – ‘The Best of Whitesnake (Bonus Review – 1982 release)
  19. Whitesnake – Whitesnake (1987)
  20. Whitesnake – “Is This Love” 12″ Promo (Bonus Review)
  21. Whitesnake – Slip of the Tongue
  22. David Coverdale – “The Last Note of Freedom” – Single Review
  23. Coverdale/Page – Coverdale/Page
  24. Coverdale/Page – “Take Me For A Little While 12” Single (Bonus Review)
  25. David Coverdale & Whitesnake – Restless Heart
  26. Whitesnake – Starkers in Tokyo
  27. David Coverdale – Into the Night
  28. Whitesnake – Live…In the Still of the Night (DVD)
  29. Whitesnake – Live…In the Shadow of the Blues
  30. Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad
  31. Whitesnake – Forevermore
  32. Whitesnake – Live at Donington 1990: Monsters of Rock
  33. Whitesnake – The Purple Album
  34. Whitesnake – The Purple Tour (Live)
  35. Whitesnake – Flesh & Blood
  36. Whitesnake – The Rock Album
  37. Whitesnake – The Albums Ranked Worst to First
  38. David Coverdale – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Other David Coverdale Albums reviewed – (Box Sets and Bootlegs):

  1. Whitesnake – 1987 (30th Anniversary Edition) – Box Set
  2. Whitesnake – Slide It In (35th Anniversary Edition) – Box Set
  3. Whitesnake – Unzipped – Box Set
  4. Whitesnake – Slip of the Tongue (30th Anniversary Edition) – Box Set
  5. Whitesnake (Snake) – Still of the Night Live in Battle Creek, Mich. July 26, 1987 (Bootleg)