We interrupt the regularly scheduled order of albums as I found another bonus LP out during my crate digging. I am little out of order because I can rarely find stuff in chronological order of my reviews. This Promo single is for “Is This Love” off the 1987 album simply called ‘Whitesnake’ to some and ‘1987’ to others. Me, I just call it awesome! The good news about interrupting the series is I get to spend more time absorbing the next album on the list.
There is really nothing special other than it being a Promotional copy. Minimal artwork and what you see on the cover above is all you get. The funny thing is that everyone on the cover, with the exception of Coverdale, did not play on the song. It was actually John Sykes (who co-wrote the song with David), Neil Murray, Ansley Dunbar and Don Airey. They were all fired right after production was finished. The cover has Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell (damn he looked young), Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge, a pretty stellar line-up too.
The back is solid white. No inserts or any special packaging. A plain and simple promo that says “Not For Sale”…oops, I bought it so somebody broke the rules. Was it me for buying it or Hardy Boy Records for selling it?? I don’t think either of us will get in to trouble, thankfully.
Side A had the LP version of “Is This Love” and the late 80’s were known for their ballads and Whitesnake had one of the best with this track. “Is This Love” which just missed landing at #1 and stalled at #2. David sounded so sexy and sultry and the music was soft yet maintaining a slight edge to it. The song was actually written for Tina Turner, but thankfully, David wisely held on to it and recorded it. In an album that was almost baked to perfection, this was the icing on the cake.
Side 2 is the “Edit Version” which means it’s a little shorter since this isn’t a dance remix which would then be like 15 minutes long or something ridiculous like that. This version cuts out the longer synth intro, the solo is a little shorter and the end run out is not as long and drawn out. It compacts the essence of the song into a shorter and could be a better package.
As far as ballads go, this one is top-notch and easily a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It checks off all the buckets, slow at times, power at others, emotive singing and love in the title. What else could you possibly need? That’s right…Nothing!
In support of Whitesnake’s ‘Restless Heart’ Tour, the band played a couple of acoustic shows. Well, not the band really, but only David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg. Their performance at the EMI Studios in Japan was recorded and ended up on this release which was recorded on July 5th, 1997 and released on September 9th of that year. A pretty quick turnaround, but honestly, not sure there was that much to fix as it is splendid.
The setting was a very intimate one with the 2 Snake members and a small studio of fans. It was David on vocals and Adrian on an acoustic, both sitting on chairs like they were sitting in your living room. The songs were of course, Whitesnake classics…but more from the later years at the time. And surprisingly a Deep Purple song which David had normally been against playing (Oh how that has changed over the years).
The songs on this album you’ve heard a thousand times, but you haven’t heard them like this. They are stripped down “to the bone” and are played in away that is new and refreshing. The opening track “Sailing Ships” feels so sad and Adrian’s playing is simply beautiful. And can we talk about David’s vocals? Well of course we can, it’s my site. David sounds better than he ever has. Not just on this song, but the whole album. Proving at the time, he was one of the best voices in rock. Continue reading “Whitesnake – ‘Starkers in Tokyo’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)”→
Whitesnake remained dormant for quite a while. But in 1994, the band released a greatest hits album and ended up doing a short tour that included David Coverdale, Adrian Vandenberg, Warren DeMartini (RATT), Denny Carmassi (Coverdale/Page) and Rudy Sarzo. The tour was short and the band disappeared again shortly there after.
I know I am skipping a Deep Purple live album that came out between ‘Coverdale/Page’ and ‘Restless Heart’, but I am trying to not repeat live shows with the same line up. The Purple release ‘California Jammin’ was released in 1996 and has the Mark III line-up which I covered on ‘Made in Europe’ so I don’t feel the need to cover them again. I hope you are okay with that choice…I know I am.
Now on to the next Whitesnake album. Okay, not really. This isn’t a Whitesnake album. It is a David Coverdale solo album that the record company made him add the Whitesnake name in to the title and that is why it reads David Coverdale & Whitesnake. When you hear it, you will agree, this isn’t Whitesnake.
The new album does have Adrian Vandenberg and we finally get an album that he actually plays on with David. But it is not what you expect. The dual guitars of Whitesnake are not there. The playing is very understated on most of the songs and it is not a guitar heavy album at all. No sir. It is back to the early R&B and Blues roots for this one.
Adrian and David wrote most of the album together and the band for this album included Carmassi on drums and then added Guy Pratt on bass and Brett Tuggle on keyboards. The band had a label in Europe and Japan, but the U.S. market never had an official release of this album. After the tour of this album, Whitesnake would end yet again. David decided to shelve the band one more time and it would be 10 years before we got another Studio album from the band. I don’t know what happened, but it can’t be good for David to hang it up so fast. He wasn’t happy at all with the turnout of the album and tour.
It was a very hard album for me to wrap my head around and I am not positive I am fully there yet, but it is time to write the review as I have spent the last 2-3 weeks trying to absorb this album. And on that sour note, let’s get to the music.
From the opening song, “Don’t Fade Away” you knew this was going to be different. It was soft, full of keyboards, a soft drum beat and it was a ballad. An opening track as a ballad…baffling. It is a nice song though, it is evident that the bombast of the last 3 releases is over. David is putting that behind him. This one isn’t a complete throwback to the earlier Snake sound, but is in that direction. Adrian pulls out a nice solo to keep the “Power” in power ballad and David sounds quite pleasant with his emotive vocals.
Then comes “All in the Name of Love” which has a mixture of 80’s/90’s pop soul sound. A little blues vibe as well in the guitar sound, but the song falls flat for me. It is too generic and familiar sounding and not in a good way. There is no good hook to grab you and I felt empty.
The title track, “Restless Heart”, finally brings life to the album. Great opening guitar riff and the song has some punch. David’s soulful-filled vocals on the opening lyrics turn into the David we love throughout the rest. The song is more of what we are used to hearing from the band, and honestly what I love the most. This song gave me some hope in the album.
Then it was immediately back to the ballad with “Too Many Tears”. This tune had a great blues guitar sound and harkened back to days of old with the band and is actually a welcome sound. Adrian throws these little bits throughout that really add to the song and feel and his solo helps make the song as well. And let’s not forget David as this is one of his best performances on the album. He digs deep and goes so soulful and feels right at home. The album is a little full of ballad type songs, but this one is worth it. It was the lead off single, so the band felt that way as well.
“Crying” takes us full on blues and David gets down and dirty as does Adrian’s badass riff. The grit in David’s vocals and Adrian’s playing is so gritty and sleazy that it makes me feel like I need a shower and I loved it. This song feels like it could be on Slide It In or anything earlier. A total kick ass song.
Next up is a cover of Lorraine Ellison’s song “Stay With Me” (written by Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss). The original is a soul song from 1966 and David captures the feel and essence of the song with the vocals and tones of the song. It starts off a little slow with a nice groove and as it builds in volume and tempo, David adds some gravelly bits to the vocals to get the emotion across. The band nails this song.
“Can’t Go On” was yet another blues and ballad song. A slow groove and nothing flamboyant, just a simple song. There is something catchy about it despite its simplicity. Maybe that is it. There isn’t much here, but a low toned guitar solo by Adrian and David’s vocals and that is enough.
We get a little pick me up with “You’re So Fine” and it is a happy tune which a few and far between on this album. Being 1997, this song feels like an 80’s track that seems to be pop and rock mixed together. Maybe a sounds a little like John Parr. A little of David’s womanizing songs that might have been a left over off any of the 3 previous Whitesnake albums. It isn’t a bad song, but not over-the-top great either. Just fun.
“Your Precious Love” slows it back down and by this time, I am tired of the ballads. This one is generic and boring and very skippable. So enough said about it.
Things don’t pick up tempo wise with “Take Me Back Again”. It is a pure blues track and David ends up screaming a few verses and Adrian’s playing is nasty at times as he shows off his blues playing. The tempo picks up a little and David is giving it his all on vocals and saves the song. I didn’t want another slow song, but this one turned out okay with Adrian’s playing and David’s vocals…mostly Adrian’s playing.
And the album is completely saved with the final track “Woman Trouble Blues”. This song sounds like it was a leftover from Coverdale Page with the Page-like guitar sound and the electric harmonica played by Elk Thunder (yes, that is his name). It feels so Zeppelin like and Adrian captures Page’s essence. Might be my favorite song on the album so what a way to go out. Even David sounds like he did on that album. Now I want to go back and hear Coverdale Page again!!
Track Listing:
Don’t Fade Away – Keeper
All in the Name of Love – Delete
Restless Heart – Keeper
Too Many Tears – Keeper
Crying – Keeper
Stay With me – Keeper
Can’t Go On – Delete
You’re So Fine – Keeper
Your Precious Love – Delete
Take Me Back Again – Keeper
Woman Trouble Blues – Keeper
The track score is 8 out of 11 tracks or 73%. The album does take me back to the early blues and R&B Whitesnake albums, but still keeps a little of the modern sound. The album had too many slow tracks which would be my biggest complaint. It won’t be one I go back to a lot, but it still has some memorable tracks that are essential to the Whitesnake family such as Woman Trouble Blues, Restless Heart and Too Many Tears to name a few. Overall my rating is going to be a 3.5 out of 5.0 Stars. Maybe not the best, but still enough on the bone to give it a try.
Here is another Bonus Edition episode of the David Coverdale Series. The last special find I made while in Paris of April 2019. This 12″ Picture Disc of the Single for “Take Me For A Little While” from the album 1993 album ‘Coverdale-Page’. I found this at a cool store called Rock & Roll Voltage and it was a cool little shop. Ask him about Bootlegs as he has a ton…I bought 7 Kiss Bootlegs that day as well.
The picture on the A-Side is of David and Jimmy and is the cover photo for the article. The B-Side is a cool picture of the ocean with a storm brewing and of course the Merge Sign.
What was really cool about this Disc was the poster was still with it and in pretty awesome condition. And it was a double-sided poster at that. The main picture is a full length of the boys…
After the Whitesnake tour supporting the album, ‘Slip of the Tongue’, David was done. He had had enough of Whitesnake and called it quits. He put the band on the back burner and started searching for the next big thing. In the meantime, Jimmy Page was not getting back with his former band Led Zeppelin so he was in limbo as well. Then in 1991, shortly after the tour, A&R guy, John Kalodner, suggested David and Jimmy Page get together and cut an album. That is funny for one very big reason. David had been told by critics for years that he was a Robert Plant wannabe…a poor man’s Zeppelin if you will. Heck, when Robert Plant heard about this project, he called the pairing David Cover”Version”…ouch!
That didn’t stop them though and thankfully for us they plowed ahead. The album was recorded at the end of 1991 and in to 1992. However, for reasons I can’t find, the album was delayed until March 1993 when it finally was released. The album had pretty decent success as it definitely went platinum and reached #5 on the Billboard Charts and #4 in the UK. In 1993, a blues tinged rock album to do this good in a landscape that was pretty much grunge at the time, I would say it did more than pretty decent.
For this part of the David Coverdale series, we are throwing in the review of the song David did from the movie ‘Days of Thunder’ starring Tom Cruise. The song came out in 1990. Whitesnake hadn’t called it quits just yet, still a year away for that, but David was exploring solo projects such as this. And honestly, how could he turn down the opportunity to have a song on a Tom Cruise movie back in a time when Tom could do no wrong.
As you can see, the song was produced by Trevor Horn, but the song was actually written by Hans Zimmer who did the music, but what I find is that the lyrics were actually written by Billy Idol…yes, that Billy Idol. I am sure David contributed a little, but mostly he sang. I now have a connection between the last music series I did with Billy Idol and this one with David Coverdale..so cool.
After coming off the tour of the band’s biggest selling album, ‘Whitesnake’, it was time to record a new album. But before that could happen, another guitarist left the fold. Vivian Campbell left the band and it was reported as “Creative Differences”…whatever that means. But it what it did mean, was more line-up issues for the band.
But that didn’t stop David from starting to write new songs. He and his now creative partner, Adrian Vandenberg, set forth with writing the new album. They actually wrote some of the album while on tour, but the bulk was crafter in David’s home in Lake Tahoe. I would think that wouldn’t be a bad place to hold up to write. The songs were all written by David and Adrian (except for one), but sadly, Adrian wouldn’t play on any of them.
Adrian hurt his wrist and could not record. He would need surgery for the issue and that put him out of commission for some time. So, David needed to find a replacement to help with the album. Now the replacement was to record, but it was also to replace Vivian. He needed someone really strong and thankfully for us, he found one of the greatest guitar players ever to hold a 6 string. It was the former Frank Zappa and former David Lee Roth guitarist Steve Vai. Steve brought a whole new style and sound to Whitesnake. Don’t expect Vai to play the blues, he had a texture and sound that was not what Whitesnake fans were used to, but we could accept it. Continue reading “Whitesnake – ‘Slip of the Tongue’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)”→
After all the turmoil with the band around the ‘Slide it In’ album and tour, David Coverdale was almost ready to throw in the towel. After the tour, Cozy Powell left the band and I think Davd had had enough. However, Geffen records saw something between David and newcomer John Sykes that they somehow talked David in to hanging on and working with John. The two went and tucked themselves away somewhere in the south of France and started writing…south of France…tough fucking life!!
When they gathered some material, the two embarked to L.A. with bassist Neil Murray to start recording. But before they could do that, they needed a drummer and along comes Ansley Dunbar to complete the team. But wait, there is only 1 guitar player and usually there is two and you would be right. John Sykes recorded all the guitar parts for the album.
Now during the recording, the band had more problems. One was John Sykes. John was obsessed over getting the right guitar sound almost to the detriment of the whole project. Second, David got sick…bad sick. A major sinus infection that almost derailed his whole career. It was so bad, that John Sykes had suggested bringing in another vocalist to finish the project…excuse me??…WTF??? John, if you didn’t know, Whitesnake is David’s band, not yours. That did not sit well with David as is no surprise. And right when the album was set for release, David fired the band! Yep, all of them…bye, bye!!
Okay, this is basically the second time this has happened in a row on an album release. The new band was brought in and it consisted of Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell on guitars, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums. I have to say that is one helluva a line-up. David has a way of getting top musicians.
I know, I am a little out of order with this one as I have been trying to go in chronological order with all of his releases. However, I never intended to review this for two reasons. One, I wasn’t planning on doing any greatest hits package and Two, this isn’t an official release and was never on my radar or in my collection until about 2 weeks ago. Also, sorry for two bonus reviews in a row as I am sure you can’t wait for me to get to the ‘1987’ album!!
I was doing my monthly dig through some local record shops and then at my favorite one, Noble Records, I found this LP. It is a French release of a Best of Whitesnake album back from 1982. I say it isn’t official only because Wikipedia doesn’t even have it listed in the discography.
The album covers the albums ‘Trouble’ in 1978 all the way up to ‘Come An’ Get’ in 1981 which is 5 albums in total (which includes ‘Live…in the Heart of the City’ and 10 total tracks on the greatest hits album. And they are all great tracks as a good greatest hits album should be.
Back in April 2019, I was traveling in Paris with my family and I got a few minutes to visit some record stores. While in one, I found a 12″ Single for the song “Give Me More Time” by Whitesnake. And it turns out the version was the UK release. So I had to go to France from the US to get a UK single. Makes sense.
The single was the second single from the album and was released on January 3rd, 1984. It reached #29 on the UK Charts and was never released as a single in the US. And the fact that this is the UK Single it also the UK Mix which sounds different than the US mix.
The UK Mix has a little heavier guitar sound to open the song and all the instruments have a little more punch. The US version, David is more front and center. It is a fun, melodic song and David sounds great. It has that 80’s rock sound and a classic Whitesnake swagger.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 