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)”
