When this video debuted on MuchMusic in spring of ’89, everybody but Harrison Kopp (who was not born yet) and John Hubner (who was not Canadian) said “Wow that singer really sounds like David Coverdale from Whitesnake!” The VJs said it and the kids said it. Do you agree? Does Ray Gillen resemble Coverdale in any way? Do you hear it too? Let us know in the comments.
mikeladano.com 
Never made that comparison with Coverdale but perhaps a bit now that I think of it….
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Thanks Deke! I was getting lambasted on Friday night for saying it!
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Let the record show I wasn’t doing any of said lambasting.
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Oh wait, it’s all recorded. The record does show that.
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BWAHAHAH.
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Listening to the chorus I can hear similarities to Coverdale now, but it’s only now that you pointed out that the rest of the world thought it. I read plenty of Metal Edge, Circus, and Kerrang back then and I never came across talk of the Coverdale/Gillen similarities. Weird. And I was a Whitesnake fan during that time, too. Maybe if Badlands had musically been similar to Whitesnake I might have made the connection, but to my ears they were in two very different musical worlds. Once Badlands hit in the fall of ’89 I’d found my favorite heavy blues/metal band.
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For me Badlands and Mr. Big were two bands with bluesy roots that came at the exact same time. I couldn’t have picked a favourite among the two.
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Yeah, both were 1989. I always thought Mr Big were more of a polished, pop rock sound. Where as Badlands was rougher and grittier sounding. Still very proficient musicians(obviously), but both were for very different moods to me.
Side note: I got to see Paul Gilbert at a guitar clinic and he played along to backing tracks to “Addicted To That Rush”. It was probably six months before the debut dropped. Very cool.
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WOW. Is that ever cool. At that point I knew who Mr. Big were thanks to Hit Parader magazine but had not yet heard a single note.
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That Gilbert/Sheehan duo is legendary.
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Well, one of those guys are. One of them will always earn scorn here because of the way he spoke to Deke. I’m not letting that one go!
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I’d guess it was Sheehan since everything thing I know about Gilbert is all good. Super friendly and willing to chat with fans. Never got that from Billy.
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Oh he was just nasty to Deke. I was pretty disappointed.
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Sadly, this isn’t surprising. Amazing player, but a pretentious person.
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He sure came across the way. Even scolded Deke for his northern grammar.
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He sounds a bit like Coverdale but I hadn’t heard this song in ages! Thanks for sharing it.
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Maybe a little now that you mention it, but I never noticed before. Coverdale has a huskier voice. Ray’s smoother.
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Really? I would say Ray is huskier.
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I don’t know man. That “can’t keep away” stuff from Still of the Night sounds like Coverdale is going to town on several packs of cigarettes a day.
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He probably was! Do we know if Cov was a smoker?
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Maybe a bit? But it could also be said there’s probably some sameness all around in that genre at that time.
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I gotta disagree there. I remember a lot of Vince Neil/Bret Michaels sounding guys back then. Very few with the Coverdale bluesy rasp.
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Fair enough, my memory of it isn’t as good as yours!
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