It was my honour to be asked on the Rock Show Critique with Joey Suto, to talk Top 15 Whitesnake songs!
Joey and I spoke extensively before the show, about how difficult this exercise was going to be! We agreed to a few ground rules. Regardless of where the songs appeared (such as the Snakebite EP), we agreed to stick purely to Whitesnake songs. No David Coverdale solo. This definitely excluded some songs I would have liked to include (which we discuss at the end).
This list show turned out pretty interesting. Of course, I included some B-sides, but Joey and I both had groupings from some albums we think deserve more attention and love. We clearly had a preference for the classic era of Whitesnake, including the Geffen years.
Check out the show and take a bite of some ‘Snake!
WHITESNAKE – Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection (2002 Universal)
Back in the days before David Coverdale began lovingly curating his 80s catalogue with expansive box sets and assorted compilations, the record labels were doing it for him. And, all things considered, they were milking it pretty hard with very little in terms of added value to the fans who already had a decent collection. 2002’s Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection might have been the first one really worth buying.
At its moment of conception, it was probable and perhaps likely that a large number of Whitesnake fans didn’t already own all three of the Geffen albums on CD. Perhaps they just owned Greatest Hits, or 1987. Rather than force fans to buy (or re-buy) a three disc set for all that material, Universal gathered 24-bit remasters of the three albums with some associated bonus tracks and released it all as more affordable two disc set. It offered good value for fans looking to get those albums digitally, or those just trying to acquire the bonus tracks.
Starting off with the rare “Radio Remix” of “Here I Go Again”, a familiar song leads the charge. This unusual version has Dan Huff on guitar, Denny Carmassi on drums, and Bill Cuomo on keyboards. It’s shorter without that long “keyboard heaven” opening. As a radio remix, it has choppier guitars, more keyboards, and prominent female backing vocals. Huff’s solo is refreshing after being used to Adrian Vandenberg’s for so long.
From there, the compilation delves into the albums, in their US mixes and running orders. Therefore, Slide It In kicks off with “Slide It In” just as I remember it. It will always be debated which version of Slide It In was superior, the original UK or the partially re-recorded US mix. I have long maintained that the US had more punch, and I still prefer it. John Sykes was a powerful force, and his modern guitar squeals helped push Whitesnake into the 80s (for better or for worse). From there the album runs through the big singles “Slow An’ Easy” and anthemic “Love Ain’t No Stranger”. These two songs alone are worth buying the album for, but the deep cuts are strong. “All or Nothing” and “Gambler” are darker, while “Guilty of Love has an upbeat rock singalong power. “Hungry For Love”, “Give Me More Time” and the cheeky “Spit It Out” are all memorable, but the dramatic “Standing In the Shadow Of Love” remains one of the most impressive Whitesnake closers to date.
There are no Slide It In-era bonus tracks included, but the next album 1987 is augmented with plenty. We already had the radio remix, so the disc dives in with opener “Crying In the Rain”, actually a re-recording of a track from Saints & Sinners, just like “Here I Go Again” itself. The CD runs through all of Side One of 1987 and partly into Side Two, with “Children of the Night” being the last song on the disc. This is the one and major flaw with The Whitesnake Collection: the oddly timed split between Discs One and Two. “Here I Go Again” (the album version) was meant to close Side One of 1987, but these things can’t be helped.
After you blast through that remarkable album and all the John Sykes guitar fireworks it contains, you are treated to a number of extras. UK-only songs “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” and “Looking For Love” should have been on the US album. One rocker and one ballad, they aren’t really like any of the other songs and could easily have strengthened an already mighty album. Then, for the fans that have always wanted to hear the one and only solo that Vivian Campbell recorded with Whitesnake, you are given the single mix of “Give Me All Your Love” (1988). An odd choice for a single originally when better songs were available, but significant due to Vivian’s tenure with the band. His solo is more whammy-inflected and shreddy, but it is still memorable and fitting. Weirdly, Campbell is not credited in the booklet though Sykes and Vandenberg are. The final bonus track of this era is the lovely keyboard ballad B-side “Need Your Love So Bad”, a re-recording of a Slide It In-era B-side. A song that could have even been a single! This showcase for David’s vocals features only keyboards and the man himself; no other instruments.
Some fans would stop the disc here and hit eject, for the controversial Steve Vai era is next with Slip of the Tongue. An acquired taste, or perhaps not acquirable at all, Slip of the Tongue was a left turn. Going even slicker and more modern, Coverdale eschewed the blues for the most part and took his band of pirates space truckin’. For Steve Vai fans, this album features his most commercial playing, for he didn’t write any of the songs. Adrian did, but was sidelined by injury. Now with Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge on bass and drums, the band was completely different from the 1987 version! David was pushing his voice into a higher register and it never quite sounded the same ever since. Though Slip of the Tongue was a powerful statement in the world of inventive guitar fireworks, it ultimately proved unpopular with those who preferred when David was singing the blues. Results may vary, but the perennial Vai-era bonus track “Sweet Lady Luck” closes the disc as it should. It does not have the Chris Lord-Alge remix of “Now You’re Gone”, but hey.
There are minimal liner notes and photos, and it’s amusing to read the notes from the perspective of a time when Whitesnake was no longer a band. (They reunited in 2003.) However the value here is getting all this music and relevant bonuses all in one place for a good price. It just made sense.
David Coverdale has been remix-happy of late. Nothing wrong with that, I just have a hard time overcoming my passion for original versions of songs that I spent time living and loving for many years. Obviously I can’t have too much issue with it if I keep throwing money at him. Thank you Encore Records for holding this pricey item for me. $60 for 2 CDs and a Blu-ray disc. Details in the scans below, along with images of my other related Whitesnake discs.
Enjoy the video below, taking a gander at all the different colours of Whitesnake!
This is what we were up to Friday night, hence no episode of Grab A Stack of Rock. Worth it! I had a great time on Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr, Tim Durling, John Clauser, and Reed Little.
This time we took a fairly deep dive into Coverdale-Page, the 1993 album and project featuring Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and David Coverdale of Whitesnake. We discussed the history, the rumours, the tour, the performances, and of course the songs. Was it more Led than Snake, or vice versa? What were our first impressions when we heard Page and Coverdale were teaming up? What songs would we choose to spotlight?
We also spent a moment honouring the fallen Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake). Rest in peace, Bernie.
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.
This is Part One of a series based around the year 1991. In music, culture and my personal life, 1991 was a landmark year. There was life pre-1991, and there was life post-1991. I’ve spent a couple months piecing together details of that critical period. Stick around and enjoy the memories.
GETTING MORE TALE #820: The Last Note of Freedom (1991 Was the End and 1991 Was the Beginning – Part One)
After all the hard work, studying and good times, there was only one thing left to do: attend the big highschool graduation ceremony. I’d be seeing some of my friends for the very last time. Shirt and tie on, I was clean shaven and ready to go. Family arrived at the house and gifts were given. I remember a new watch. I even received the novelization of the hot new Schwarzenegger flick, Terminator 2: Judgement Day from my sister Kathryn.
Only this time I wouldn’t be back. This was it. The last hoorah.
Blue graduation cap upon my head, I looked like a girl with my long hair. I barely recognise myself in the old photos, receiving my diploma on that big stage.
Like many graduation ceremonies, there was a slideshow to remind us of all the good times. The song they chose for the slideshow was an interesting selection: “The Last Note of Freedom” by David Coverdale, his first solo track in a decade and a half. Who selected it and why, I will never know. It was the kind of song I would have chosen myself, but I had nothing to do with it. I just found the title very apropos: “The Last Note of Freedom”, and when that last note rings out, we would be cast into the larger ocean of “real life”. It was a poignant choice even if the lyrics really didn’t apply. The words had nothing to do with a milestone like graduation, but it sure sounded cool when Coverdale started screaming in the middle of the ceremony.
We need love, We gotta want it so bad. We need it now, So run for it fast. I know it, And the world will be cheated. I can’t go on, in a world where love’s defeated. I know it. I can’t go on.
“The Last Note of Freedom” was from the Days of Thunder soundtrack, and I made sure to order a copy from Columbia House forthwith. It was probably the most commercial track that Coverdale had recorded to date, with a vaguely 80s tropi-synth feel.
I would never see many of my friends again, and I knew it as I walked out of the building with my grad cap in my hands. I shook hands with Anand “Boboe” Etwaru who I never crossed paths with ever again. I was pleased to find out, many years later from a mutual friend, that he still had the nickname “Boboe” which I gave him. (It’s just the ASCII characters for “Anand” with each letter bumped up by one, an accidental discovery I made.)
My parents owned a rental cottage and I wanted to rent it for one weekend, just a final chance to hang out with my friends. The parents said “no way” and the last weekend never happened. Instead, a bunch of us just made a run downtown to Sam the Record Man one afternoon. We walked – none of us had a car. It was fun and bittersweet. The new Van Halen sat there on the shelves but the packaging was rather bland. It would have to wait for my birthday. Instead I bought some singles: “You Could Be Mine” (CD), by Guns N’ Roses, and “More Than Words” (cassette) by Extreme.
I can still recall one thing that happened that day. As our small group walked down Frederick Street towards King, we passed by a little old lady. As we passed her, she smiled and chuckled an evil laugh!
“Heh heh heh heh!”
Creepy stuff, man!
“We’re hexed now!” someone commented.
I’m glad that a small group of my friends got back together for one record shopping trip in the summer of ’91. We knew things would be different from here on in. Many of them were going into serious engineering programs. Intense, time consuming stuff. On some of my lonely days that fall, I thought of picking up the phone and calling some of them. But I didn’t. “They all have their own lives now,” I reasoned.
An era had ended, and the last note of freedom had rung. Onto bigger things!
WHITESNAKE – The Purple Tour (2017 Rhino CD/Blu-ray set)
David Coverdale releases so much Whitesnake product (most of it worthwhile) that it is easy for the odd live album to slip between the cracks. After he felt recharged by 2015’s The Purple Album, Coverdale released a live album and video from that tour. This is not long after the four live CDs that make up Made in Britain and Made in Japan, so what does The Purple Tour offer that is different?
More Purple, obviously. Of the 13 tracks on CD, five are Deep Purple covers. There are an additional three more in 5.1 surround sound on the Blu-ray.
They open with “Burn” which leather-lunged David struggles with a bit right out of the box. Fortunately his capable backing band can handle the supporting vocals, though it sounds sweetened after the fact.
This lineup of Whitesnake, which is still the current one featuring guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin, drummer Tommy Aldridge, and keyboardist Michele Luppi, is particularly good. Whitesnake can never simply revert back to being a blues band. John Sykes and Steve Vai made certain that Whitesnake would always have to have a couple shredders on hand. When Beach and Hoestra get their hands on a Purple (or Whitesnake) oldie, they generally heavy it up by a few notches.
You could consider the setlist to be a surface-level “the classics of David Coverdale” concert. No new material, nothing later than 1987. It’s cool that some standby’s like “Slow An’ Easy” were jettisoned in favourite of even older tracks like “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. It’s fun to hear “The Gypsy” instead of something better known. Another Purple classic, a heavy version of “You Fool No One” from Burn goes down a treat, with plenty of tight interplay.
The Blu-ray disc includes some more obscure treasures. “You Keep On Moving”, “Stormbringer” and “Lay Down Stay Down” fill in some of the Deep Purple blanks. A dual solo with Reb and Joel called “Lotsanotes” is also the fun kind of addition that usually gets axed from a live album. You’ll also find a music video for “Burn” and a fun interview with Joel and Reb conducted by Michael Devin. These guys love their jobs.
But just who is this album for? Don’t Whitesnake have enough live stuff by now? Yes — they certainly do. So this album is for two groups of people. 1) Those of us who have to have “everything.” 2) Somone who hasn’t bought a Whitesnake in a long time, but is curious what they sound like these days. For those folks, they won’t be “bogged down” by anything new. They will only get David and his crack band tackling the oldies. Pull the trigger if that sounds like something you’re into.
WHITESNAKE – Slip of the Tongue(originally 1989, 2019 (6 CD/1 DVD 30th Anniversary Rhino box set)
There’s a theme you may have noticed every time we review a Whitesnake box set: David does it right.
Here’s another one: Coverdale cares.
Slip of the Tongue gets the super-deluxe treatment this time, the third of the “big three” to go that way. This is the album that divided fans the most. Replacing Vivian Campbell was none other than ex-David Lee Roth stringbender Steve Vai.
“What the hell would that sound like?” we all wondered.
Longtime Whitesnake fans felt it was a step too far into the world nebulously defined as “hair metal”. Others loved the guitar mania inside, with Vai stretching out in ways different from his prior bands. Not the “definitive” Vai record that they still wanted (and would get a year later), but certainly a platter they could sink their teeth into. And it was a weird reason that Steve was playing on Slip of the Tongue at all.
As you’ll see from a feature on the included DVD (“A Look Back: Whitesnake Chronicles with DC and Adrian Vandenberg”), the album was written and thoroughly demoed with Adrian. They wouldn’t need a guitarist until it was time to tour. At this point, Adrian injured his wrist and was unable to finish. Steve Vai and David Coverdale found that they got along famously and the seven-string wizard brought his unique and advanced stylings to the blues-based Whitesnake.
What the hell would it sound like?
It sounds absolutely mental.
With the benefit of now hearing all the demos that Adrian laid down, it’s obvious Steve Vai didn’t just pick up his guitar and play the parts. It’s clear right from opener “Slip of the Tongue”. Compare the album to Adrian’s demos on the other discs. Vai changes one of the chord progressions to high-pitched harmonics, and, let’s face it, improves the song. Elsewhere there are unique trick-filled runs and fills that add another dimension to the music. If Whitesnake was always 3D rock, Vai upped it to 4. The guitar work is blazingly busy, never cliche, and always to the advancement of the song. With all respect to Adrian Vandenberg who wrote these great songs, Steve Vai was more than just icing on a cake. Slip of the Tongue arguably sounds more a Vai album than Whitesnake, even though he didn’t write any of it.
The beauty of this set is that if you’re more into ‘Snake than alien love secrets, you can finally hear the purity of Adrian’s vision in the multitude of early demos included.
Unfortunately, if you’re familiar with the album you’ll hear something’s up by track 2. “Kitten’s Got Claws”? That song used to close side one. What’s up? The album running order has been tampered with, and so has “Kitten’s Got Claws”. It’s now missing the Steve Vai “cat guitar symphony” that used to open it. It could be a different remix altogether. My advice is to hang on to your original Slip of the Tongue CD. You’re probably going to still want to hear the album and song as they were.
This running order puts “Cheap An’ Nasty” third, a song that structurally resembles the ol’ Slide It In Whitesnake vibe. Of course Vai’s space age squeals and solos modernized it. Listen to that whammy bar insanity at the 2:00 mark! Up next is “Now You’re Gone”, a classy rocker/ballad hybrid that has always been an album highlight. The demos on the other discs allow us to hear how much this song was improved in the final touches. That cool answering vocal in the chorus, and the hooks that Vai added, came much later. Strangely, this box set puts the other ballad, “The Deeper the Love”, up next. Keyboard overdubs made it a little too smooth around the edges, but a good song it remains.
The Zeppelinesque “Judgement Day” is a track that used to piss off some fans, who felt it was an abject rip off from “Kashmir”. The Vai touch of sitar (replacing guitar in the early demos) probably aided and abetted this. Regardless it succeeds in being the big rock epic of the album, and a favourite today. Another strange choice in running order follows: “Sailing Ships”, formerly the album closer. It’s quite shocking to hear it in this slot. Again, Vai replaced guitar with sitar, and David goes contemplative. Then suddenly, it gets heavy and Steve takes it to the stratosphere.
“Wings of the Storm” used to open side two; now it’s after “Sailing Ships”. Some tasty Tommy Aldridge double bass drums kick off this tornado of a tune. Vai’s multitracks of madness and pick-scrapes of doom are something to behold. Then it’s “Slow Poke Music”, a sleazy rocker like old ‘Snake.
The new version of Slip of the Tongue closes on “Fool for Your Loving”, a re-recording of an old classic from Ready An’ Willing. The new version is an accelerated Vai vehicle, lightyears away from its origins. Coverdale initially wrote it to give to B.B. King. Vai is as far removed from B.B. King as you can imagine. The original has the right vibe, laid back and urgent. This one is just caffeinated.
The only album B-side “Sweet Lady Luck” is the first bonus track on Disc 1. By now it is the least-rare B-side in the universe, having been reissued on a multitude of Whitesnake and Vai collections. Valuable to have to complete the album, but easy to acquire. It’s basically a second-tiered speed rocker with the guitar as the focus. Other B-sides from this era were remixes, and they are included here as well. The Chris Lord-Alge mix of “Now Your Gone” is the kind that most people won’t know the difference. Vai said that Lord-Alge could make the cymbals sound “like they have air in them.” Then there’s the “Vai Voltage Mix” of “Fool for Your Loving”, which has completely different guitar tracks building an arrangement with way, way, way more emphasis on the instrument. The rest of the disc is packed with four more alternate remixes: “Slip of the Tongue”, “Cheap An’ Nasty”, “Judgement Day” and “Fool for Your Loving”. These mixes have some bits and pieces different from the album cuts. Vai fans will want the alternate solo to “Cheap An’ Nasty”, though it’s less whammy mad.
Of course, “Sweet Lady Luck” wasn’t the only song that didn’t make the album. In old vintage interviews, Coverdale teased the names of additional tracks we didn’t get to hear: “Parking Ticket”, “Kill for the Cut”, and “Burning Heart”. They’ve been safely buried in Coverdale’s vault, until now. Additionally, it turns out that Whitesnake also re-recorded a couple more of their old songs: “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” and “We Wish You Well”. They’re all here in different forms on the demo discs.
Perhaps “Kill for the Cut” would have been one dirty song too many for the album. It ain’t half bad, and has a unique little bumpin’ riff. “Parking Ticket” had potential too. Rudy Sarzo gave it a pulse that might have taken it on the radio. The 1989 monitor mix would have been perfect for B-side release. Why did Cov have to hold out on us all these years? “Burning Heart” was a special song, a re-recording of an old Vandenberg track that David really loved. Unfortunately the monitor mix is is only a skeleton of what could have been a sensational Whitesnake ballad. “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” is heavily modernized, with keyboards sounding like they were trying to recapture “Here I Go Again” (which they were). “We Wish You Well” is more contemplative, with piano as the focus.
All of this previously unheard material is scattered over several discs. “Evolutions” (Disc 3) is a familiar concept to fans of these box sets. Demos from various stages of completion are spliced together into one cohesive track. You will be able to hear the songs “evolve” as the band worked on them. Every track from the album plus “Sweet Lady Luck”, “Parking Ticket” and “Kill for the Cut” can be heard this way. Disc 4 is a collection of monitor mixes with all the album songs and all the unreleased ones too. These discs are the ones that allow us to really hear the album the way it would have been if Adrian didn’t hurt his wrist. We would have got an album that sounded a lot more like Whitesnake. It was audibly different even if familiar.
Perhaps the best disc in the entire set is “A Trip to Granny’s House: Session Tapes, Wheezy Interludes & Jams”. It’s just as loose as it sounds. Enjoy the funk of “Death Disco”, the funkiest David’s been since Come Taste the Band. If you’ve always wanted to hear David sing “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree”, now you finally can! There’s a lot of goofing off in some of these tracks, but also a lot of rock. It’s live off the floor as they rehearse the songs, as a four piece band with Adrian. Not all the final lyrics or solos are set, but the songs are so raw and fresh. Some of the jams show a side of Whitesnake we rarely got to see. Kind of Purple-y in the way they just could take off and rip some blues.
Given all the rich audio extras, it’s OK if one of the CDs is a little impoverished. That would be disc 2, “The Wagging Tongue Edition”. This is a reproduction of an old promo CD, featuring the album Slip of the Tongue with a Dirty David interview interspersed. This was meant for radio premieres. It has the entire album in the correct order, but because it’s faded in and out of interviews, it’s really not a substitute for a proper copy of the original album. At least the vintage 1989 interviews are interesting. It saves collectors from buying a copy on Discogs. (Coverdale claims “Judgement Day” was originally titled “Up Yours Robert”. Ooft.)
There’s another disappointment here and it’s difficult to forgive. In 2011, Whitesnake released the long awaited Live at Donington as a 2 CD/1 DVD package. This brilliant performance finally gave us a permanent record of Whitesnake live with Vai. In our previous dedicated review, we had this to say:
Musically, it’s a wild ride. It’s not the Steve Vai show. Adrian gets just as many solos, and his are still spine-tingling if more conventional. It is loaded with ‘Snake hits, leaning heavily on the three Geffen albums. In fact there is only one pre-Slide It In song included: The Bobby “Blue” Bland cover “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. And, since it is also the pre-grunge era, there are plenty of solos, which today seems excessive. Aldridge does his drum solo at the end of “Still Of The Night”. Vandenberg gets his “Adagio for Strato”/”Flying Dutchman Boogie”. Most excitingly, Steve Vai performs two songs from his then-brand new (and top 40!) album Passion And Warfare: “For The Love Of God” and “The Audience Is Listening”, with Aldridge on drums. Coverdale even introduces him as “Mr. Passion and Warfare!” so I imagine there was no sour grapes that Vai’s album was doing so well. And lemme tell ya folks — the audience WAS listening, and going nuts too!
Unfortunately, to save a little bit of plastic, this set was reduced to a single CD for its inclusion here. The Vai and Adrian solos were cut, though Tommy’s drum solo in “Still of the Night” is retained. To cut the guitar solos in such a guitar focused boxed set is not only unwise but unforgivable. Fans who don’t have Live at Donington are going to want to shell out again just to get the solos. Fortunately, the whole show is uncut on the included DVD.
The DVD has plenty of added value; it’s not just a reissue of Live at Donington. You’ll get the three music videos from the album (“Now You’re Gone”, “The Deeper the Love” and “Fool for Your Loving”). There’s even a brand new clip for “Sweet Lady Luck” cobbled together from existing video. Then, you can go deeper into the album. The aforementioned sitdown with David and Adrian is really enlightening. Another behind the scenes feature narrated by David is fantastic for those who love to watch a band create in the studio. Coverdale’s not a bad guitarist himself.
These Whitesnake box sets also include ample extras on paper. There’s quite a nice miniature reformatted tour program with the majority of cool photos. A large Slip of the Tongue poster can adorn your wall, or remain safely folded up in this box. Finally, there is a 60 page hardcover booklet. This is a treasure trove of press clippings, magazine covers, single artwork, and more. Lyrics and credits wrap it all up in a nice little package.
Because we know that David puts so much into these box sets, it’s that much more heartbreaking that this one is so slightly imperfect. The shuffled running order and lack of guitar kittens on “Kitten’s Got Claws” is a problem. The truncated live album is another. It means I have to hang onto old CDs that I was hoping to phase out of my collection in favour of this sleek set. Alas, I’ll keep them as they are my preferred listening experience.
Otherwise, in every other way, this box set delivers. It makes a lovely display next to its brethren and it justifies its cost.
Sit down Sykes fans, because I’m a Vai kid and this is “my” Whitesnake. The fact that this lineup existed at all is miraculous. The most creative guitarist of all time joining one of the most successful commercial rock bands at the peak of their popularity? Recipe for, at the very least, interesting history. And absolutely perfect box set fodder.
So here we are buying Slip of the Tongue for at least the third time, and finally getting it (mostly) right. At a quick glance, it appears the only detriment to buying this box set is that you will not get the complete Live at Donington concert on CD. In order to fit the whole thing on one CD (disc 6), they axed all the solos. Let’s face it folks. When your band includes Steve Vai, you don’t cut the solos. You’ll have to shell out for the original triple disc Donington set to get them on CD. The good news is that the whole Donington concert is still here on video, on a fully-packed DVD (disc 7). (The DVD also includes a detailed interview with David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg, touching on Adrian’s mysterious 1989 wrist injury.)
The running order of the songs on Slip of the Tongue, the 30th anniversary remaster, has been slightly shuffled. It’s strange and off-putting enough that I’m keeping my old copy of the album, so I can still listen to it the familiar way. “Sailing Ships” isn’t the last song? “Fool For Your Loving” is. The bonus track versions included, with alternate solos and guitar fills, are stunning additions. Then there’s an entire CD, the “Wagging Tongue” edition, with the songs in the correct order but interviews with David interspersed. This is a reproduction of a vintage 1989 promo CD, for contemporary perspective. Disc 3, the “Evolutions” CD, is a favourite. The “Evolutions” series of tracks, now a Whitesnake reissue trademark, mixes early demos with later demos and and even later versions, so you can hear the tracks evolve as you listen. It’s deconstruction and reconstruction in one. Importantly, you finally get to hear what the album would have sounded like before Steve Vai came in to record it. Disc 4 includes 16 monitor mixes, including some superior rarities. Finally, after 30 years of waiting and teasing, we get the unreleased tunes “Parking Ticket”, “Kill for the Cut”, and “Burning Heart” (originally by Vandenberg). We also get “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” and “We Wish You Well”. Verdict? Worth the wait. Oh, so worth the wait! There’s no reason some couldn’t have been released as B-sides in 1989, and they should have! “Parking Ticket” has a neat Van Hagar-like, and could have been a summer hit.
Disc 5 is “A Trip to Granny’s House”, actually the name of a rehearsal studio they used. These funny tapes, “Wheezy Interludes & Jams”, are informal fun. A highlight is the funky “Death Disco”, not unlike some of the stuff Purple were doing with Tommy Bolin towards the end. These tracks predate Steve Vai’s involvement, so you’ll get the purity of Adrian’s original playing.
I look forward to investing more time with this box set. Let us hope that David continues to empty the vaults. Next up: Restless Heart?
WHITESNAKE – Flesh & Blood (2019 Cynjas Japanese import CD)
So you got the new Whitesnake. Think you got all the songs just because you got the deluxe version on CD or iTunes? Naw! Think again! Once again, it’s Japan with the hardest to find bonus tracks.
To be fair, it’s a give and take. While Japan often gets their own exclusive songs, they also miss out on others. In North America, we got a deluxe edition with “Can’t Do Right For Doing Wrong”, “If I Can’t Have You”, and three remixes of album tracks. The Japanese CD has none of those, but instead has its own exclusive remix.
The ballad “After All” is surely one of the highlights on Flesh & Blood. As a simple, fairly unadorned acoustic love song, it’s right in the wheelhouse of more recent “unzipped” ‘Snake. Well, the Japanese bonus remix is even more stripped down. The “Unzipped” mix is the same recording, just with less stuff in the mix — no electric guitars, no keyboards. An insignificant difference? Absolutely. But with an acoustic song this fucking good, you may enjoy the purity of the unembellished version. Up to you really, but if you’re the kind of collector that needs “all the tracks”, then you do need this, don’t you?
“I don’t care about bonus tracks,” you say. “Just tell me if the album is any good!”
Flesh & Blood is being described by enthusiastic fans as “the best album since Slip of the Tongue. They are probably correct in that declaration. It’s stunningly good: diverse, well written and well played. It draws from a broader palette of sound than many of the past albums, and even dips back into the 1970s on “Can’t Do Right For Doing Wrong” (which isn’t on the Japanese CD). There are no songs to skip through, and while not all are equally strong, none suck. It has a high ratio of songs that could become future classics, like “Gonna Be Alright”, “Good To See You Again”, and “Sands of Time”. So yes, to answer your questions, it’s a bloody good album no matter what version you can afford.
The domestic CD is the best buy for its songs-per-dollar value (18 tracks on the deluxe), over the Japanese (14 tracks). Rating this purely as an album with its bonus track, it’s still a solid:
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