Whitesnake (album)

Whitesnake is the seventh studio album by British hard rock band of the same name, released in 1987. The album aimed for more of a heavy metal sound than the previous ones. The album was a major crossover hit eventually selling over eight million copies in the United States alone (and thus going eight times platinum). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[3] Its success even boosted its predecessor, Slide It In, from gold to double platinum status.

This album was released in Europe as 1987 and as Serpens Albus in Japan, with different tracklisting, see below.

A remastered reissue of this album, featuring a DVD with videoclips and live performances, was released in 2007 as the 20th anniversary special edition.

Overview

Personnel changes prior to the writing

'''During the supporting tour for the band's previous album, Slide It In, singer David Coverdale and drummer Cozy Powell's relationship had started to strain. In 1985, after the band's performance at the Rock In Rio festival in Brazil (the last show of the Slide It In-tour), Powell was either fired or left the group. Prior to the leaving of Powell, Coverdale was actually about to fold the band, but executives at Geffen Records (with whom Whitesnake had recently signed with in the US only, outside the US they remained with EMI) asked Coverdale to continue working with guitarist John Sykes, as they saw potential in the two. They actually wanted to call the band Yellow Worm but after many shots of whiskey, they settled on keeping the name Whitesnake.

Early writing process

In the spring of 1985, Coverdale and Sykes decamped to the town of Le Rayol in the south of France, to start writing material for a new album (according to Coverdale, bassist Neil Murray also helped with some of the arrangements). Two songs that would emerge from these sessions would be two of Whitesnake's biggest hits: "Still of the Night" (based on an old demo by Coverdale and Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore) and "Is This Love" (originally written for Tina Turner).

Rehearsing, recruiting a new drummer and early album development

Coverdale, Sykes and Murray moved down to Los Angeles, where they rehearsed and started auditioning for drummers. Legend has it that the band auditioned 60 drummers before they found Aynsley Dunbar. With their lineup complete Whitesnake headed up to Vancouver, Canada, to lay plans for the new record. One of the first issues the band faced was John Sykes' desire to get a specific guitar sound that he wanted, which he eventually got with the help of Coverdale's friend, engineer Bob Rock (who had previously worked with Bon Jovi on the multi-platinum album Slippery When Wet).

Coverdale's illness and return to the recording

The next problem the band faced was a sinus infection with which Coverdale was stricken. This put the album's production behind schedule, especially when Coverdale underwent surgery and a six month long rehabilitation program. Sykes grew impatient and suggested bringing in a new vocalist and carrying on without Coverdale, which eventually led to the end of Coverdale's relationship with both John Sykes and producer Mike Stone. After Coverdale recovered, he started work on his vocal tracks with Ron Nevison, before soon switching to Keith Olsen, who also helped mixing the album. Keyboard players Don Airey and Bill Cuomo were brought in to record some keyboard parts, as well as Dutch guitar player Adrian Vandenberg to record the guitar solo for the re-recorded version of the song "Here I Go Again". Coverdale was also discussing the possibility of Vandenberg soon joining Whitesnake.

Band members fired, the album's release and new members

By this time (late 1986), with the recording process done and the album slated to be released in early 1987, Coverdale made the decision to let the other members of the band go, due to personal differences. But when the album was finally released (now titled Whitesnake in the US) in April, 1987 it reached number 2 on Billboard Top 200 charts, spawning two hit singles: "Here I Go Again '87" (which reached number 1 in the US) and "Is This Love" (which reached number 2 in the US).

In Europe the album was called 1987 which featured a different running order and two extra tracks, "Looking for Love" and "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again"; and in Japan the album was "titled" / "catch phrased" on the obi strips as Serpens Albus (in reference of the illustrated text on the album's artwork which, in Latin, means "Whitesnake"). The two extra European tracks would be released in America in 1994 on Whitesnake's Greatest Hits.

For the new line-up of the band, Coverdale enlisted guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (with whom he had already discussed this), second guitarist Vivian Campbell (ex-Dio), bassist Rudy Sarzo (ex-Quiet Riot) and drummer Tommy Aldridge (ex-Ozzy Osbourne). This line-up toured in support of the album, and all appeared in music videos for "Still of the Night" (which was the most requested video on MTV when it was released), '"Is This Love", "Here I Go Again" and "Give Me All Your Love".

Track listing

All songs written by David Coverdale and John Sykes except where noted.

Tracks 12-15 taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues

20th Anniversary Edition DVD

Singles

• "Here I Go Again" (Radio Mix)
• "Is This Love"
• "Still of the Night"
• "Crying in the Rain" (Promo single('88 Mix))
• "Give Me All Your Love"

Personnel

• David Coverdale – lead vocals
• John Sykes – guitars, backing vocals
• Neil Murray – bass
• Aynsley Dunbar – drums, percussion

Special guests

• Don Airey – keyboards
• Bill Cuomo – keyboards
• Adrian Vandenberg – guitar solo on "Here I Go Again '87"
• Dann Huff - guitar on "Here I Go Again '87 (Radio Mix)"
• Denny Carmassi - drums on "Here I Go Again '87 (Radio Mix)"^[4]
• Vivian Campbell - guitar solo on "Give Me All Your Love ('88 Mix)"

Production

• Produced by Mike Stone & Keith Olsen
• Mixed by Keith Olsen at Goodnight LA
• Mastered by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders
• John Kalodner - A&R
• Cover by Hugh Syme
• All Songs Published By Whitesnake Music Overseas Ltd./WB Music Corp., except "Crying in the Rain" & "Here I Go Again" (published by Seabreeze Music Ltd./C.C. Songs Ltd./WB Music Corp.)

Chart positions

Album

Singles

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=whitesnake. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
3. ^ "Allmusic (Whitesnake charts and awards) Billboard albums". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5819. 
4. ^ Whitesnake The Highway Star