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Whitesnake: Live in 1984 - Back To The Bone (CD/DVD)
 David Coverdale, Cozy Powell, John Sykes, Jon Lord, Mel Galley, and Neil Murray...unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last 30 years, you no doubt are aware that this was the stellar line-up that recorded the classic Whitesnake album Slide It In from 1984. From Coverdale's archives comes this vintage 1984 live show from the Slide It In tour (audio & video) recorded at Seibu Stadium in Tokyo, as well as some rare stuff that featured Jon Lord's final live appearance with the band before jumping back to Deep Purple. The Japan material features the line-up of Coverdale, Sykes, Powell, and Murray, and they deliver all the favorites from the then new album, such as "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Slow An' Easy" (complete with gargantuan drum blasts from Powell), "Guilty of Love", and "Gambler", as well as some earlier songs from the Whitesnake repertoire. Sykes just burns on "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues" and of course the massive "Crying in the Rain", which was soon to be re-recorded in more metallic fashion on the bands 1987 record. The band even pull out Purple's "Soldier of Fortune", with Coverdale really shining brightly, and deliver a fiery rendition of their blues-metal classic "Ready An' Willing". Throughout it all, the audience is absolutely going bananas. Having the final appearance of Lord with the band on the bonus tracks is an extra added treat that any fan will not want to miss.
Sure, there have been numerous live Whitesnake releases in recent years, but Live in 1984 - Back To The Bone has been screaming for an official unveiling for forever, and is a killer snapshot of the band at their peak in 1984. Highly recommended.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
CD
01. Gambler
02. Guilty Of Love
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Slow An' Easy
05. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
06. Ready An' Willing
07. Guitar Solo
08. Crying In The Rain
09. Soldier Of Fortune
10. Love Ain't No Stranger
11. Ready An' Willing
12. Slow An' Easy
Bonus Tracks - Jon Lord's Final Performance With WHITESNAKE (Medley)
13. Gambler (featuring Jon Lord)
14. Guilty Of Love (featuring Jon Lord)
15. Love Ain't No Stranger (featuring Jon Lord)
16. Ready An' Willing (featuring Jon Lord)
DVD:
01. Gambler
02. Guilty of Love
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Ready An' Willing
05. Slow An' Easy
06. Crying In The Rain
07. Guitar Solo
08. Soldier Of Fortune
09. Drum Solo
10. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
11. Don't Break My Heart Again
Bonus Tracks - Jon Lord's Final Performance with WHITESNAKE (Medley)
12. Gambler (featuring Jon Lord)
13. Guilty Of Love (featuring Jon Lord)
14. Love Ain't No Stranger (featuring Jon Lord)
15. Ready an' Willing (featuring Jon Lord)
DVD Bonus Gallery - "Slide It In Slide Show" with rare unseen photos. The music bed contains snippets of private demos from David's personal archives.
Added: November 8th 2014
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:  
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 3944
Language: english
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Whitesnake: Live in 1984 - Back To The Bone (CD/DVD)
Posted by Steven Reid, SoT Staff Writer on 2014-11-06 18:47:16
My Score:
The album Slide It In was a tipping point for UK Blues Rockers Whitesnake, the album being revamped, remixed and in part rerecorded as lead Snakecharmer David Coverdale decided to turn his gaze towards the US market and charts. The original UK version of album had featured guitarists Mel Galley and Mickey Moody, keyboard legend Jon Lord, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and drummer Cozy Powell. However the US version saw previous Snaker Neil Murray return to redo the bass parts, Jon Lord's contributions lowered in the mix and supplemented by keyboardist Bill Cuomo, although Galley and Powell did avoid the cull.
By the time the band hit the stage to support the album in the US, Whitesnake were unusually lean, only Coverdale, Sykes, Murray and Powell credited as part of the band and it is this line-up which is captured for the majority of this 30th anniversary retrospective Live In '84 – Back To The Bone. Using recordings from Coverdale's private collection, what you get here are eight tracks from the "Snakeskin Boots – Best Of Bootlegs", as the band positively romp through Slide It In tracks "Guilty Of Love", "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Gambler" and "Slow And Easy"; all of which retain the dirty, grooving charm that early Whitesnake made their own. Add in earlier compositions "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues", "Crying In The Rain" and "Ready An' Willing", alongside a stunning take on the Deep Purple classic "Soldier Of Fortune" and for lovers of the early incarnations of this band, this sweaty, energetic performance is indispensable, especially with the unpolished production – feedback, crowd noise and all – allowing you to really feel part of the audience.
From there we get a further three selections from the "Super Rock '84" recordings, where "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Ready An' Willing" and "Slow And Easy" are repeated (which is an odd choice, as this show makes up the main part of the accompanying DVD, where there are songs to choose from that don't feature in the main set). The sound on these tracks is more rough and ready (and willing?!) and yet there's still an undeniable charm about them, the foursome again in simply outstanding form. The CD portion closes with the same four numbers which open the main set presented as a medley with "Ready An' Willing" tagged on the end and are billed as the "EP Audio Track". This does mean further duplication, however the fact that these Swedish recordings mark the final appearance with the band of the much missed Jon Lord, mean they hold extra significance, as well as, again, finding the band in imperious form. The DVD also features these five tracks alongside a nine song (and guitar and drum solos) version of the "Super Rock" set, as well as a picture gallery from the Slide It In tour and "The Music Bed", which is snippets from Coverdale's private demo collection.
Whitesnake would never be the same again, Coverdale, Sykes and Murray being joined by keyboard players Cuomo and Don Airey, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and a host of guitarists (Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Dann Huff) before the line-up completely morphed into a more US friendly sounding (and looking) outfit as the Whitesnake (or as it's commonly known 1987) album took the band to fame and fortune.
However for purists (or you could say, old stick on the muds) like me, this release quite superbly sums up the best period of a band we'd loved for many a year, before they basically evolved into an equally good, if very different outfit indeed. Hopefully Coverdale has more vintage recordings like this up his sleeve; if he does we are in for some real treats!
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