Jump to content

Whitesnake (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 178.148.233.101 (talk) at 22:07, 26 February 2016 (Glam Metal added. Do not delete it, because there's a lot of sources proving that Whitesnake 1987 album is Glam Metal.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the 1977 David Coverdale solo album with a similar name, see White Snake (album).

Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Robert Christgau(D+)[11]
Martin Popoff[12]
Record Collector[13]
Rolling Stone(favourable)[14]

Whitesnake is the self-titled seventh studio album by British rock band of the same name, released in 1987. The album produced a major power ballad hit, "Is This Love". The album was a major crossover hit eventually selling over eight million copies in the US (and thus going eight times platinum).[15] The album peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200[16] and No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart.[17] Its success in the US boosted its predecessor, Slide It In, from gold to double platinum status.[15] Its success would see the band receive a nomination for the Brit Award for Best British Group in 1988.[18]

This album was released in Europe and Australia as 1987 and as Serpens Albus in Japan with a different track listing (see below). A remastered reissue of this album, featuring a DVD with video clips and live performances, was released in 2007 as the 20th anniversary special edition.

Background

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 left the group. Prior to his leaving, Coverdale was actually about to fold the band, but executives at Geffen Records (with whom Whitesnake had recently signed with in the US only, while outside the US they remained with EMI) asked Coverdale to continue working with guitarist John Sykes, as they saw potential in the two.

Songwriting and production

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.

Coverdale, Sykes and Murray then moved 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 line-up 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 achieve a specific guitar sound that he wanted, which he eventually found with the help of Coverdale's friend and engineer Bob Rock, who had previously worked with Bon Jovi on the multi-platinum album Slippery When Wet.

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.

Release

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 the Billboard 200 chart,[16] spawning two hit singles: "Here I Go Again '87" (which reached number 1 in the US[19]) and "Is This Love" (which reached number 2 in the US[19]). Both "Here I Go Again" and "Crying in the Rain" had previously been recorded with a different line-up and released on the 1982 LP Saints & Sinners.

In Europe the album was called 1987, featuring a different running order and two extra tracks, "Looking for Love" and "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again"; in Japan the album was titled Serpens Albus (in reference to 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. In Australia, the album was released as 1987 but had the North American track order on the original vinyl and the European order on CD. In Bulgaria, the album was released as 1987 and used a slightly modified version of the European track order; "Here I Go Again" was moved to the end of side A and "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" was removed.

For the new line-up of the band, Coverdale enlisted guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (with whom he had already discussed plans), second guitarist Vivian Campbell (ex-Dio) and the rhythm section of the newly defunct M.A.R.S. project, bassist Rudy Sarzo (ex-Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne) and drummer Tommy Aldridge (ex-Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers, Gary Moore and 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 listings

All tracks are written by David Coverdale and John Sykes, except where noted

North American version
No.TitleLength
1."Crying in the Rain" (Coverdale)5:37
2."Bad Boys"4:09
3."Still of the Night"6:38
4."Here I Go Again" (Coverdale, Bernie Marsden)4:33
5."Give Me All Your Love"3:30
6."Is This Love"4:43
7."Children of the Night"4:24
8."Straight for the Heart"3:40
9."Don't Turn Away"5:11
European version (1987)
No.TitleLength
1."Still of the Night"6:38
2."Bad Boys"4:09
3."Give Me All Your Love"3:30
4."Looking for Love"6:33
5."Crying in the Rain" (Coverdale)5:37
6."Is This Love"4:43
7."Straight for the Heart"3:40
8."Don't Turn Away"5:11
9."Children of the Night"4:24
10."Here I Go Again" (Coverdale, Bernie Marsden)4:33
11."You're Gonna Break My Heart Again"4:11
Bulgarian version
No.TitleLength
1."Still of the Night"6:38
2."Bad Boys"4:09
3."Give Me All Your Love"3:30
4."Looking for Love"6:33
5."Here I Go Again '87" (Coverdale, Bernie Marsden)4:33
6."Crying in the Rain" (Coverdale)5:37
7."Is This Love"4:43
8."Straight for the Heart"3:40
9."Don't Turn Away"5:11
10."Children of the Night"4:24
20th Anniversary Edition
No.TitleLength
1."Still of the Night"6:38
2."Give Me All Your Love"3:30
3."Bad Boys"4:09
4."Is This Love"4:43
5."Here I Go Again" (Coverdale, Bernie Marsden)4:33
6."Straight for the Heart"3:40
7."Looking for Love"6:33
8."Children of the Night"4:24
9."You're Gonna Break My Heart Again"4:11
10."Crying in the Rain" (Coverdale)5:37
11."Don't Turn Away"5:11
12."Give Me All Your Love" (live, taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues)4:27
13."Is This Love" (live, taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues)4:58
14."Here I Go Again" (live, taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues)5:53
15."Still of the Night" (live, taken from Live: In the Shadow of the Blues)8:38
20th Anniversary Edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Still of the Night" (music video)6:24
2."Here I Go Again" (music video)4:34
3."Is This Love" (music video)4:35
4."Give Me All Your Love" (music video)4:00
5."Give Me All Your Love" (from Live... In the Still of the Night)4:43
6."Is This Love" (from Live... In the Still of the Night)4:15
7."Here I Go Again" (from Live... In the Still of the Night)5:19
8."Still of the Night" (from Live... In the Still of the Night)6:44

Personnel

Whitesnake

Additional musicians

Production

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

Charts

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1995 8x Platinum (+ 8,000,000)[15]
Canada CRIA 1988 5x Platinum (+ 500,000)[40]
New Zealand RIANZ 1988 Platinum (+ 15,000)[41]
UK BPI 1988 Platinum (+ 300,000)[42]
Germany BVMI 1989 Gold (+ 250,000)[43]
Sweden GLF 1988 Gold (+ 50,000)[44]
Switzerland IFPI 1989 Gold (+ 25,000)[45]

References

  1. ^ Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal. Minneapolis, USA: Voyageur Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0760345467. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. ^ Album genre review
  3. ^ Album info
  4. ^ Hair Metal Radio
  5. ^ Metal Obsession Album Review
  6. ^ 50 Greatest Glam Metal Albums Of All Times
  7. ^ Allmusic Album Info
  8. ^ Album description
  9. ^ Album Review
  10. ^ Huey, Steve. "Whitesnake - Whitesnake review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Whitesnake Consumer Guide Reviews: Whitesnake". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  12. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  13. ^ Jones, Tim (September 2007). "Whitesnake - 1987: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition". Record Collector (340). Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  14. ^ Considine, J. D. (18 June 1987). "Album Reviews: Whitesnake - Whitesnake". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 June 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b c "RIAA Searchable Database: search for Whitesnake". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  16. ^ a b c "Whitesnake Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Whitesnake - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Whitesnake BRITs Profile". Brit Awards Official Website. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Whitesnake Billboard Singles". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  20. ^ Whitesnake The Highway Star
  21. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987 (album)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  22. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  23. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 47, No. 10, December 12 1987". Library and Archives Canada. 12 December 1987. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987 (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987 (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  26. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Album - Whitesnake, 1987". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  28. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 978-4871310772.
  29. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987". Austriancharts.at (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  31. ^ "Whitesnake – 1987". Dutch Charts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  32. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  33. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 47, No. 3, October 24 1987". Library and Archives Canada. 24 October 1987. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  34. ^ "Whitesnake – Here I Go Again (1987)". Dutch Charts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  35. ^ "Whitesnake – Here I Go Again (1987)". Ultratop.be. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  36. ^ "Album - Whitesnake, Here I Go Again (1987)". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  37. ^ "Whitesnake – Here I Go Again (song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  38. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 47, No. 11, December 19 1987". Library and Archives Canada. 19 December 1987. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  39. ^ "Whitesnake – Is This Love". Dutch Charts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  40. ^ "Gold Platinum Search for Whitesnake". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  41. ^ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=3324
  42. ^ "Search for Artist Whitenake". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  43. ^ "Search for Artist Whitenake". Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  44. ^ "Search for Artist Whitenake". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  45. ^ "Search for Artist Whitenake". Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whitesnake_(album)&oldid=707088193"