{"id":46042,"date":"2014-10-14T19:09:18","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T00:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=46042"},"modified":"2014-10-14T19:09:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-15T00:09:18","slug":"whitesnake-live-in-84-back-to-the-bone-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/whitesnake-live-in-84-back-to-the-bone-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitesnake | Live In \u201984 \u2013 Back To The Bone<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"WhitesnakePerhaps the most unique thing about Whitesnake is that this four- or five-piece band is in fact a one man\u2019s band in many respects and that the frequent personal changes within their line-up are nothing surprising. Whitesnake is then a band of many incarnations and many faces, and there are staunch followers of every \u2013 from their blues rock beginnings in the late \u201870s to the recent line-up that toured the world in support of 2011 Forevermore<\/em> album. There was something truly special, however, about the \u201883\/\u201984 era line-up of Whitesnake as it\u2019s the one that featured the unforgettable Cozy Powell (Rainbow, MSG, Black Sabbath etc.) on drums, Neil Murray (Black Sabbath, Gary Moore) on bass and the impressive John Sykes on lead guitar alongside the ever-charismatic David Coverdale. It\u2019s also the one that\u2019s finally immortalized on the new release in Whitesnake\u2019s discography, entitled Live In \u201984 \u2013 Back To The Bone. Due to be released in November 2014 by Frontiers Records in CD and DVD format, Live In \u201984 \u2013 Back To The Bone is a fascinating journey thirty years back, back to the days before the success of 1987<\/em> and Slip Of A Tongue<\/em> that transformed Whitesnake into the first league of rock giants and largely contributed to their now-legendary status.<\/p>\n

It stops being 2014 as you give this album a spin \u2013 the music transforms you right into the heart of Japan, to the Super Rock festival in 1984. The audience start to roar. They roar louder and louder and the well-known, old feeling of excitement appears, a blissful illusion you\u2019re participating in the legendary gig too\u2026 And when David Coverdale\u2019s trademark scream \u201cAre ya ready\u2026?\u201d pierces the air, you\u2019re eager to respond you are and do it at the top of your lungs \u2013 even though you\u2019re just sitting at home with your headphones on, about thirty years after the concert was held\u2026 There go the classics of the Slide It In Era \u2013 starting with \u201cGambler\u201d and \u201cGuilty Of Love\u201d. The latter featuring the master of ceremonies playing with the audience as well as making his infamous bananas-related comments when referring to the 1984 album\u2019s title\u2026 Well, if you ever saw Whitesnake live, you have experienced yourself that the band\u2019s front-man is famous for his gold-mouthed antics, haven\u2019t you\u2026? Next is a splendid rendition of \u201cLove Ain\u2019t No Stranger\u201d followed by pure hard rock madness of \u201cSlow An\u2019 Easy\u201d and \u201cWalking In The Shadow Of The Blues,\u201d both much feistier in their live versions and a mind-blowing showcase of John Sykes\u2019 shredding talents. <\/p>\n

\u201cReady An\u2019 Willing\u201d in its concert version makes you want to get up and dance even with your slippers and a worn-out college t-shirt on, leaving you no doubt about the entire band being at the top of their abilities back in 1984. It precedes a two-minute long piece every guitar aficionado will relish in \u2013 Sykes\u2019 sublime and wistful guitar solo that smoothly morphs into the pounding rhythm of \u201cCrying In The Rain\u201d. And as for the latter, even the fans of 1987 version must admit there is some indefinable charm in the raw, bluesy original, especially when played live. Having therefore reached a bit back \u2013 to 1982 album Saints And Sinners \u2013 Coverdale goes even further in his retrospective journey. And it\u2019s no wonder the screams of fans become almost deafening at this point, as the singer goes \u201cI have often told you stories about the way, I lived the life of a drifter waiting for a day\u2026\u201d in his trademark soulful manner (and almost a\u2019capella!). The Mark III-era Deep Purple classic of the 1974 Stormbringer<\/em> album is a favorite of many a Whitesnake fan and is always anticipated in the set. It\u2019s only a shame is that the cut of \u201cSoldier Of Fortune\u201d that\u2019s included here is not a full two-verse version of the song. <\/p>\n

Next are another versions of Whitesnake classics recorded sometime during Slide It In<\/em> tour. All of them were featured in the Japan set previously included on the album, making it twice as hard to choose between the two different versions of \u201cReady An\u2019 Willing\u201d or \u201cSlow An\u2019 Easy\u201d as there are different charms and flavors to all of them. However, perhaps these repetitions were not the best idea at all, as the majority of listeners wouldn\u2019t feel offended if there was a live recording of \u201cAin\u2019t No Love In The Heart Of The City\u201d or some other Snake classic to finish the album with instead.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a couple of \u201cin memoriam\u201d bonuses on the album \u2013 a medley of the four standard tracks of the era (\u201cGambler,\u201d \u201cGuilty Of Love,\u201d \u201cLove Ain\u2019t No Stranger\u201d and \u201cReady An\u2019 Willing\u201d). These are pretty special treat for every fan of early Whitesnake line-up, being the recordings of the last concert the late Hammond master Jon Lord played with Coverdale\u2019s band (“M\u00e5ndagsb\u00f6rsen” Swedish TV show, April 1984). <\/p>\n

Apart from the obvious aspects of enjoyable listening and high quality of digitally enhanced recordings, Live In \u201984 \u2013 Back To The Bone<\/em> is back-to-basics, retrospective release that Whitesnake should have already released a long time ago, as it portrays the era that was a breakthrough for Coverdale and his band in many respects. First of all, it was Slide It In<\/em> that got off the bluesy track of the first Whitesnake recordings, gravitating towards commercial side of rock that will reach its peak on glam metal-oriented, multiplatinum 1987<\/em> (a.k.a. Whitesnake). It\u2019s also all about the extraordinary line-up Whitesnake had at the time \u2013 from the late genius-behind-the-kit Cozy Powell to the aforementioned Lord or the brilliant John Sykes. All these being facts, no listener can escape the feeling the star that shines the brightest on Live In \u201984 \u2013 Back To The Bone<\/em> is Whitesnake\u2019s singer extraordinaire anyway. Love him or loathe him, this band was always about David Coverdale\u2019s mighty voice, trademark microphone twirling and onstage charisma. Back in 1984, he had it all \u2013 and the newest Whitesnake release is a clear proof of this fact. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDavid Coverdale \u2013 lead vocals
\nJohn Sykes \u2013 guitar
\nNeil Murray \u2013 bass guitar
\nCozy Powell \u2013 drums
\nJon Lord \u2013 keyboards\/Hammond organ (tracks 13, 14, 15, 16)<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. Gambler
\n2. Guilty Of Love
\n3. Love Ain’t No Stranger
\n4. Slow An’ Easy
\n5. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
\n6. Ready An’ Willing
\n7. Guitar Solo
\n8. Crying In The Rain
\n9. Soldier Of Fortune
\n10. Love Ain’t No Stranger
\n11. Ready An’ Willing
\n12. Slow An’ Easy<\/p>\n

Bonus Tracks – Jon Lord’s final performance with Whitesnake (medley)
\n13. Gambler (featuring Jon Lord)
\n14. Guilty Of Love (featuring Jon Lord)
\n15. Love Ain’t No Stranger (featuring Jon Lord)
\n16. Ready An’ Willing (featuring Jon Lord)<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/whitesnake.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Perhaps the most unique thing about Whitesnake is that this four- or five-piece band is in fact a one man\u2019s band in many respects and that the frequent […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":46044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,10120,347,374,2094,2902,10034,346],"class_list":{"0":"post-46042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-cozy-powell","10":"tag-david-coverdale","11":"tag-frontiers-records","12":"tag-john-sykes","13":"tag-jon-lord","14":"tag-live-in-84-back-to-the-bone","15":"tag-whitesnake"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}