Album Review - Whitesnake - Snakebite

For all of those that believe Whitesnake began life with the Americanized "Slide It In" or *gasp* even worse - with "1987", let's knock off the dust of the first true Whitesnake album and let the good times begin. "Snakebite" is arguably the first true release by Coverdale and his blanca serpentine musicians. To make things confusing, "White Snake" was the name of his first solo album, recorded in 1976 after the meltdown of Deep Purple and released in 1977. It also included the song "Whitesnake". Coverdale was touring with what was known as "David Coverdale and the White Snake Band", which for brevity's sake was shortened to just Whitesnake for the 1978 release of..."Snakebite". "Snakebite" in itself is also a confusing marriage of worlds and a bit of a jumble at that. Four tracks were recorded in 1977 and were released on David Coverdale's second solo album called "Northwinds", the other four were 'fresh and new' recorded in 1978 as Whitesnake. The sounds are all fairly similar and while the cd is firmly split into two halves, they come together fairly seamlessly as the whole affair is in a blues rock style.

The song that the record is best known for is one that almost never materialized at all. It's considered a Whitesnake classic, even though it is a cover song, and still sounds superb even today. "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" is a brilliant piece of work. Penned by Michael Price and Dan Walsh and originally performed by Bobby Bland, this track is given a brand new life thanks to Whitesnake and David Coverdale. David's soulful voice, Martin Birch's crisp production and the soul squeezing guitars make this love lost track an absolute anthem of pure blues proportions. It's emotionally touching, connecting all love affairs and everyone's loss and despair at relationship attempts that it has become timeless. Absolutely fantastic, and one that Coverdale is likely to be remembered for til the end of time.

The other three "Whitesnake" songs are hit and miss. "Come On" is the album's opener and has those cheese vocals melted into a steamy crawling track that comes across slower than its live counterpart. David slickly drops the names of two David sung Purple songs in this piece by reminding the audience that "I'm just a soldier of fortune, must be the gypsy in me..." You can hear the blueprint of 'Snake to come here. The fun rollicking tempo, the blues influenced vocals that go from steamy to scream, it's like a peek into their more successful future a decade down the road.

"Steal Away" is crafty and catchy, as 70s hard rock can be, and is wholly dominated by slide guitars. A staple of 70s rock and pretty cheesy when all is said and done. "Bloody Mary" is more or less forgettable, marked by throbbing bass and naughty lyrics illustrating the whims of a sex craving woman. The boogie rock piano puts the swing in the song, making it seem like some ribald ditty that would be best sung under the influence of some strong alcohol and in the company of heavily sloshed pub buddies to join in on the sleazy chorus lines.

The "Northwinds" recordings offer up the best of the rest, headed by the anxious, pleading and downright demanding "Keep On Giving Me Love" that changes genres in a flash of pop, rock, blues, funk and more. Never settling for one, and smoothly integrating all, it is an interesting testimony to the free flung varieties of 70s music. There's the balladesque swirl of "Queen of Hearts". "Only My Soul" is another blues celebration, that rips away all the layers, leaving the bleeding heart crying out passionately underneath. Coverdale's voice could melt a heart of ice, shatter a soul of ice and break down all your defences with this devastating piece, brooding in the midst of the blues. This is a natural progression from Purp's "Soldier of Fortune" and could very well be counted as its sister-song. "Breakdown" is a fast n' furious uptempo charged rocker, a slinky earthquake, stilled by blue long notes and dancing strings. It's unfocused and skitters ahead unheedingly, like a cheetah off its leash, or perhaps like the erratic condition of someone suffering a true breakdown. Which all makes sense when you take into account that the lyrics are describing the late 70s parting of Deep Purple.

"Snakebite" is not a perfect disc by any means. The majority of the songs could be considered fillers no matter who they are credited to, be it Whitesnake "the band" or Coverdale "the man". "Come On", "Bloody Mary", "Queen of Hearts"... these are only going to appeal to the most diehard of David's fans. Yet they have their own charms when taken in the context of the classic essence of the disc. However, "Snakebite" is still an interesting release, as it is a confusing one that shows the transistion from Purple to solo to Whitesnake and this is the result of that transformation.

"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" and "Only My Soul" are superb tracks that are worth a look no matter what. "Snakebite's" dual personality is a curiosity that reveals the true beginnings of one of Britian's premier hard rock outfits before they had charmed the world abroad (with an entirely different lineup of musicians save for Coverdale, one might add). Hearing the shedding of the purple skin, the floundering first steps of a solo artist and gaining a few clean pure white scales in the fallout's aftermath is a fascinating study in itself.

Written by Alanna
Friday, May 9, 2008
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Alanna: 6.5/10

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