Whitesnake
Slide It In 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition: 1984-2009 (Geffen)Whitesnake
Slip of the Tongue 20th Anniversary Edition: 1989-2009 (Geffen)Third-string Deep Purple vocal overlord beginning in 1974, David Coverdale started shedding Whitesnake LPs and band members four years later. More hard roots Free booters than Foghat bazooka crew, and despite deep catalog production by metal guru and fellow countryman Martin “Iron Maiden” Birch, Whitesnake managed mostly sodden platters until its 1984 platinum U.S. breakthrough, Slide It In. Recorded by a UK quintet that included Deep Purple organ baron Jon Lord, the platter was remixed and partly re-recorded by fledgling label stylists Geffen in L.A. Out were aging blokes with bad teeth and in was ex-Thin Lizzy/Tygers of Pan Tang flamethrowing blond John Sykes, who re-recorded guitar parts for the U.S. mix, which has been resequenced here. Sleazy pub-humpers “Slow & Easy” and the title track lubbed radio roundhouse “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” and album cuts such as bar-basher “All or Nothing” chose their minor chords and melodies carefully, as did closing sprint “Guilty of Love,” wherein big stick drummer Cozy Powell (Rainbow, Black Sabbath) comes in loud and cocksure. Two trans-Atlantic mixes contrast a stateside album as thin and bright as aluminum foil and a Brit effort troubled by dead zones. Self-titled follow-up Whitesnake three years later cracked a different strata, selling 6 million on the strength of video/radio smashes “Still of the Night” and “Here I Go Again,” the latter re-recorded off Slide It In predecessor Saints & Sinners. For Whitesnake follow-up Slip of the Tongue (1989), Coverdale went back to 1980’s Ready an’ Willing for first single “Fool for Your Loving.” Tongue fields completely different beefcake than Whitesnake, starring guitarists Steve Vai and Adrian Vandenberg, and the inside portrait of the band – perfectly coiffed and made-up – is as clear as prison rape what era birthed Kurt Cobain. Other than Led Zeppelin carcass “Judgement Day,” Mr. Mister’s Richard Page sweetens up synther “Now You’re Gone,” while “Kitten’s Got Claws” reeks of cat piss and “Cheap & Nasty” is National Geographic porn. Accompanying videos on the albums’ bonus DVD make Road House look like The Hours.
(Slide It In) 
(Slip of the Tongue) 
This article appears in December 18 • 2009.
