Whitesnake

[Halmyre]

You bring up something I always found curious about the 80's British hard rock scene, which is that was quite incestuous, if you will. Everytime someone needed a new bass player or drummer, they seemed to go to their address book (and it seemed like everyone had the same address book) and call soemone who was already "famous".

Cases in point:

Roger Glover joined Rainbow, which was the weirdest of all if you know the circumstances behind how and why Roger left Deep Purple back in 1973 (basically Ritchie gave the rest of the band an ultimatum: either he goes or I do!)

Cozy Powell drummed with Rainbow, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath (yeah, yeah, there was that ELPowell deal, too, but that's a little outside the scope of what I'm talking about...or maybe it's not, now that I think about it)

Neil Murray played bass with Whitesnake (two separate stints, too), Gary Moore and Black Sabbath

Ian Paice drummed with Whitesnake and Gary Moore

Bob Daisley played bass with Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Ozzy, and Gary Moore

Black Sabbath had two...no, three different singers (count 'em! Three!) who had been in one band or another with Ritchie Blackmore (that would be Dio, Gillan and Hughes if you've lost count)

Don Airey played with Rainbow, Ozzy, and Whitesnake (and then much later, became the only not named Jon Lord to play keyboards in Deep Purple)

and so on. It was like a bunch of frat brothers all hiring each other when there was an opening in any given band.

You missed Paice Ashton Lord, which had Bernie Marsden on guitar a year or so before he joined Whitesnake.

[GuitarGeek]

You missed Paice Ashton Lord, which had Bernie Marsden on guitar a year or so before he joined Whitesnake.

Well, yes, but that was slightly outside the time frame I was talking about.

[progmatist]

That was one song I never saw on MTV. The first time I remember seeing that video was on the Heavy Metal Pioneers doc that came out on VHS, apparently contemporaneous with the release of that particular album, as that's where the story ends. I think they only used a couple fragments of the song, at the end of the video.

I don't believe King of Dreams was ever part of MTV's regular rotation. I only saw it on Headbanger's Ball, 3 hours late night on Saturdays.

[3LockBox]

I saw Whitesnake last summer, which was a warm-up act to Foreigner. I had no idea what to expect since most of these current acts are glorified tribute bands (indeed, this was the case with Foreigner). I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that David Coverdale was actually fronting Whitesnake and he was in very fine voice. During a break between bands I heard someone complaining that not all the original members where in Whitesnake anymore and I thought that was kind of funny to hear because to my knowledge no one Whitesnake album ever had the same personnell on it with the exception being Coverdale. As for Foreigner I think the only original member in the band was Mick Jones, everyone else was younger than me.

[Interstellar]

Bob Daisley played bass with Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Ozzy, and Gary Moore

Black Sabbath had two...no, three different singers (count 'em! Three!) who had been in one band or another with Ritchie Blackmore (that would be Dio, Gillan and Hughes if you've lost count)

If I may briefly take a step into the realm of useless knowledge, I'll add that on every Sabbath album without Ozzy there is an ex- Rainbow or ex-Deep Purple member (Bob Daisley played on Eternal Idol, Bobby Rondinelli on Cross Purposes).
Whitesnake's family tree also looks like a Who's who of classic hard rock.

[Gruno]

Another weird quirk was someone had this idea that there should also be a "radio version" for Here I Go Again, which had a different drummer (Denny Carmasi) and guitarist (Dan Huff, who I believe is a studio guitarist) in place of Dunbar and Vandenberg.

Dan Huff's band, Giant, released an awesome album called Last Of The Runaways which was released 3 months after Whitesnake's Slip Of The Tongue

[MudShark22]

Dan Huff's band, Giant, released an awesome album called Last Of The Runaways which was released 3 months after Whitesnake's Slip Of The Tongue

I have that album and its really good. There was a concerted promo push here in NYC area at the time

[GuitarGeek]

I don't believe King of Dreams was ever part of MTV's regular rotation. I only saw it on Headbanger's Ball, 3 hours late night on Saturdays.

Hmm, I guesss I must not have been much of Headbanger's Ball watcher, then. I remember watching it, but maybe I didn't watch it every week or whatever, but I can't think of why. I must have been watching those late night movies that USA started showing on late night during the weekends after they canned Night Flight.

Funny that they would relegate something like that to the "metal show", since I think King Of Dreams and it's ilk were pretty tame compared to most of what they were playing on that show. And yet a throwaway act like Warrant got aired at all hours of the day and night. Go figure. (shrug)

I saw Whitesnake last summer, which was a warm-up act to Foreigner. I had no idea what to expect since most of these current acts are glorified tribute bands (indeed, this was the case with Foreigner).

Apparently, Foreigner is still led by original guitarist/keyboardist Mick Jones, though I hear he's had health problems in recent years. As such, he's sat out some of the touring they've done in recent years.

During a break between bands I heard someone complaining that not all the original members where in Whitesnake anymore and I thought that was kind of funny to hear because to my knowledge no one Whitesnake album ever had the same personnell on it with the exception being Coverdale.

Not true. The Coverdale/Paice/Lord/Marsden/Moody/Murray lineup were together for a few years, and recorded three studio albums and half of a double live album together. Paicey's the only one who's not on the first two albums (which feature a drummer named David Dowles). It's really only when you get to the post Saints And Sinners era, which apparently began immediately after they recorded that album, that the lineup starts becoming unstable, like they suddenly turned into Hawkwind or something.

As for Foreigner I think the only original member in the band was Mick Jones, everyone else was younger than me.

According to Wikipedia, most of the guys in the current lineup are in their late 50's. Bassist Jeff Pilson (who was in Dokken back in the 80's) is 60. Their current drummer is 51. Their keyboardist's Wiki page doesn't give his birthdate, so who knows how old he is.

If I may briefly take a step into the realm of useless knowledge, I'll add that on every Sabbath album without Ozzy there is an ex- Rainbow or ex-Deep Purple member (Bob Daisley played on Eternal Idol, Bobby Rondinelli on Cross Purposes).

I forgot that Daisley was also in Sabbath, briefly.

Dan Huff's band, Giant, released an awesome album called Last Of The Runaways

I forgot that Dan Huff was in Giant.

Wikipedia tells me that Alan Pasqua was also in that band. Pasqua has the distinction of having played on an album listed in The 100 Worst Rock N Roll Records Of All Time (Bob Dylan's Live At The Budokan record), he also played with Allan Holdsworth, Santana, and a bunch of other notables. He also co-composed the CBS Evening News theme.

I think the only song I've ever heard by them is I'll See You In My Dreams, and even then, I remember it more from those "best of the..." whatever compilation records they used to sell on TV, it was probably a power ballads collection.

[3LockBox]

I didn't realize it was Pilson on bass until the end when they did band intros. I had no idea he that old. I was a ways back, so... I saw Dokken twice in the '80s. The first was as warm-up for Judas Priest on the Turbo tour and then again about a year later for Aerosmith.

Yeah, Mick Jones really did look long in the tooth that night.

[GuitarGeek]

I didn't realize it was Pilson on bass until the end when they did band intros. I had no idea he that old.

Well, if you think about it, he can't be anything less than in his late 50's, considering that first Dokken album came out in something 82 or 83, I think.

We've talked about this in other threads, but I was stunned to realize how old Andy Summers. He was already in his late 30's when he joined The Police. It was only when I recently saw a bio on him, where his birthdate was given, and I realized, "Wait a minute...he's how old?!". But then you stop and you realize that he was playing in bands in the mid 60's, well, of course he was in his 30's in the early days of The Police. He just didn't look like he was in his 30's!

Dr. Brian May was another one like that. I remember, I guess it was probably about 10 years ago, when I suddenly realized he was in his 60's. I thought, "WHAT?!", but there again, you realize how long he's been doing what he does, and you realize there's no way he could be any younger than that. And like Andy, for a very long time, Brian didn't seem to age at all, so you really weren't thinking about the fact that he was nearing what we normally think of as retirement age.

[JJ88]

Summers ('Somers') was part of this truly classic UK psych single:

http://www.45cat.com/record/db8260

Coverdale was probably a better talent than the rock-god persona he projected. His second solo album, 'Northwinds', shows a more introspective side of him.

'Mistreated' and 'Soldier Of Fortune' show what he could do. He was heavily influenced by soul/blues singers; there is a photo of him from the 70s with various tapes and those are the kind of albums he had- Stevie Wonder, Bobby Bland etc. Obviously 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City' became a Whitesnake staple.

Whitesnake did tend to 'play up' a crassness which isn't particularly appealing.

[3LockBox]

Summers ('Somers') was part of this truly classic UK psych single:

http://www.45cat.com/record/db8260



'Mistreated' and 'Soldier Of Fortune' show what he could do. He was heavily influenced by soul/blues singers; there is a photo of him from the 70s with various tapes and those are the kind of albums he had- Stevie Wonder, Bobby Bland etc. Obviously 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City' became a Whitesnake staple.

Whitesnake did tend to 'play up' a crassness which isn't particularly appealing.

Definitely played to the hedonism of the decade. But then again, few '80s acts didn't. I'd rather listen to '80s Whitesnake than '80s ZedZed-Top (for our Canadian friends )

[progmatist]

If I may briefly take a step into the realm of useless knowledge, I'll add that on every Sabbath album without Ozzy there is an ex- Rainbow or ex-Deep Purple member (Bob Daisley played on Eternal Idol, Bobby Rondinelli on Cross Purposes).

I remember the "Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi" album Seventh Star. Even when it came out, I thought it was quite odd Glenn Hughes sang on it, but didn't play bass.

[GuitarGeek]

Well, my Whitesnake continues today, as the first and third albums, Trouble and Ready An' Willing, have arrived.

Listening to Trouble right now, and there's some cool stuff on here. I like this version Day Tripper, which is a taken a bit slower and funkier than the Fab Four version. And it has a talk box solo!

The funkier sound is pretty well present throughout this album. Some of these songs sound like they wouldn't have been out of place on a Thin Lizzy record (think Angel From The Coast or Dancing In The Moonlight). Course, we're talking 1978, so I guess that shouldn't be surprising. The CD also has the Snakebite EP , which actually preceded Trouble, as bonus tracks.

I'm digging David Dowle's drumming on this record. Whatever happened to him?

[Sputnik]

I like this version Day Tripper, which is a taken a bit slower and funkier than the Fab Four version. And it has a talk box solo!

LOL! We cover this song as well, I totally forgot we did Whitesnake's version of this... but sans talk box, and we also lose the histrionic "day tripper" vocal interjections. But like you, I like the funky, slightly sleazy, groove this one has. Definitely rocks up the song in a good way. We'll debut that live on June 29th.

I agree with you about the Thin Lizzy comparison, I think the early Whitesnake stuff is in that same territory.

Bill

[GuitarGeek]

So now it's on to Ready An' Willing. This is album number three, and the first with Ian Paice on drums, thus cementing what might be thought of as the "classic lineup" (or at least one of them). Listening to the original version of Fool For Your Loving, and to me it sounds like a Deep Purple track. I guess that's to be expected when you've got both Jon Lord and Ian Paice present, but in a way some of this sounds like this maybe an extension of where Deep Purple could have gone, if Lord and Paicey hadn't broken the band up in back in 1975.

Come to think of it, going back to Trouble for a second, I thought the track that Bernie Marsden sang on that album kind felt like a Tommy Bolin number.

[GuitarGeek]

BTW, in the liner notes of Trouble, Coverdale talks about the song Bloody Mary, from the Snakebite EP (which, as I said, appears on the Trouble CD as bonus tracks). When they mimed the song on Top Of The Pops, the Beeb gave them grief about the use of the world "Bloody" (which I guess is one of those things that's much more "impolite" in the UK than it may seem to us Yanks). The thing is, the song, at least in part, is about masturbation! There's even a line about "Madame palm and her five daughters"!! Apparently, nobody at the BBC looked at the lyric sheet very closely!

[GuitarGeek]

One more comment on Ready An' Willing: LOVE Lord's synth playing on the album closer, She's A Woman.

[SteveSly]

One more comment on Ready An' Willing: LOVE Lord's synth playing on the album closer, She's A Woman.

I am pretty sure that was the tour that I saw them on. It was an odd double bill with Whitesnake opening for Jethro Tull, but I remember them being really good.

[Halmyre]

BTW, in the liner notes of Trouble, Coverdale talks about the song Bloody Mary, from the Snakebite EP (which, as I said, appears on the Trouble CD as bonus tracks). When they mimed the song on Top Of The Pops, the Beeb gave them grief about the use of the world "Bloody" (which I guess is one of those things that's much more "impolite" in the UK than it may seem to us Yanks). The thing is, the song, at least in part, is about masturbation! There's even a line about "Madame palm and her five daughters"!! Apparently, nobody at the BBC looked at the lyric sheet very closely!

Good story but: the only "TOTP" clip I can find of 'Bloody Mary' is from a European TV show with a 'Top of the Pops' logo on it which doesn't match the BBC's logo. The Snakebite EP only made number 61 on the UK chart so it's unlikely they were booked for TOTP. AFAIK they never appeared live on TOTP. They did appear on the Old Grey Whistle Test, performing Lie Down and Trouble.

[GuitarGeek]

Good story but: the only "TOTP" clip I can find of 'Bloody Mary' is from a European TV show with a 'Top of the Pops' logo on it which doesn't match the BBC's logo. The Snakebite EP only made number 61 on the UK chart so it's unlikely they were booked for TOTP. AFAIK they never appeared live on TOTP. They did appear on the Old Grey Whistle Test, performing Lie Down and Trouble.

The liner notes of the Trouble CD say they played Bloody Mary on TOTP. If that didn't actually happen, then you'll have to take it up with Geoff Barton.

[JJ88]

Actually 'Bloody Mary' was in a 1978 TOTP episode...22nd June.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/pops...978-t8799.html

Whether this is an actual studio TOTP performance I've no idea. All sorts of stuff which flopped was played on it.

[Halmyre]

I've found two different videos of Bloody Mary online, neither of which is from Top of the Pops, despite being labelled as such. So if it hasn't been wiped, there might still be a copy of the TOTP performance in the BBC's archives - unless the BBC showed the performance from the video made to promote the Snakebite EP, which I can't find a trace of.

[GuitarGeek]

Actually 'Bloody Mary' was in a 1978 TOTP episode...22nd June.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/pops...978-t8799.html

Whether this is an actual studio TOTP performance I've no idea. All sorts of stuff which flopped was played on it.

Interesting. I was wondering if what Coverdale and Barton meant was that they taped a TOTP performance, but before it could go out, the BBC Light Entertainment high sheriffs aput their foot down and said "You can't air that song!", or something.

[Halmyre]

Interesting. I was wondering if what Coverdale and Barton meant was that they taped a TOTP performance, but before it could go out, the BBC Light Entertainment high sheriffs aput their foot down and said "You can't air that song!", or something.

Barton was a big Kiss fan in those days, it probably addled his brains