No more than being a big Yes, King Crimson, or ELP fan addles your brain.Originally Posted by Halmyre
Barton was a big Kiss fan in those days, it probably addled his brains
No more than being a big Yes, King Crimson, or ELP fan addles your brain.Barton was a big Kiss fan in those days, it probably addled his brains
Count me in as a big fan of the original Whitesnake - despite Coverdale's often cringe-inducing lyrics. They had one thing that the big-hair version of the band never had: SOUL. Many years ago, I saw original Whitesnake guitarists Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody at the Marquee in London with their own band (with no less than Don Airey on keys and Zak Starkey on drums): amazing gig. Still one of the very best I've ever been to, and much of the set was drawn from those classic late 70s/early 80s albums.
That sounds like that must have been a good show.
I was hoping the other three early Whitesnake albums that I ordered would arrive today. No, not yet. BUT, I did get some stuff another Deep Purple related band: Alcatrazz! So tonight, I think is gonna be an Alctrazz kinda night, as I listen to their first three albums!
Can't argue with that, really.
I can think of a handful of songs that aren't about sex from the DC catalogue but not a lot. The band did have a charm there up until, and I admit this is with the blinders I had on in the '80's, the Whitesnake album. Great at the time but lost it's luster after just a few years.despite Coverdale's often cringe-inducing lyrics
I do mean a few years. DC went with a all star band and that didn't work really well onstage.
If only he had used Jon Lord when he was in the band Who knows, but he didn't. Why have him there if he ain't doing anything?
Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000
Lord added quite a bit to the Whitesnake live show, if Live In the Heart of the City is any indication.
And he's got a few solos on the studio albums, too. OK me he wasn't as up front center as he was in Deep Purple (so far I don't hear anything like the intros to Lazy or Perfect Strangers itself), but Lord definitely put his stamp on those records. It's not like he's just playing anonymous string synth pads through everything.
So anyway, I now have all the the Jon Lord era Whitesnake albums, except Slide It In (which, will probably be next). I listened to Come An' Get It two nights ago, and Lovehunter (yes, the one with that cover) last night and enjoyed both thoroughly. Looking forward to listening to Live...In The Heart Of The City later this evening.
So far, I feel these are all very solid albums. As has been established in this thread, the late 70's/early 80's albums didn't quite have that full blown glam metal sound that's associated wtiht he band, at least Stateside. It still strikes me as maybe a somewhat bluesier take on the Deep Purple sound (especially after Paicey came on board), which I'm fine with. I'm really digging this records.
I think I need to buy a Lovehunter t-shirt!
It's just not the same for me. Lord Hammond was a beast and relegated to a solo or two per album and not really in the mix. Not knocking WS or DC but I think it could have been better if JL was a little more incorporated into the band.
Though I may have to listen again to some of the older stuff. Maybe get a new appreciation of what they were doing.
Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000
I just spent the last couple of days learning the bass part to Fool for you Loving, the original version which we are covering. Gotta say, very clever little bass line in that song, Neil Murray is a much better player than I'd given him credit for. Pretty good tune too, rocking with a good melody. This is why I give props to that early Whitesnake stuff.
Bill
Ironically, not long after the Purple reunion in the mid 80s, Jon said he was much happier his fingers were moving again. He felt WS was basically using him as a portable orchestra.It's just not the same for me. Lord Hammond was a beast and relegated to a solo or two per album and not really in the mix. Not knocking WS or DC but I think it could have been better if JL was a little more incorporated into the band.And he's got a few solos on the studio albums, too. OK me he wasn't as up front center as he was in Deep Purple (so far I don't hear anything like the intros to Lazy or Perfect Strangers itself), but Lord definitely put his stamp on those records. It's not like he's just playing anonymous string synth pads through everything.
So anyway, I now have all the the Jon Lord era Whitesnake albums, except Slide It In (which, will probably be next). I listened to Come An' Get It two nights ago, and Lovehunter (yes, the one with that cover) last night and enjoyed both thoroughly. Looking forward to listening to Live...In The Heart Of The City later this evening.
So far, I feel these are all very solid albums. As has been established in this thread, the late 70's/early 80's albums didn't quite have that full blown glam metal sound that's associated wtiht he band, at least Stateside. It still strikes me as maybe a somewhat bluesier take on the Deep Purple sound (especially after Paicey came on board), which I'm fine with. I'm really digging this records.
Though I may have to listen again to some of the older stuff. Maybe get a new appreciation of what they were doing.
I still have a Lovehunter t-shirt, but it's quite worn and faded.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I don't know if it's been addressed yet in this thread, but back in the 70's, Neil played in several "prog" bands: Gilgamesh, Coliseum II, and National Health.
Jeez Louise, I knew I recognized his name from somewhere! I did not make that association. No freaking wonder that bass part is so killer!
Bill
Funny! For me it was the other way around, when I got the first National Health album and saw his name, I said, "Wait, is that the guy who played with Gary Moore and Whitesnake?". I knew him from the hard rock bands he was in during the 80's before I knew about the "disreputable" prog rock bands (as Stewart Copeland was once described Curved Air) he had been in the previous decade.
(Jon Lord mode) But anyway... (Jon Lord mode off) I'm listening to Live...In The Heart Of The City right now. As I mentioend earlier, I have a cassette copy of this album somewhere, that I bought at a grocery store somewhere in Indiana about 20 years ago, when we went to visit my brother and his family. But I don't actually remember listening to it much. I can see though why some might say this is the definitive Whitesnake album, as it seems like everything kicked up a notch or two (or five) and they stretch out on a few of the songs. Notably, Mickey Moody plays a slide guitar cadenza during Lovehunter itself, which I completely forgot about.
Being in WS was probably a nice stable job for Jon Lord,and he had a few fine solos on the record, but yes it was a waste of talent somehow.
That being said, on the early Purple reformation albums, there were even fewer organ solos and JL was almost buried in the mix too (well, that Hammond sound was not the most popular sound in the 80s, was it ?). But he had found back its rightful place in the live sound. In the 90s, the organ made a great comeback on the DP albums.
While i empirically agree re: mix/solos on those albums; in HS at that time, The Lord spoke and we all were joyous.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Disputes over pay seem to have been what saw Lord out the door.
I tend to agree that Lord wasn't stretched too much in Whitesnake, but nevertheless it was doubtless great for Deep Purple fans that Coverdale, Lord and Paice were in the same band. And Rainbow and Gillan were regularly in the UK singles/album charts at the same time as Whitesnake.
I have to admit that I never was keen on Lord's synth sound choices, even on the 70s albums.
I don't mind the synths on the studio Deep Purple and Whitesnake records, but at least in Deep Purple, when he took that white face ARP Odyssey onstage, he seemed to get a really nasty sound out of it. I eventually figured that maybe he had the synth going through the same Marshall amps as his Hammond, which is what was causing it to sound that way.
But ya know what? When I was listening to the live discs I got recently from the Stormbringer tour, Paris and...I forget what the other city is, anyway, the synth timbres didn't seem to bother me as much. Go figure.
On the Heavy Metal Pioneers documentary, Lord said he just got tired of touring. I've also heard it suggested that talk of the return of Deep Purple was already in the air, so that might have had something to do with it. Lord makes it sounds like he had "had enough" and intended to retire from the biz or whatever, when he gets a phone call asking if he'd be interesting in a Purple reunion. "You're crazy, Ritchie will never go for it!" was Lord's response, but then he was told, "It was his idea" (meaning Ritchie, allegedly, was the one who put forth the idea of a reunion).Disputes over pay seem to have been what saw Lord out the door.
It is interesting how Blackmore broke up Rainbow, Lord quit Whitesnake, and Ian Gillan's departure from Black Sabbath all seemed to line up in such a fashion that they were all suddenly available for a reunion. And it probably didn't take a lot to lure Ian Paice away from Gary Moore's band. Likewise, I imagine Roger Glover was ready to jump on board in a heartbeat.
In 80s DP, Jon was still able to spread his wings playing live. On the Perfect Strangers tour, he was arguably the highlight of the show.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
That was certainly true on the House of Blue Light tour, where Blackmore was little short of an embarrassment when I saw Purple (Birmingham NEC, 1987). As regards Lord and Whitesnake, Lord made the point in an article for Q magazine many years ago that Whitesnake effectively 'paid his wages' during the period he was with them. I'm not sure quite how engaged with the band Lord ever was, to be honest, especially as Coverdale's prima donna behaviour was already well-established by the early 80s. Supposedly, John Sykes for one was happy to see Lord quit in '84, as it meant that the absence of Hammond organ made Whitesnake's music sound less 'old fashioned.'
The very same venue where Blackmore had that famous 'water bottle meltdown' in 1993.
I gather Lord figured out that essentially he was a 'sideman' for Coverdale, and this only got worse.
Obviously the 1987 'relaunch' was the ultimate extension of that. I actually don't mind that period- certainly more listenable for me than what (say) Heart/Aerosmith were doing then. But even with a couple of the same songs, there's no real musical relation in this Whitesnake to the late 70s/early 80s one.
Last edited by JJ88; 05-21-2019 at 07:04 AM.
I saw DP on this tour as well, the only time I've seen the band. What the hell was up with Blackmore? First couple of songs, he was great, but after that it's like he just stopped playing. He kept shaking his hand like he had an injury? Did he have some kind of chronic issue at that time (aside from chronic crankiness?).
Hmmm. I'll give you Heart, but I think Permanent Vacation and Pump are great albums. Yeah, they're a bit "slicker" than the 70s stuff, but those were pretty solid albums that marry Aerosmith's rock side with their Beatlesesque harmonic side pretty effectively, imo. The Whitsnake stuff that is just a joke in hairspray to my ears.
Bill
^Too many of the usual 80s 'song doctors' on that Aerosmith stuff (Desmond Child etc.). The days of things like 'Seasons Of Wither', 'Round And Round', 'Kings And Queens' etc. were gone. But was there worse to come from them? Absolutely.
For better or worse, depending on how you feel about it, that 1987 Whitesnake album was Coverdale/Sykes' baby. I will say that these days I'm far more likely to listen to earlier Whitesnake though. Same goes for all these hard rock bands who had big 80s 'comebacks', the earlier stuff has aged way better IMHO.
^^ 80s music hasn't aged well due to timbre as much as actual style. The excessive reverb and cheesy synth sounds alone make it sound dated.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I think these sort of albums were stylistically different as well- often much 'poppier', the less commercial elements were filtered out.
I'm listening through the early Whitesnake stuff I have at the moment. A pity 'We Wish You Well' wasn't longer, a nice song.
Of 10 songs on Pump, only four have contributions from outside writers (and one of those is because of a lawsuit). Child is only credited with helping on two tracks. It is odd they felt the need to bring in outside writers, their own material on the album is very strong. To me, Pump sounds like Aerosmith going in the direction they wanted. Yeah, it's not as gritty as the 70s stuff, but it still sounds like Aerosmith to me, and I think it was every bit Tyler's and Perry's baby (not to overlook Hamilton who co-write one of the biggest hits).
I guess. Neil Murray apparently helped out as well. This album has just always sounded very generic to me, like a weird mash up of Def Leppard and Foreigner. But it hit big for them, so I guess somebody had to like it. Sounds even worse to me today, where Pump still sounds fresh and exciting. But, so it goes, different tastes.
Bill
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