Whitesnake – Good To Be Bad

Over the years David Coverdale has had numerous line ups for his pet project and from the gutsy blues induced soloing of Bernie Marsden to the fiery metalized approach of John Sykes he has never been short of great guitar playing. Even the slightly misguided partnership with Steve Vai produced some superb moments.

It’s over a decade since the last official Whitesnake album and in that time Coverdale has seen many trends come and go but since 2003, the snake have been on the up, playing to sell out crowds and part of the success has been in no small part due to the recruitment of Doug Aldrich on guitar. A cult LA based player of the late 80’s, Doug carved a tidy niche for himself in bands such as Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords Bad Moon Rising and Burning Rain but it wasn’t until 2002, when he filled the guitar slot in Dio, that he started to get the recognition he so richly deserved. Put quite simply, the man is one of the greatest rock players of the last 20 years and he combines a high energy style with genuine rock star looks. In other words, he is every inch the guitar hero. Let’s take a look at how his playing hold up on the new album and has Redcar’s favourite son delivered mighty Python of an album or just a plain old snake in the grass!

Overview!

  The first thing that you notice about the album is the production. Self produced by DC and Aldrich, it sounds big, bold and fantastic and manages to harness the bombast of 1987 but with a nod to the glory days of Ready and Willing. Opener Best Years has a nice groove to it and it is clear that DC has lost none of his vocal capabilities. The guitar sound is awesome and it is clear that the Coverdale/Aldrich writing partnership is a marrige made in rock heaven. Can You Hear the Wind Blow takes proceedings up a notch and Call on Me features some great guitar work. All I want, All I Need is lovely ballad in the style of Is This Love and the solo is truly a thing of beauty. A master of wide but controlled vibrato, Doug pulls of some big notes on this one and this is definitely one of the standout cuts.

The title track is a typical bluesy rocker and DC shows that he hasn’t changed his lyrical style much in the intervening years. Again the guitar work is great and the rhythm sound is fat and juicy. All For Love has a nice harmonized guitar line to it but it does feature the albums most dodgy lyric when the title is rhymed with the line crawl for love! Summer Rain is pleasant enough and takes things down a notch or two and Lay Down Your Love is another solid rocker. The spirit of Crying in the Rain is evoked in the groove of A Fool in Love (how many times can this guy sing about love!) and once again Sir Douglas comes up trumps with another searing lead break. Got What You Need does what it says on the tin and will probably go down a storm live but it is a little snake by numbers. The album finishes in fine style with the haunting `Til the End of Time. A lush acoustic sound is employed for this number and it has a nice Led Zep vibe to it.

Conclusion

In summing up, David Coverdale has managed to roll back time in a good way and has crafted an album that will please a lot of fans of the band. It’s not perfect but it is very enjoyable and it shows that there is life in the old snake yet. Doug Aldrich makes huge contribution both as a player, writer and producer and although some of his best playing is contained on other albums this is surely the one that will enable him to reach his widest audience yet. This is a great place for listeners to start if they haven’t checked him out before. When you have go and buy Bad Moon Rising’s albums, Killing the Dragon by Dio and all the other great recordings he has appeared on over the years and check out some more high octane rock soloing from this underappreciated master craftsman.