Music review: Whitesnake – 鈥楩lesh & Blood鈥�
Back in 1978, singer David Coverdale released the debut album that carried the Whitesnake name. With a noteworthy career that produced memorable hits such as 鈥淟ove Ain鈥檛 No Stranger,鈥� 鈥淪till of the Night,鈥� 鈥淪low an鈥� Easy鈥� and 鈥淚s This Love,鈥� Whitesnake shows no signs of easing up the pressure on the gas pedal with a new offering that proves to be one of the band鈥檚 best.
With a current lineup consisting of Coverdale on vocals, Joel Hoekstra and Pittsburgh native Reb Beach on guitars, Michael Devin on bass, Michele Luppi on keyboards and Tommy Aldridge on drums, the band rocks harder than ever.
鈥淔lesh & Blood鈥� follows 2015鈥檚 鈥淭he Purple Album,鈥� a stirring set of revisited Deep Purple classics off the three albums that Coverdale appeared on after replacing Ian Gillan back in 1973
鈥淕ood to See You Again鈥� opens the new set with a hearty hello to fans with Coverdale announcing, 鈥淕ood evening all you kings and queens/It鈥檚 good to see you again.鈥�
It鈥檚 definitely good to hear Coverdale again. The 67-year-old frontman is still in fine voice as he growls out robust renderings of new tracks like 鈥淕onna Be Alright,鈥� 鈥淭rouble Is Your Middle Name鈥� and 鈥淕et Up.鈥�
鈥淗ey You (You Make Me Rock)鈥� simply smolders under the weight of heavy guitar riffs accompanied by a shout-out-loud chorus, making for a killer concert number that will get the walls shaking and the earth quaking.
鈥淪hut Up & Kiss Me鈥� possesses a youthful energy that finds the band rocking out and having a blast in the process. The video for this vibrant track is a throwback to the 1987 video for 鈥淗ere I Go Again,鈥� as Coverdale once again gets behind the wheel of his vintage white Jaguar for a night on the town.
Coverdale proves he can still deliver strong power ballads with the melodic 鈥淲hen I Think of You (Color Me Blue)鈥� and the bluesy 鈥淗eart of Stone.鈥�
鈥淪ands of Time鈥� is a rock anthem about enduring love, drawing the album to a muscular close with the assistance of some great guitar work as Coverdale declares, 鈥淥nly when the spell is broken/Only when the curse is cast aside/When I put my arms around you/You slip through my fingers like the sands of time.鈥�
Hard rock fans will want to make sure that the latest release by Whitesnake doesn鈥檛 slip through their fingers. For if it does, they will certainly know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams.
I guess I鈥檓 just a fool for the 鈥�80s.