Whitesnake – Into The Light (The Solo Albums)

What does it sound like?:

This six cd box set comprises three albums, White Snake (1977), North Winds (1978) and Into The Light (2000), all of which originally appeared as David Coverdale solo records, but which he has now, in his wisdom, decided to rebrand as Whitesnake releases, the logic being that to all intents and purposes he is Whitesnake. The three albums have each been revisited, being given a new 2024 stereo remix alongside a remaster of the original version, and all are supplemented by a generous selection of demos and alternate takes. White Snake and North Winds are both pretty decent if quite low key blues rock albums, much in the vein of the later Deep Purple records. Although they were solo albums, they very much laid the groundwork for the Whitesnake band that was to follow and which built up such a solid fanbase in the following years, before their subsequent transformation into a mega successful but totally different US based band that became a staple of MTV in the late eighties. The Into The Light album from the turn of the century actually sees a return to a more back to basics sound as Coverdale tired of the bombastic hair metal outfit the band had become – in fact he had also wanted to release its predecessor, 1997’s Restless Heart, as a solo effort but was ultimately overruled by the record company. The demos are interesting curios of work in progress, and include a few songs that would eventually appear on later albums under different titles. The best of the bunch though are Coverdale’s own demos from way back in 1968, which clearly show that the voice was already there long before he got his big break with Deep Purple. Overall, this set is an interesting reappraisal of these much neglected and often overlooked albums in his back catalogue, and I presume with the demise of Whitesnake this is now a time for reminiscing and re-evaluating, looking backwards rather than forwards.

What does it all *mean*?

It was certainly fascinating to hear these albums again after so long, particularly the earliest two, and I suppose it begs the question as to where does Coverdale’s solo work end and Whitesnake’s work begin, and what is the difference between the man and the band. In the later years of global superstardom I’d say there was little difference between the two, certainly as far as the average punter was concerned, whereas in the seventies when he was ably assisted by the likes of Marsden, Lord and Paice, there was a very definite distinction with a fully functioning cohesive and creative band rather than DC and effectively a talented troupe of high class backing musicians.

Goes well with…

Rewriting history.

Release Date:

25 Oct

Might suit people who like…

Whitesnake, Purple, blues rock.

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