White Snake | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 May 1977 [1] | |||
Recorded | August–September 1976 [2] | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Blues rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 38:18 | |||
Label | Purple | |||
Producer | Roger Glover | |||
David Coverdale chronology | ||||
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Alternative Cover | ||||
![]() 2000 CD reissue | ||||
Singles from White Snake | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Record Mirror | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
White Snake is the first solo album by David Coverdale,released in May 1977. Coverdale would use the album title as the name of his future band,first known as "David Coverdale's Whitesnake" and soon afterwards shortened to Whitesnake. The album was released as a part of a compilation album Whitesnake/Northwinds in 1988,was reissued alone in 2000,and released again as part of a double compilation album now titled as The Early Days (2003).
As his first solo effort,Coverdale later admitted:"It's very difficult to think back and talk sensible about the first album. White Snake had been a very inward looking,reflective and low-key affair in many ways,written and recorded as it was in the aftermath of the collapse of Deep Purple". [6]
The album received mixed reviews. Bret Adams of AllMusic gave it 2/5 stars,considering it "a tentative,generally disappointing album because Coverdale is clearly flummoxed regarding the direction the music should take",mixing blues rock,R&B and soul music,with the track "Blindman" as "the best song because of its blues-rock purity" and sounds "ultimately,future Whitesnake". [4] Richie Unterberger gave 3/5 stars to the 1988 double compilation,concluding "they're mediocre listening,the product of a man uncertain about where to take his music as a solo act,without the rock-hard hard rock support of one of his steady bands". [7]
Victor Valdivia writing for PopMatters a 6/10 review about both 70s albums states it is from a pre-late 80s period image when Coverdale "was considered a talented singer with a bluesy voice far more reminiscent of Bad Company's Paul Rodgers than Zep's Robert Plant" and the album sounds "absolutely nothing like Led Zeppelin. Not only is Coverdale's voice much lower and bluesier than it would be in later years,but the music meanders all over the place,from horn-driven funk and R&B,to jazzy piano noodling and a more compact style of hard rock than he would ever try in his career's later incarnations",highlighting tracks "Whitesnake" and "Celebration",but also "badly dated" production. [8]
Neil Jeffries in 2021 Classic Rock retrospective included the album as 7th out of 20 on a list of Coverdale-Whitesnake's best albums, [9] saying "with a lazy,bar-room style,a bit of brass and ace backing singers,this is David Coverdale as few have heard him ... had "Hole In The Sky" (a ballad built on Tim Hinkley's piano) provided Coverdale with a hit,he might well have sailed off into Frankie Miller/Joe Cocker territory without a second thought about asking anyone to lie down or let him slide it in". [10]
All songs written by David Coverdale,except where indicated.
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) | 98 [12] |
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale,who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity,Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history.
David Coverdale is an English singer and songwriter,best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. He was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976,after which he released two solo studio albums,White Snake (1977) and Northwinds (1978),before forming Whitesnake in 1978.
Snakebite is the first official release by the British hard rock band Whitesnake. The original EP initially featured only four tracks and was released in the UK in June 1978 and never published in the US. Snakebite was re-released in September 1978 as a Double Extended Play containing four extra studio tracks taken from David Coverdale's second solo album Northwinds. The EP sleeve is entitled David Coverdale's Whitesnake and features photographs of the live band in concert. All tracks from the original EP also were used as bonus tracks on the 2006 remaster of Whitesnake's debut studio album Trouble.
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Bernard John Marsden was an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake,having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs,such as "Fool for Your Loving","Walking in the Shadow of the Blues","Ready an' Willing","Lovehunter","Trouble",and "Here I Go Again".
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