Customer Reviews

Into the Light

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Into The Light is just the album many have been waiting for, the return of one of rock's finest singers, whose career in America has suffered the past ten years owing to the decline of the genre in general. Here he puts out an album with a wonderful array of styles, the diversity of which has not been seen since his late '70s solo albums. If one only knows him from late '80s Whitesnake, be prepared for a surprise. Track by track:

1. Into the Light--a brief, moody instrumental which leads the listener into believing this will be just a metal album. Coverdale plays guitar on this track!

2. River Song--a great tune for fans of Hendrix/Trower-style guitar (Coverdale even mentions the "Bridge of Sighs.") If there are any complaints, it is that it meanders a bit, but the singer is in top voice.

3. She Give Me--this one sounds like a mixture of many different Coverdale/Page songs, especially "Pride and Joy" and "Feelin' Hot." The beginning sounds like some old blues 78 record! A lot of good fun.

4. Don't You Cry--a wonderful, almost Motown soulish ballad. The slide guitar motif gets into your veins instantly.

5. Love Is Blind--my personal favorite tune on the album at the moment, an acoustic ballad with straightforward lyrics about learning to love again. This one deserves a lot of airplay but of course will not get it.

6. Slave--somewhat like Coverdale/Page meets Whitesnake, this one is slow and hard.

7. Cry For Love--an uptempo, Rolling Stones tune with great harmonica playing and good Coverdale harmonies. The feel is loose and casual but rocking.

8. Living On Love--the most Zeppelin like track on the album, one which many '80s fans may like. The vocals are strong, matching the guitar riffs pound for pound.

9. Midnight Blue--a piano/acoustic ballad, slightly more uptempo than "Love Is Blind." Another melody hook that gets under your skin.

10. Too Many Tears--this one is much more stripped down and moody than its original appearance. Perhaps the finest vocal performance on the album, Coverdale explores the lower ranges of his voice and comes up with an eerie winner. Another "should be a hit."

11. Don't Lie To Me--the hardest rocker on the album, the one that late '80s fans will hear and say, "There's the David 'I' know!" The pre-chorus "Where were you when I needed you..." seems to inject a harmelodic sophistication not usually seen in the emotional/feel-oriented style of Coverdale, yet more proof that he is one of the most underrated singers of all time.

12. Wherever You May Go--the last song is a gentle ballad, one which the singer shares with a female singer, their duet reminding me a bit of Eric Clapton's work with Yvonne Eliman in the mid-70s. The lyrics end the album on a note of hope.

In summary, those who like only one era of Coverdale's career (Purple, early solo albums, early Whitesnake, later "glam"-era Whitesnake, or Coverdale/Page) may not find every song to their liking, but those who have followed his career since the beginning will most likely rate it one of the best--if not the best--release of 2000.

Any melodic rock music fan should love this CD. Why? For soulful vocals delivered by a great singer who goes up & down the scale, but in the context of melodic, romantic compositions with a great supporting band, please consider checking out this CD. For David Coverdale fans, this CD is a must purchase. The 25+ year rock veteran still possesses a powerful voice and great vocal range. DC always puts out a quality product and this release is no exception. There is a wonderful combination of power ballads, bluesy rock tunes, hard rockers and acoustic ballads all loaded with great composition, musicianship and production quality. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire CD, my song favorites here are Love Is Blind, Slave and Wherever You May Go. I have already listened to this CD four times in its entirety, and each time I notice some other intricate detail that underlines the depth of this work and the effort put into it. For those music fans who are unfamiliar with David Coverdale, this is your opportunity to discover why many of us treasure his work. He is the flag bearer of the hard rock romantic.

The new Coverdale album will not be a disappointment to those who are familiar with his older work,e.g.,his first two post-Purple solo albums,and the very early Whitesnake albums,up to 1980's 'Ready and Willing'.If you've heard talk about his voice losing some of its gold,put all that to rest;Coverdale's vocal performance on this album will simply blow you away.His back-up band ids very tight,featuring the guitar talents of Earl Slick(David Bowie,Dirty White Boy)and Doug Bossi,who complement each other extremely well,while Marco Mendoza handles bass duties.David Coverdale's new album is a mixture of 'Restless Heart' and 'Coverdale /Page' in appearance only:a few listens will reveal the underlying genius and the freshness of this album,and those who really appreciate his phenomenal talent will realize that this is in many ways the crown of his musical career both as a vocalist and a composer.The songs featured,whithout going into much detail,can easily be classics-he managed to stay with the times while retaining the integrity of his vision.

David Coverdale is my favorite vocalist from the last 15 years, so this may be a bit biased. I loved Coverdale in Deep Purple, and have followed all his musical efforts to date. In this album, he stretches his voice to evoke the range of emotions that first attracted me to his singing. The tracks on this album show his absolutely perfect voice for the style of singing he loves best. What it is exactly - a bit of soul, rock, blues and maybe a tinge of gospel even - i can't say for sure. I have bought this album for three of my friends, who all have different tastes (jazz, easy listening and industrial) of which none were very interested in his Whitesnake work. All it took was one listening and they were hooked. This album is beautifully produced, and crafted with all the quality and knowledge of one of the greatest singers ever. Its got somthing for everyone one it, no matter your preference of music. Every single person who has ever listened to a couple tracks from this album (including my parents - who i also bought it for) has come away impressed with it.

Well, I grew up loving the voice of Coverdale. I wish I had his pipes! I like particularly his early stuff, with Purple and old rock n roll Whitesnake. His glam metal era of the mid to late eighties was... well, glam metal with a great singer to counterbalance the sheer silliness of the material. I still don't know why Coverdale copied Robert Plant so much during those years. He made a lot of money, but many people got to know him as just another Zepp-clone. So, after the alt-rock-dominated nineties, what can David do? Albuns for his old and still faithful audience. Well-played hard rock and ballads, many ballads. Perhaps too much ballads in this Into the LIght album. "Love is Blind" is a winner and "Wherever you may go", as unashamedly romantic as it is, sounds genuine (the old rocker seems to have settled down, at last), but the other 3 or 4 ballads might sound like an excess even for a "Soldier of Fortune" and "Blindman" fan like myself. Maybe thats because the Into the Light material, lacking the epic suffering and search for happiness of his previous material, sounds just mellow, without any emotional edge. OK, the man is happy and the voice is still great, but "Dont you cry" and the weak version of "Too many tears" are just banal. And what about the rock n roll? The good news are that "River Song" is one of the finest stuff David has ever written. Guitar-wise is a fitting tribute to Hendrix and David sings with a wonderful combination of restraint and deep emotion. IMHO, the best song since his 1977 Northwinds album. "SHe gives me" is interesting, and sounds like a Coverdale-Page song. The guitars are more honest and rock-a-rolling in this album than in the glam hits of the '80s. "Cry of Love" is Rolling Stones-ish, it is refreshing to listen to Coverdale singing such a straight-forward tune. Summing up: material sung by this great singer is always welcome, and this album can sure please the old fans as well as any one willing to listen to classic rock and a good voice. But what I would really like to listen from David is an album rescuing his soul and blues roots. Now that he doesn't sing to reach the top ten, COverdale could give us the gift that his hard-rock career didn't allow us to receive: another project focusing on his own interpretation of black music.

I just bought the album only a few days ago. So excuse for my short review.

I heard this album focuses on blues flavored rock. If this means he explores Is This Love or Now You Are Gone style rock it is exactly what I expect the album to be.

First single Love Is Blind is great!! Maybe best since Is This Love. And he pleases die-hard Whitesnake fans with Don't Lie To Me seeming like the track taken out from Whitesnake or Slip Of The Tongue. I need to explore this album further while listening to what Coverdalemania have to say.

Where are his fans!!

David Coverdale has done it again. From his days with Deep Purple to solo to Whitesnake to solo again, Into The Light is comparable to the older days of Whitesnake (Snakebite, Lovehunter). This CD in fantastic, a must have for any Coverdale fan.

Any melodic rock music fan should love this CD. Why? For soulful vocals delivered by a great singer who goes up & down the scale, but in the context of melodic, romantic compositions with a great supporting band, please consider checking out this CD. For David Coverdale fans, this CD is a must purchase. The 25+ year rock veteran still possesses a powerful voice and great vocal range. DC always puts out a quality product and this release is no exception. There is a wonderful combination of power ballads, bluesy rock tunes, hard rockers and acoustic ballads all loaded with great composition, musicianship and production quality. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire CD, my song favorites here are Love Is Blind, Slave and Wherever You May Go. I have already listened to this CD four times in its entirety, and each time I notice some other intricate detail that underlines the depth of this work and the effort put into it. For those music fans who are unfamiliar with David Coverdale, this is your opportunity to discover why many of us treasure his work. He is the flag bearer of the hard rock romantic.

This album sounds a lot like Coverdale's pre-Whitesnake solo efforts, and like early Whitesnake, but with a more modern sound. In fact, it sounds similar to the final Whitesnake album, "Restless Heart", which...sounds a lot like Coverdale's early solo work and early Whitesnake. For those who did not like Whitesnake's turn to glam in the late '80's, this album is a welcome return to Coverdale's roots.

Speaking of "Restless Heart", this album contains another version of "Too Many Tears", which was originally released on that album. Coverdale prefers this version. There are some great tracks here, including "River Song", "Love Is Blind", and album closer "Wherever You May Go". The album also *sounds* great -- very good production.

Highly recommended for fans of David Coverdale and early Whitesnake.

yes I agree with the review below! Coverdale has travelled the musically performance for almost than 25 years. He led the loudest band of all time DEEP PURPLE (1973-76) and then Whitesnake 1978-1990. And now his new solo cd 2000 can be his most honest master piece since his HARD rock adventures.... If You re DEEP PURPLE fan and Whitesnake Fan,....this is a must!