Customer Reviews

Whitesnake Live: In the Still of the Night (Deluxe Edition + CD)

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

No band delivers blues rock, rock 'n' roll anthems & power ballads like Whitesnake... Formed from the ashes of Deep Purple by lead singer David Coverdale.

In concert, Whitesnake presents captivating shows that in the words of lead singer David Coverdale, "Grabs you by the short & curlies & doesn't let go!!"

Recorded live during the 2004 "Live... In the Still of the Night" UK tour, the DVD features all of Whitesnake's greatest hits plus many fan favorites. The DVD captures the excitement and vitality of the band's performance before adoring all-ages crowds who sing along to every song.

The DVD, directed by celebrated live concert director Hamish Hamilton, also boasts a behind-the-scenes documentary and photo gallery. A 10-song, 59 minute live CD is included in the package.

Whitesnake Line-Up:

David Coverdale (lead vocals)
Doug Aldrich (guitar, vocals)
Reb Beach (guitar, vocals)
Timothy Drury (keyboards, vocals)
Marco Mendoza (bass, vocals)
Tommy Aldridge (drums)

DVD Track Listing:

01. Burn
02. Bad Boys
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Ready An' Willing
05. Is This Love
06. Give Me All Your Love
07. Judgement Day
08. Snake Dance
09. Cryin' In The Rain
10. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
11. Don't Break My Heart Again
12. Fool For Your Loving
13. Here I Go Again
14. Take Me With You
15. Still Of The Night

Bonus CD Track Listing:

01. Burn
02. Give Me All Your Love
03. Is This Love
04. Love Ain't No Stranger
05. Judgement Day
06. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
07. Fool For Your Lovin'
08. Here I Go Again
09. Take Me With You
10. Still Of The Night

Good things come to those who wait, and this DVD was well worth the wait. David Coverdale has surrounded himself with some of the finest, best rock n roll road dogs that money can buy. Tommy Aldrige (the only real hold over from any other Wsnake lineup) is the most insane drummer of all of rock. This guy beats the skins like an animal. He makes these songs sound like a locomotive is coming through your house!!! Marco Mendozo, is Tommy's partner in crime. Together they provide a solid, rock foundation to the songs, and they've been playing together for years (i.e. Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, etc.). Reb Beach, a fine player who gave Dokken a much awaited boot in the nuts on their 1999 Erase the Slate, boy can this guy play! the Ex-Winger axeman, is more reserved in this band, relying of the rhythm guitarist role, which he supremely does, and lets the true star of the show, Doug Aldrich, take care of most of the lead guitar and solos. I am only familiar with Doug through Dio's Killing the Dragon release (which wasn't all that impressive) and the Evil or Devine DVD (which was where I saw first hand this guy can play). Somehow though, Doug has a firecracker up his ass, because this guy is a maniac on the guitar. His solos are the hottest I have seen anyone do live lately (either on stage or DVD...and archive DVD releases don't count!). He reminds me alot of Randy Rhoads...without comparing the two though...Doug just ignites the old Whitesnake solos, just loke Rhoads ignited on the old Sabbath stuff with Ozzy back in the day (which coincidentally Tommy Aldridge was part of way back when). I am just amazed at the virtuosoness of Doug, he really makes these performances incrediable and gives this DVD a well deserved 5 stars. I don't want to ignore the main man, Mr. Coverdale, he is still after 32 plus years in the biz, an incredible showman. His pipes are still clean, and he stalks the stage like a predator in style. This band he's assembled is hands down his finiest line up ever, and I had the pleasure of witnessing it live back in 2004 during a US tour with the Scorps and Dokken. This even surpasses the Vai/Vandenberg lineup, from 1989 - 1990, which was incredible but at the same time a bit superficial for me. Thwe song list is outstanding, and again, Doug's playing warrant's this a five star release, and all is forgiven not including (perhaps their best song) Slide It In, since they open with Deep Purple's Burn! Even comes with a bonus CD of highlights, can't go wrong. Enjoy, and if you can catch this band live before it's too late.

No band delivers blues rock, rock 'n' roll anthems & power ballads like Whitesnake... Formed from the ashes of Deep Purple by lead singer David Coverdale.

In concert, Whitesnake presents captivating shows that in the words of lead singer David Coverdale, "Grabs you by the short & curlies & doesn't let go!!"

Recorded live during the 2004 "Live... In the Still of the Night" UK tour, the DVD features all of Whitesnake's greatest hits plus many fan favorites. The DVD captures the excitement and vitality of the band's performance before adoring all-ages crowds who sing along to every song.

The DVD, directed by celebrated live concert director Hamish Hamilton, also boasts a behind-the-scenes documentary and photo gallery. A 10-song, 59 minute live CD is included in the package.

Whitesnake Line-Up:

David Coverdale (lead vocals)
Doug Aldrich (guitar, vocals)
Reb Beach (guitar, vocals)
Timothy Drury (keyboards, vocals)
Marco Mendoza (bass, vocals)
Tommy Aldridge (drums)

DVD Track Listing:

01. Burn
02. Bad Boys
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Ready An' Willing
05. Is This Love
06. Give Me All Your Love
07. Judgement Day
08. Snake Dance
09. Cryin' In The Rain
10. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
11. Don't Break My Heart Again
12. Fool For Your Loving
13. Here I Go Again
14. Take Me With You
15. Still Of The Night

Bonus CD Track Listing:

01. Burn
02. Give Me All Your Love
03. Is This Love
04. Love Ain't No Stranger
05. Judgement Day
06. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
07. Fool For Your Lovin'
08. Here I Go Again
09. Take Me With You
10. Still Of The Night

I have been looking forward to this DVD for a very long time. I received it yesterday and all my expectations have been exceeded. Where do I start? The video quality is superb; in fact probably the best live performance ever captured on a DVD. I am lost for words, the audio quality is also impressive to say the least. The actual performance by Whitesnake was flawless, Coverdale's voice was better than ever. Doug Aldrich's guitar performance was awesome, he is in my opinion one of the most underrated guitar players in the world. In point of fact, he does a much better job than Vai did while playing guitar for Whitesnake. Doug is an extraordinarily competent guitar player. The crowd was truly enthusiastic and excited.

The song selection was good as well. The band played all my favorites: Is this Love, Fool for your Loving, Here I go again, Love Ain't no Stranger and Still of the Night. I have nothing else to add besides the obvious that this is a must have even for those who are not ardent fans of Whitesnake. All music lovers should add this DVD to their collection. It is a masterpiece.

BUY!

My wife and I watched a clip of "Still of the Night" on a DVD included with the latest issue of the British magazine Classic Rock we recently bought. We were blown away by the powerful performance and quickly sought out this full-length DVD.

Wow. Double wow. This is one of the most powerful, high-energy concert videos I've ever seen! David Coverdale, one of my favorite vocalists of all time, still has a tremendous voice. And this incarnation of Whitesnake has all the chops they need to blow me away.

Visually, the camera work is just about right. The cuts aren't so choppy that it becomes irritating.

Sonically, this is easily the best concert DVD I've ever heard. The guitars roar, man. The sound is crisp and clean.

When I watch this I feel like I'm THERE. The excitement level is sky-high. The band is on fire. The audience is diggin' every minute.

And you can't beat this version of "Still of the Night" for any money. My god, this is what metal is all about.

Do NOT waste a minute. I recommend that you buy this concert DVD RIGHT NOW!

Whoa! Now I've said it. This SHOW on DVD tops any I've seen and living in Southern Caliornia USA I've seen many a Rock Concert in the last 40 years. If this display of Rock history dosen't excite you and make your blood flow you'd better see a doctor. David Coverdale's voice is so fantastic and the band so tight. Tommy Aldridge's drum solo is a marvel in itself. I first heard Whitesnake in 1982 and Coverdale's lyrics are the sound trac to my life. The power of Blues Rock lives. Buy it, see it, love it. I went to Hollywood and saw'em live 6/05 but, you can't see'em like this DVD. Sinatra was my Dad's musical icon and Coverdale is mine. Macho is a weak adjective. Beautifuly done, T.R. at the beach

Being a long time fan of Whitesnake all the way from the first steps in the mid seventies until today it is great to see a first class production of a Whitesnake show at last. The sound and picture is superb and the band deliveres a high energy performance. The songs are what we can expect with a few surprises such as Take me with you and Burn (From the Deep Purple disc with the same name). The short intro from Hit and run played between songs made me long for more of the older songs, but knowing how little people in general know about the early records I understand the focus on the famous albums made in the 80's.

The video production is wonderful with not too fast clips and just the right amount of shots of the audience. The black and white cut in here and there works fine. The Dio DVD released a couple of years ago featured a lot of black and white clips that slowed down the tempo and made it hard to watch - in this case it is used as a perfect and effectful tool.

The band is one of the many incarnations of whitesnake that works fine. (Marco has now left the band and has been replaced by a young gun named Uriah)My only comment on the band is that it cuts the older songs too hard without the dynamic vibe from the original recordings. Tommy is a great drummer, but the dynamic and loose feeling of the older songs (played originally by Ian Pace)is lost in the thunder.
The guitar solo by Dough is plain boring. He deliveres a similar but more diverse and inteligent solo on the Dio DVD. Tommy plays the drum solo with the same fury and energy as always. Marco is a world class bass player and a superb back up singer. Timothy is a pro keyboard player and back up singer. All world class musicians adding their own personal touch to Whitesnake. The member who sounded all but good when I heard the band in the summer of 2004 is Reb. But boy does he deliver in this show! He has the kind of bluesy feel and bad boy smile that I expect from Whitesnake.
David sounds a thousand times better than he did on the show I saw in 2004. Instead of squeeling and screaming he actually sings. And he does it with feel and tone just like he used to do in the seventies and eighties. Thank God!

Over all the band is just top notch and very musical. The only band in the business that just sings about love and not about the devil and politics has grown older and so has the audience. They all sing along as a true Whitesnake audience should and David drinks tea before the encore. Not very rock&roll? I agree but I love the songs and the vibe and the production wich makes it a clear "4" in my opinion.

In short: Worht every penny. Very well produced. Great musicianship by all the members in the band, including David's performance. Phisically he doesn't look like the David we all know, but his professionalism is still intact. Not even Kiss with all its millions could come up with a real, high quality ROCK DVD such as this one. You won't regret buying it. I am a guitarrist so extra credit for Doug Aldrich's presence on stage. You may think you are looking at Randy Rhoads on stage again, the clothes, the Les Pauls, the poses, and some of the playing, but Aldrich has his own stuff too. All the new wannabe bands should use this video as a tutorial on how to perform on stage. You know? Play real music instead of jumping around. For those of us who had the oportunity to see the Great Ones in action-the real Rock Bands(Sabbath, Zeppelin, Purple, Priest) Nothing as close is available nowadays, so get this one to feel the rush again.

Some of the stuff may be to mellow for some, but it still excellent.

Singer David Coverdale has taken more than his share of criticism over the years for letting his band be a revolving door platform for talented musicians who come in for an album/tour--then ride off into the sunset only to be replaced for the next tour. Well I dare say that anyone who sees this performance by the 2004 Whitesnake lineup live in London will be thankful that Coverdale hand-picked this group for the tour and DVD. Lead Guitarist Doug Aldrich (fresh from his stint with Dio) shines on every riff and solo--combining technical skill with real heart and soul. Reb Beach (formerly of Winger) takes a back seat to Aldrich while capably handling the rhythm guitar duties here. Tommy Aldridge returns to remind us that he's still an 8-armed octopus on the drums--truly the master of the double-bass kick...and Coverdale himself can still go from a whisper to a scream with all the power, soul and technical accuracy you remember from 1987. He works harder than ever to prove that, at the age of 53, he's still one of hard rock's greatest frontmen. The video and audio quality are superb here...a must see for any Whitesnake fan, Coverdale fan, Rock fan!

Funny how times change... after many years of struggling to break America with Whitesnake, singer David Coverdale finally succeeded in 1987 only to run into critical fire for a) making the band too American (not true, his 1987 touring band was multi-national) and b) playing too few classic tracks in the live set. Here in this DVD, Coverdale returns to the fray after a few years out of the spotlight, this time with an all-American band backing him up, (to not one dissenting voice from the fans) and perhaps more importantly, the songs played were all old favourites - the most recent track played is a decade and a half old.

Filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo, which under its old name (Odeon) holds a special place in the minds of both singer and fans, and with no expense spared in producing the concert footage, Coverdale showcased his latest incarnation of Whitesnake before a sold-out crowd. The material featured covers all eras, though not surprisingly favouring tracks from the breakthrough '1987' album.

For a man in his mid 50s, Coverdale is holding up remarkably well, as is the singing voice which is stretched to the full on old favourites such as 'Crying in the Rain' and 'Here I Go Again'. He is arguably at his best when he concentrates on the slower bluesy numbers; the perennial favourite 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City' showcases this aspect beautifully, as does the band's biggest UK hit 'Is This Love'. However the Whitesnake of 2006 is as potent as any previous line-up on stage, with some of the most highly-rated US hard rock musicians backing him up. Led by ace guitarist Doug Aldrich and his equally nimble-fingered axe partner Reb Beach, with the superb Marco Mendoza on bass (ex-Ted Nugent) and veteran skinpounder Tommy Aldridge (the sole survivor, Coverdale apart, of the late 80s glory days) driving the whole thing along as forcefully as ever, not to mention the deft touch of Timothy Drury on the ivories. This line-up is well served by the superbly shot concert footage on this DVD, with twelve cameras covering every move by each band member, not just focusing on the lead singer. Mention has been made of the intercut 'grainy' black & white shots in previous reviews; personally I think they got the balance between these and the brightly coloured concert footage about right. I do agree that overuse of this effect can be annoying but in my opinion director Hamish Hamilton has not overdone it.

A large part of any Whitesnake show is audience participation; the many crowd shots emphasise this and it is evident in Coverdale's expression how important crowd enjoyment is to him. He is visibly lifted to hear hundreds of voices singing his lines before coming back in himself and delivering earth-shaking roars.

As previously stated, the set contains no new numbers, not even material from Coverdale's last CD 'Into The Light', (the Zeppelin-esque 'Judgement Day' is the most recent song, dating from 1989) but he has delved back to Whitesnake's beginnings and even into the Deep Purple repertoire for the set played here, opening with 'Burn' (intercut with a verse from 'Stormbringer') and including 'Take Me With You' from the band's first full album 'Trouble', he clearly intended to make this show a real crowd-pleaser. He cannot play everything of course, and only one song from the 'Slide It In' album ('Love Ain't No Stranger') makes the cut here. That is surprising, since that was the album which first brought US attention to the band, paving the way for the huge success of '1987'. The material delivered is however rapturously received by the packed crowd and so the concert must be declared a triumphant return to home soil for the English-born singer.

Also included is a short featurette featuring interview segments with all the band members and showing the preparation of the stage by the crew for that night's show, and a photo gallery featuring stills from the concert.
The sound is presented in 5.1 DTS surround as well as regular stereo for those suitably equipped. If all that is not enough, initial copies also come with a bonus CD of ten tracks taken from the concert, intended for you to play on the move if a DVD is unavailable.

In the absence of any new album this DVD will be enthusiastically received by the band's loyal fans and Coverdale has done them proud with the superbly presented concert footage on offer here. With something for the early fans as well as those who came on board from '1987', played by dynamic musicians, I have no option but recommend this DVD as an essential buy to all 'classic rock' enthusiasts.