Whitesnake

Whitesnake | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000000OPZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,477 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Classic Rock > Glam
  • #99 in Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When Whitesnake broke into the spotlight with Slide It In (1984), a battalion of cynical critics predicted the band's success couldn't last, but Coverdale and company silenced all the naysayers with 1987's self-titled album, which rocketed to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. The record was driven by the pumping rocker "Here I Go Again" and the tender power ballad "Is This Love," but the band's mainstream appeal might have had as much to do with their unabashedly sexual videos as with their bubblegum metal. The clips, which seemed to splash across MTV every 20 minutes, starred Coverdale's girlfriend and B-movie actress Tawny Kitaen, and highlighted her busty, scantily clad body in various provocative poses. Volume and T&A--a metalhead's wet dream. --Jon Wiederhorn

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars John Sykes is GOD!! February 4, 2006

By Michael

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

You must hear this record. John Sykes is one of the greatest guitarists of all time - I am not joking. He writes killer songs and the solos are outstanding. He has created a musical masterpiece with this release. His songwriting skills shine and in particular his arrangements of the songs are brilliant. These songs are destined to be played forever. You will not be musically complete until you hear this stuff.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely intelligent buttrock. May 26, 2004

By Augustus Caesar, Ph.D.

Format:Audio CD

Can vintage pop metal from the 1980s be taken seriously by adults? Sometimes, yes. Case in point: Whitesnake's eponymous 1987 album, which catapulted them to international success and made them one of the top bands of the late eighties.

This album is the result of the songwriting collaboration between singer David Coverdale and guitarist John Sykes, and it has everything one could ask of good pop music: melody, wit, energy, and immaculate production. Coverdale is in very fine voice, and Sykes' guitar playing--well, it simply must be heard to be believed. This man is a virtuoso's virtuoso; his fingerwork alone is worth most guitarists' tapping. One scintillating solo follows another, but the fireworks are always in the service of the songwriting, which is largely first-rate.

Unfortunately, David Coverdale's personality is not one that cultivates collaborative bliss. By the time this album was released, Sykes had been fired and the Whitesnake lineup was completely transformed. Indeed, the big hit off this album, "Here I Go Again," was a recycled 'Snake song from the 1982, and featured a solo from Sykes' replacement, Dutch guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (and a fine solo it is). That said, this is still very much Sykes' album, and an enormous accomplishment at that.

Who knows what heights Whitesnake would have reached had Sykes stayed and continued to write with Coverdale. The band's follow-up, "Slip of the Tongue" (1990), was relatively lackluster, despite some good tracks, and they never again reached the level of this album. Oh, well--at least this still makes good listening. Even for people who are now older and wiser.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ULITMATE '80s hard rock album! January 11, 2002

By Brad

Format:Audio CD

This album was among "the best of the best" of all the great hard rock albums that came out in 1987. The combination of classic and melodic hard rock make this an all time mainstream rock masterpiece.

"Still Of The Night" is, beyond a doubt, one of the best hard rocking tracks of all time. Clocking in at just over 6:30, this song just doesn't let up! Begins and ends heavy with a slight slowdown in the middle for dramatic effect. Obviously the two huge radio hits "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" are fantastic--the epitome of a time when pop radio was listenable. "Give Me All Your Love" is an underrated track--I particularly love the exploding drums at the end of the track. "Cryin' In The Rain" and "Children Of The Night" both are great heavy rockers, and "Don't Turn Away" is an excellent anthem to end the album.

Quite simply, there is not a bad track here. Nearly 15 years after its release, this album is just as rocking and enjoyable to me today as it was when it came out. Absolutely an essential purchase for fans of '80s melodic hard rock.