Whitesnake (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Whitesnake
Type = Album
Artist = Whitesnake


Released = April 4, 1987
Recorded = September 1985 - October 1986
Genre = Glam metal, hard rock, heavy metal
Length =
Label = Geffen (USA)
EMI (rest of world)
Producer =
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:bqm8b5c4tsqe link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5
Last album = "Slide It In" (1984)
This album = "Whitesnake" (1987)
Next album = "Slip Of The Tongue" (1989)
Misc = Singles
Name = Whitesnake
Type = studio
single 1 = Still of the Night
single 1 date = 1987
single 2 = Here I Go Again
single 2 date = 1987
single 3 = Is This Love
single 3 date = 1987
single 4 = Crying in the Rain
single 4 date = 1987
single 5 = Bad Boys
single 5 date = 1987
single 6 = Give Me All Your Love
single 6 date = 1988

"Whitesnake" (also known as "Serpens Albus" in Japan and "1987" in the UK and Europe) is the eighth studio album by British hard rock band of the same name (Whitesnake), released in 1987. The album was a major crossover hit and one of the top-selling albums in the glam metal genre, eventually selling over eight million copies in the United States alone (and thus going eight times platinum). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Its success even boosted its predecessor, "Slide It In", from gold to double platinum status.

In Europe the album was called "1987" which featured a different running order and two extra tracks, "Looking for Love" and "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again"; and in Japan the album was titled "Serpens Albus" which, in Latin, means "Whitesnake"). The two extra European tracks would be released in America in the 90s on Whitesnake's Greatest Hits.

After the album was recorded, lead singer David Coverdale fired the band members who had played on the recordings: John Sykes (guitar), who went on to found Blue Murder; Neil Murray (bass); and Aynsley Dunbar (drums). Adrian Vandenberg, who played on the solo to "Here I Go Again," joined the band on a full-time basis after the other members were gone.

The album produced three major crossover hit singles: the Led Zeppelin-influenced "Still of the Night", "Here I Go Again", the band's only #1 single in the U.S. and the power ballad "Is This Love", which reached #2 on the U.S. singles chart. They also had hits in Britain with the aforementioned three singles, as well as "Give Me All Your Love", which reached #18.

"Here I Go Again" and "Crying In The Rain" originally appeared on the "Saints & Sinners" album. These songs were rerecorded for the new release here. An alternate radio version of "Here I Go Again" of this album's recording did not appear on the album but was later included as a bonus track on Whitesnake's Greatest Hits.

All videos from the album earned substantial airplay on MTV in part due to appearances by Tawny Kitaen, then the wife of Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale.

The album's success paved the way for other Zeppelin-derived acts, such as Kingdom Come, to find commercial success in the U.S.

A new reissue of the album featuring a DVD with videoclips and more material of the band in that year is going to be released as a 20th anniversary edition.

Track listing

All songs written by David Coverdale and John Sykes except where noted.

American/Canadian version

# "Crying in the Rain 87" (Coverdale) – 5:37
# "Bad Boys" – 4:09
# "Still of the Night" – 6:41
# "Here I Go Again 87" (Coverdale, Bernie Marsden) – 4:35
# "Give Me All Your Love" – 3:30
# "Is This Love" – 4:45
# "Children of the Night" – 4:24
# "Straight for the Heart" – 3:40
# "Don't Turn Away" – 5:11

European version ("1987")

# "Still of the Night" – 6:36
# "Bad Boys" – 4:06
# "Give Me All Your Love" – 3:31
# "Looking for Love" – 6:33 (not on US release)
# "Crying in the Rain 87" (Coverdale) – 5:37
# "Is This Love" – 4:43
# "Straight for the Heart" – 3:39
# "Don't Turn Away" – 5:10
# "Children of the Night" – 4:24
# "Here I Go Again 87" (Coverdale, Marsden) – 4:34
# "You're Gonna Break My Heart Again" – 4:11 (not on US release)

The two tracks not on the US release were eventually given an American release on Whitesnake's Greatest Hits.

For Here I Go Again and Crying in the Rain, the "87" is not actually part of the song title. Rather, it has been included to avoid confusion with the earlier versions of these songs that appeared on older Whitesnake albums.

20th Anniversary Edition

CD Bonus Tracks

"Live...In The Shadow Of The Blues"
* Give Me All Your Love
* Is This Love
* Here I Go Again
* Still Of The Night

DVD

"The Videos "Trilogy"
* Still Of The Night
* Here I Go Again
* Is This Love
* Give Me All Your Love

"Live...In The Still Of The Night"
* Give Me All Your Love
* Is This Love
* Here I Go Again
* Still Of The Night

ingles

*"Here I Go Again 87"
*"Is This Love"
*"Still of the Night"
*"Give Me All Your Love"
*"Crying in the Rain" 87
*"Bad Boys"

Personnel

* David Coverdale – lead vocals
* John Sykes – guitar, backing vocals
* Neil Murray – bass
* Aynsley Dunbar – drums

pecial guests

* Don Airey – keyboards
* Bill Cuomo – keyboards
* Adrian Vandenberg – guitar solo ("Here I Go Again 87 " - Radio Mix/Edit Version)
* Dann Huff - guitar ("Here I Go Again 87" - Radio Mix/Edit version)
* Denny Carmassi - drums ("Here I Go Again 87" - Radio Mix/Edit version) [http://www.thehighwaystar.com/rosas/jouni/dc.html]
* Vivian Campbell - guitar solo ("Give Me All Your Love" - Radio Mix/Edit version)

Additional

* Produced by Mike Stone & Keith Olsen
* Mixed by Keith Olsen at Goodnight LA
* Mastered by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders
* John Kalodner - A&R
* Cover by Hugh Syme

Chart positions

Album

ingles

Trivia

* In the video for "Still of the Night", part of the instrumental string interlude is visualized using a bow on an electric guitar but the strings were recorded by Don Airey using either a synthesizer or a sampler. Fact|date=February 2007
* The videos for "Still of the Night","Here I Go Again", "Is This Love" and "Give Me All Your Love", apart of David Coverdale himself, feature the touring line-up of Vivian Campbell, Adrian Vandenberg, Rudy Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge, though they never took part on the recordings, except for Vandenberg, who played on the solo for "Here I Go Again", and Campbell who re-recorded the solo for the video and single version of "Give Me All Your Love".

References