Good To Be Bad

DISC 1

I was excited, but nervous. After years of recurring farewell tours that neither promoted anything new or produced the proposed farewell, I wrote off Coverdale as another star riding out his last years by cashing in on past glories, but with his latest version of Whitesnake, he has finally decided to step up and create something new. Whitesnake fans have always been a very divided group. The purists, who long for the old Love Hunter sound and think the band sold out in the late 80s -- And the others, who think that the band improved when Sykes joined and they achieved commercial success in the late 80s. Coverdale clearly had a problem here. His fans had been requesting a new record, but which fans? And which record should he make? Coverdale walked a line so narrow, that to those outside the metal community, it's invisible, but Whitesnake fans know it's there. But he did it right. About half of the album is heavy, riff oriented rock that appeals to his 80s fan base and the other half is a more classic, blues-based rock. Everybody's happy. They brought it all together by playing the old style a little tighter, and with cleaner production and recording the new style songs without the over the top production that marked their sound in the 80s. Good old fashioned compromise -- Push a little forward from Slow and Easy and pull a little back from Still of the Night and you have Good to be Bad. Aldrich and Beach proved a formidable "Thunder and Lightning" duo, balancing riffs and solos in a manner that should please fans of both eras. And of course Coverdale's voice gives it that unmistakable Whitesnake sound. Unlike many of the singers from the 80s (let alone the 70s!) Coverdale has retained almost all of his range. He sounds terrific. The songs are good and the lyrics ... well, let's be honest, the lyrics haven't changed much in thirty years. No matter which incarnation of the band you prefer, nobody bought Whitesnake albums for the lyrics. Overall this is a very solid record that I think all Whitesnake fans will be happy with. --Scott