Whitesnake: Live At Donington 1990

With a resurgent Whitesnake recently releasing their Forevermore album, which is not only is one of the best that the David Coverdale fronted outfit have ever produced, but also neatly straddles the band's bluesy beginnings and their arena rock commercial heyday, the release of this live album couldn't be more timely. Now personally my love of this band goes right back to the early days when it was substance over style and the blues trumped the bombast and while I do recognise the US breakthrough album 1987 to be one of the best melodic hard rock albums of the era, its follow up Slip Of The Tongue left me completely cold and still does to this very day. The inclusion of Steve Vai to accompany Adrian Vandenberg on guitar meant a complete removal of the bluesy vibe that had made Coverdale the revered band leader he by now was and in my personal opinion heralded the beginning of the end (at the time) for this seminal band.

So while I may have approached this release with more than a little trepidation, I have to report that this album from Whitesnake's 1990 appearance at Donington Park's Monsters Of Rock is actually the triumph of a live act firing on all cylinders and feeding off a huge audience who lapped up every second. The sound may be a little rough and ready, but that actually adds to the charged atmosphere on stage, bringing a real urgency to all the songs here and especially those from the lacklustre Slip Of The Tongue. The set list is a really strong representation of all the musical facets that Whitesnake have presented over the decades, with earlier tracks like "Slow An Easy", "Fool For Your Loving" and "Here I Go Again" sounding vibrant, whereas the likes of "Slide It In" and "Is This Love", which cemented the band's popularity in The States sound even grander in this live setting. However for the best clear cut example of what Whitesnake were capable of delivering on stage, just listen to the closing duo of "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City", which The Snakes had made their own by this stage and the classic "Still Of The Night".

Vai and Vandenberg are on fire as they belt out classic riff after classic riff and while both are fret burners in their own right, pleasingly the temptation to try and outdo each other is avoided throughout. Actually Vai, even with his seven string axe keeps himself in check for the large part, although there are a few needless "widdles" on the likes of "Slow An' Easy", which really are unnecessary. With Coverdale leading from the front in fine, if not perfect form and the unquestionably impressive rhythm duo of bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge keeping everything rock solid while still adding some flair and flash, this quintet really did make for a massively entertaining outfit.

Yes there are a few bum notes in evidence and Coverdale is ever so slightly beginning to struggle with the high notes, but this is one the few live albums released these days that makes me wish I had been at this gig and you can't ask for much more than that really, can you?

Track Listing
1. Slip Of The Tongue
2. Slide It In
3. Judgement Day
4. Slow An Easy
5. Kitten's Got Claws
6. Adagio For Strato
7. Flying Dutchman Boogie
8. Is This Love
9. Cheap An' Nasty
10. Crying In The Rain (featuring Tommy Aldridge Drum Solo).
11. Fool For Your Loving
12. For The Love Of God
13. The Audience Is Listening
14. Here I Go Again Bad Boys
15. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
16. Still Of The Night.

Added: June 20th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Whitesnake Official Web Site
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Language: english

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