It's a real shame that this 2006 live reunion set from Whitesnake never saw an official release here in North America, as it's one hell of a barnburner from start to finish, filled with some of their best tunes plus 4 new studio tracks recorded by the band that year. David Coverdale, Doug Aldrich, Reb Beach, Tommy Aldridge, Timothy Drury, and Uriah Duffy storm through 18 classic cuts here, plus guitar & drum solos, making this the premier Whitesnake live album since 1982's Live in the Heart of the City.
Coverdale's in fine voice throughout, and the band is red hot, plowing through familiar fare such as "Is This Love", "Here I Go Again", "Still of the Night", "Cryin' in the Rain", "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", "Foor For Your Loving", "Slide It In", and of course "Slow An' Easy". The real surprise is the inclusion of many older standouts, like "Take Me With You", "Ready An' Willing", "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues", and"Don't Break My Heart Again", which were all great songs from the Micky Moody/Bernie Marsden era. A few nods to Vai/Vandenburg can be heard on "Judgement Day" and "Deeper the Love", and of course you gotta have a rip roaring "Bad Boys", "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Give Me All Your Love Tonight", and the Deep Purple anthem "Burn" for good measure. Aldrich and Beach are flying all over the fretboard throughout, each one delivering crunchy metal riffs, bluesy passages, and sizzling solos, and Drury also impresses with plenty of Hammond organ, especially on the older pieces, doing the original Jon Lord parts justice. Nice to hear Tommy on the drums too, and it's a shame his tenure in the band didn't last up to the two new studio recordings.
The new cuts here are quite good, and in a similar vein to what the band delivered on Good to Be Bad and Forevermore, with the hard rocking "Ready to Rock" and "Dog" the best of the four. With the two recent studio albums, the brand new Live at Donnington 1990, and this live set from a few years back, Whitesnake certainly has a higher profile in the world of rock than they havehad in years, and are showing there is still plenty of fire left in the tank.
Track Listing
1. Bad Boys
2. Slide It In
3. Slow An' Easy
4. Love Ain't No Stranger
5. Judgement Day
6. Is This Love
7. Blues For Mylene
8. Snake Dance
9. Crying In The Rain
10. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
11. Fool For You Loving
12. Here I Go Again
13. Still Of The Night
14. Burn/Stombringer/Burn
15. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
16. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
17. The Deeper The Love
18. Ready An' Willing
19. Don't Break My Heart Again
20. Take Me With You
21. Ready To Rock (Studio Recording)
22. If You Want Me (I'll Come Running) (Studio Recording)
23. All I Want Is You (Studio Recording)
24. Dog (Studio Recording)