Not to let his old mates in Deep Purple steal all the spotlight with the Made in Japan album name, David Coverdale and his current incarnation of Whitesnake played a concert in Tokyo in 2011 on the world tour of their Forevermore album, and the result is this stunning 2CD/DVD set. Coverdale is joined here by the longtime guitar tandem of Doug Aldrich & Reb Beach, along with drummer Brian Tichy, bassist Michael Devin, and keyboard player Brian Ruedy. If you happened to check out the band on the Forevermore tour, the setlist here is practically the same, heavy on songs from that album plus a host of classic '80s tracks to keep the longtime fans happy.
Though Coverdale doesn't quite have the superhuman pipes of his glory days, he still sounds quite good here, with the rest of the band helping out on backing vocals. The current version of Whitesnake is as tight as a drum, with Coverdale's commanding presence at center stage the band tears through new cuts like "Steal Your Heart Away", "Love Will Set You Free", "Best Years" (from 2008's excellent Good to Be Bad), and an epic, killer rendition of "Forevermore", which is perhaps the highlight song of the entire set. Throw in smoking hot classics like "Give Me All Your Love Tonight", "Love Ain't No Stranger", "Fool For Your Loving", "Here I Go Again", "Still of the Night", and the mandatory ballad "Is This Love", each one complete with Coverdale's testosterone fueled vocals and plenty of guitar wizardry courtesy of Aldrich & Beach. Tichy pounds the drums throughout, instantly cementing his place in the Whitesnake hall of fame (though he's recently left the band, and replaced by a returning Tommy Aldridge), and the muscular bass of Devin & Ruedy's majestic keyboards add the finishing touches on a great performance.Of course, there's a drum solo and a guitar solo duel for all the musicians who can't get enough of seeing these players do their thing.
The concert is beautifully captured on crisp DVD, with excellent audio & video quality, and the camera work is superb. You get the same show on both the DVD and the CD, and there's a 2nd CD that contains some 'sound check' songs from the Japan tour, including acoustic versions of "Fare Thee Well", "Good To Be Bad", "Tell Me How", and "One of These Days", as well as full electric rehearsal tracks of a few others, including the rocking "Lay Down Your Love" and "Evil Ways". Honestly, Whitesnake is still cooking at really high & hot levels, so let's hope that Coverdale and the boys continue to make new music and tour for many years to come.
Track Listing
Disc: 1
1. Best Years
2. Give Me All Your Love Tonight
3. Love Ain t No Stranger
4. Is This Love
5. Steal Your Heart Away
6. Forevermore
7. Six String Showdown
8. Love Will Set You Free
9. Drum Solo
10. Fool For Your Loving
11. Here I Go Again
12. Still Of The Night
Disc: 2
1. Love Will Set You Free
2. Steal Your Heart Away
3. Lay Down Your Love
4. Fare Thee Well (Acoustic Version)
5. One Of These Days (Acoustic Version)
6. Good To Be Bad (Acoustic Version)
7. Tell Me How (Acoustic Version)
8. Evil Ways
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