I love to mock Hair Metal, or what some may call Glam, but there are some bands that released some awesome albums in that time. White Snake was one of them and their self titled/untitled album released on Geffen records in 1987 is just fantastic.
There's a certain sound to this album I love. It's like Led Zeppelin III meets Alice Cooper's Raise Your Fist And Yell, or maybe even Constrictor. I mean the drawing the line to Zeppelin is simple. Who hasn't done it in a review of this album, or anything that David Coverdale has sung on? Clearly some one figured out how to clone Robert Plant way back when, for who know's what diabolical purpose. The Alice thing isn't so much an actual Alice thing, but more a very well produced late eighties album. I would have sworn this album had been one of the early albums to be digitally recorded, but I was plesantly surprised to read that it was an analog recording.
I'm not going to say this is one of those perfect albums. It isn't. There are some tracks that I don't care for, and others that I find a bit boring. Also, I do have a small complaint about the amount of electric keyboard on this album too. Now that I've covered all the really bad stuff let's get into the album.
Heavy Rock Blues are always a great way to start an album. Crying In The Rain is thick, a bit slinky in a dirty way, and totally empassioned. The pre and chorus lyrics "The sun is shining / But, it's raining in my heart / No one understands the heartache, / No one feels the pain, / 'Cos no one ever sees the tears / When you're crying in the rain, / When you're crying in the rain, / When you're crying in the rain, / When you're crying in the rain" are delivered with such commitment and energy that you can almost picture Coverdale shedding a tear while singing himself. Then there's the solo, which I think is pretty bitchin'.
Bad Boys follows that up. This is a quick paced number that has a really good kickin' solo, but for the most part I find the song a bit stockish. It's a pretty basic song, that doesn't do anything to stretch the boundries of Rock. Still a good song on the album all the same, that I've never felt a need to skip.
The next two tracks on the album are the most popular songs from Whitesnake. First there's Still Of The Night, which is really cool, although a bit standard sounding in my opinion. It's a great basic format of rockin' and pausin'. In other words there's a great delivery. However, it's the fact that this song sounds a bit like a gimped up version of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love that turns me off this song the most.
Here I Go Again is another story. Nothing in this song turns me off. It's one of those songs that I hope I'm still hearing twenty years from now, and it better still give me that same sense of self empowerment that this song is able to create twenty-five years after it first came out.
I really dig Give Me All Your Love. There is a bit Kiss, a bit Van Halen, and a bit of Led Zeppelin in this one. It's a fun number that really just moves. Like many songs on this album it has that standard Rock kind of sound to it.
I know there's a lot of people out there that absolutely swear by Is This Love. It may be one of the single greatest Power Ballads to come out of the late 80's. I'm not really a fan. I'm cool with the questioning nature of the song's lyrics, but it's just another boring love song as far as I'm concerned.
Children Of The Night is probably my favourite song on this album, and it's so typically a cheesy song about Rock. It's the attack and delivery of the music that really gets me off though. It's like the band opted to take some of the best tricks and techniques out of Metal songs released between 1980 and '81, and then slammed them all together. It makes for one hell of a rapid fire album.
Straight For The Heart is a really kick ass song in one sense and a complete giant parody of itself in another. This song sounds big and grandious in a way that just seems too big. Especially for a song that's pretty basic and standard. It pretty much sounds like a John Cougar Mellancamp tune cranked up on adrenaline. I have no use for Don't Turn Away. I normally put an end to the album before this track starts. This is one of those tracks that would be used in the end credits in some 80's Rom-Com. Just not my thing.
There is nothing original about this album. It's just a really well written and homaged collection of songs. this is an undeniably 80's album, and it's one of the few that I'm good with. In fact, while listening to this album to do the review I've come to discover that it's been a bit too long since the last time I've listened to it. However, after listening to it twice in one day I may give it a break for a while again.
7/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
No comments:
Post a Comment