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Stockholm: Great Whitesnake concert with three Purple songs
Yesterday I saw Whitesnake in Stocholm! It was just great. I saw Whitesnake at Sweden Rock this summer, and the sound wasn’t the greatest and there were no Purple songs. David had just had a cold; he was good but not at his best. But this time he was doing much better and entertained the audience as always. He played lots of songs from the new album (namely 4) and then most of the old Whitesnake classics.
The sound was good, but a bit too screechy for me. Perhaps they should get a better sound guy. But anyway, the acoustic part of the set was just fantastic. Three acoustic songs were played The Deeper the Love, Ain’t Gonna Cry no More and Soldier of Fortune. I have filmed parts of them all, see the youtube links below.
Doug and Reb and the rest of the band were great as great as always, and the semi-new drummer got the croud going as well during his long solo! But of course Here I Go Again, Is This Love and Ain’t no Love in the Heart of the City and Still of the Night were the most popular ones as always.
David’s voice was very good; of course not as good, but as before, but it’s been 35 years since he joined Purple as he said! For those of you who still believe that he has lost his voice, I especially encourage you to watch some of the videos I took at Hovet! Especially the acoustic ones! They are in very good quality – watch in high quality!
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Nice footage, unlike according to a source who attended the last gig and said it was terrible, David could be seen walking away from the mic but his voice could still be heard. Wonder what’s up with that. You can’t be in top form every single night, some of their shows are killer and that keeps them banging away I guess. Age is sometimes cruel indeed. Doug going off a bit in Burn here, nice to see him play with that attitude.
December 23rd, 2008 at 23:51Very Nice. I still am listening to the latest CD. Quite enjoyable. David looks to have put on a little weight here. Also, I find him to be off key quite a bit, but all in all, still rockin’. Hey, it’s his gig and he does it his way. I believe the “Sgreech” sound is his doing. I think he feels that if the ‘Highs’ are turned up, he sounds better when going for the upper notes. He needs to find his own comfort zone and not rely on the ‘sound board’. It never covers up the reality.
Cheers
December 24th, 2008 at 02:09Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, No regrets I did not go.
December 24th, 2008 at 02:18yes indeed nice quality!, I would go to this show if it were in my area as I’ve never seen WS live
December 24th, 2008 at 03:13Thanks for review and sharing Robin (where’s the s/l?) Yes, they are good quality recordings and of course great performance, not like many reviews I’ve ever read. Perhaps
most of it’s all because the sound guy?
Next year they will do a concert in my country. And I hope we all here come to watch a performance like this one. Then I would regret to comment them so negatively (esp. my hero Dave Coverdale)someday before in this forum. But still hoping for some Whitesnake early days song beside Ain’t no love. The house will brought down..
December 24th, 2008 at 06:43Robin!
A couple of nights later here in Copenhagen(dec. 19th),I finally lost what remained of my adolation for David Coverdale!
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart, I have to recommend retirement for D.C. before he´s becoming an parody of himself!I have adored this man for 35 years, and have always been proud of his ability to deliver a blistering show with a voice that sent chills down my back!
That´s….why….(choking)…this is so fucking sad!!
Using click track to disquise his vocal problems,the horrible shrieks and that belly?? D.C. a fat f**k?? The world´s gone mad!! He who used to be a lean,mean,steaming rock & blues machine!
When even Denmarks D.C. worshipper and rock journalist numero uno Steffen Jungersen says “enough is enough”….It´s something seriously wrong!
Dear David,go home to Lake Tahoe for X-mas for a well deserved R & R and then announce your retirement,you have nothing to prove! Rest that voice of yours and then maybe,just maybe you could consider a comeback singing some acoustic blues….I think your voice would be very well suited for that!
Unless a miracle should happen or some divine intervention……I for one have witnessed my last Whitesnake gig….”I ain´t gonna cry no more”…Over and out!
December 24th, 2008 at 11:16I totally agree with Stefan in fact I reported what he said on previous blogs…
December 24th, 2008 at 13:06David Coverdale has the most beautiful voice of the world and He is a formidable showman and singer but in 2008 He lost his voice.
Now it’s time to quick Whitesnake and do solo albums because as David said in 1998: I have to quit Whitesnake and say thank you to all my fans because I don’t want to became a parody of myself;my songs are not as easy as rolling stones songs to sing…
Now we are in 2008!!!
these comments make me remember that in all my life ( I am 49 years old) I only left a show 2 times BEFORE the end. Whitesnake and Molly Hatchet.
December 24th, 2008 at 13:09What a stupid man he is…
David Coverdale isn’t able to sing BURN at all… IT IS THE BACKING VOCAL-MAN WHO SINGS THIS SONG, not Coverdale, watch the video once again and you’ll guess…
So David, stop doing what you aren’t able to do…
December 24th, 2008 at 15:43Sadly, no better than I saw in Nottingham UK in the summer. Quite honestly, my wife sings Ain’t Gonna Cry better than DC these days, and we do it the way Mickey Moody wrote it in open C tuning which is more than the blonde guy does,but he’s a power chord, widdley- widdely merchant so probably doesn’t know the chords in anything but standard tuning. (www.myspace.com/stackoverflow01,for sample)
December 24th, 2008 at 16:03Please David stay home or go for something that doesn’t entail screaming your cahones off.
Again I witness different reactions concerning the quality of a gig.
Years ago I saw WHITESNAKE live in Zwolle, 2003
I already found that very unsatisfying, due to the well known points of criticism …..
2 fiddlers or shredders without identity like Marsden, Galley and Moody, producing a wall of sound in which DC and the keyboards drowned.
DC screaming his heart out and only touching my feelings when he sang alone snippets of old gems like Aint Gonna cry no more and so on.
I like certain tracks since the 1987 introduced format of the sound he wishes to explore untill today
Sometimes live it worked
Ofcourse some are real classics.
But will he ever realise that his strenght lies in the old approach in which he uses he unique deep timbre and not the screaming?
Ofcourse these are again negative comments and probably some people will tell me to let it go and just play my old records, like an old man with his treasured memories.
I m not sure, but I still think DC could deliver a lot if would do what he is really able of.
December 24th, 2008 at 16:57How wonderful that would be , albums full of DC with his true voice instead of this cartoon approach?
im totally with you on this one preist !!!!!! everything u just said i agree
December 24th, 2008 at 17:03But he does sing the verses himself.. I was at the same concert as Robin, and thought he was great as well.. Perhaps because I’ve been a fan for so long. Of course he has had a long career, and his voice isn’t what it once was. But if you listen to gillan’s or dio’s voice you can see the same thing. It seems like many of you are old whitesnake fans and then of course it ain’t the same without moody/marsden, but I kind of like the 87-whitesnake and the new one..
And as for david’s voice, he was at the end of a long tour (with a break in the middle) promoting his album that recently (nov) has been namned “rock album of the year”..
Burn was the last song, and perhaps did not do him justice but he was great and hit some notes that he didn’t on sweden rock.. I was there as well, and that wasn’t the greatest concert for DC fans. Even still of the night was great this time (the stockholm show).
But I do agree with you all that the acoustic numbers are his best, perhaps he should focus on those..
December 24th, 2008 at 21:43I enjoy the new cd as well.
But to name it album of the year?
That s so sad and very doubtful.
December 24th, 2008 at 22:07Forgot to add that I can’t see why everyone is being so negative towards david and his performance. Perhaps because it is not posted on a whitesnake fan site?? I see, not only here, but on other purple fan sites, that many people are anti-glenn and david since they are die-hard mk-2 fans. I do not know if this is the case here, since I don’t know you. And others feel that “David sold out with the 87 album”… Some may feel so, but he finally got the recognition he deserved. I don’t mean to generalize, but who here ever says anything that ain’t great about gillan.. I think he was a wonderful singer, and still seem to be a good singer… But I’ve also heard some live recordings from recently, and he has aged as well.. It’s only natural.. Why doesn’t he “like” to perform “Child in time” no more?? He “doesn’t like to play it no more” or he hasn’t got the voice for it?
I don’t know if I’m blinded by the fact that I’m such a big fan, and can’t see that he wasn’t that great, but I mean he did won album of the year award! Kerrang called him the last great rock star, I heard as well (don’t know when though).. The album hit #62 in US and #7 in UK, and it’s a purple “related” band, and I think we should be happy for that! Don’t mean to piss all of you off.. But purplepriest, he did won album of the year. That’s because it was a great classic whitesnake album, in my opinion. He has won lot’s of prices lately. In 2006 I think he won to prices, best dvd and band. When was the last time a purple band was that successful? DC is allowed to have an “off” night, even though I think he didn’t in our great capital! Didn’t mean to fly away from the subject like that, just wanted to express my opinion in general.
Hey Robin, you should have posted it on a wsnake forum and even if the performance had of been horrible, everybody would have agreed with you 😉
December 24th, 2008 at 22:18Hi again,
December 24th, 2008 at 22:20yes I completely agree with Håkan’s post.. He wrote everything that I would have said, and a dash extra 😛
Håkan!
I literally worship the ground he walks on,the same goes for Glenn! I´ve been around since day one of MK III and Whitesnake, and been to numerous gigs with DP,Whitesnake and GH! No matter how much I love them one have to be objective, and no matter how much it hurts admit it….If he´s crap, he´s crap….period!
I love the last Whitesnake album and think it´s well deserved they´ve won the best album award. The studio is one thing….Live is a completely different environment and almost impossible to cheat and decive the crowd!
End of the tour you say…Hmmmm….Well, his voice were shot to hell in june as well as now,sorry but I don´t buy that and stand by my first statement!!ROCK ON!
December 24th, 2008 at 22:49He won album of the year for a studio album, not a live performance. With the money he has you can do a lot in a studio that has all the facilites and it’s so easy to cut and paste the best bits of god knows how many takes into a killer track. The studios we use and on our budget it has to be one rhythm track with a lead overdub and a vocal overdub, total cost around £200 ($375?)for six tracks in 10 hours. How much did Good to Be Bad cost and how much time did they have for basics and post production?
December 24th, 2008 at 22:53In 90s interview Ritchie Blackmore said that when DP first across DC he was “fat, bearded and wore glasses…so we took his glasses off, shaved his beard, and put him on a diet”
I’ll be enjoying a veggie Christmas, just like Mr.Morse
TH
December 24th, 2008 at 22:58Indeed, it was a studio record. But many rock bands have “all the money in the world”, yet david and his band manages to win the price.. sure you can fake a lot in the studio, but you can clearly hear david and the different great attributes to his voice..
I guess it is just pointless discussing this (if his voice is crap or not) since it’s already been up for discussion at blabbermouth youtube here and so on.. Not only for david; ian, dio, mr plant and so on as well.. Some say they have lost their voice, some say they haven’t, endless discussion.. I just found it rather amusing that everyone is praising gillan here, and coverdale on whitsnake.com.. I guess that is to be expected.
Yes, since I am a fan I may not be the most objective one, but who is on a fan site anyways? It’s all a matter of relative taste.. But to say it’s gone.. well, we’ll see next year..
and of course, if david is getting chubby is a much more interesting discussion… 😛 (!)
December 24th, 2008 at 23:24I think Whitesnake, like a good deal of others, need to see rest for all it’s worth. Do less dates and play bigger venues to make up for whatever loss it constitutes, and I’m talking about no less than 50 or 60 shows a year, but business isn’t gonna change to fit that agenda. I think with integral promotion many veteran bands can succeed doing this.
I agree the album is excellent though.
December 24th, 2008 at 23:35I love MKIII and I think Whitesnake has been one of the greatest band of the world and David coverdale with Gillan the best singer of the story but David Coverdale lost his voice, this is something objective…
December 25th, 2008 at 10:19Gillan too lost a big part of his voice but not so much as David…
the last whitesnake album is not so good to me…too much guitar and no keyboards and an excessive production…songwriting is nothing special in fact they copied their previous album…a good album but not exceptional…
I wrote this review on the whitesnake site but they never published it!!!!
Whitesnake and Deep purple too should play few gig at year in bigger venue but they should have done this fromm years and years…their voices now would sound much better as their reputation…
This is not Whitesnake, but Coverdale with some people around him playing loud music without the soul of the real Whitesnake. If DC could get it into his head that his voice will fit far far better with the old and real Whitesnake sound and not this screaming noise.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:32Soldier of Fortune complete:
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=HbIGwwrklC0&feature=channel_page
Whitesnake, Poland, Warsaw, Stodola Club 01.12.2008.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:56You won’t get anything on WS website unless you’re telling DC how wonderful he is and how youlove him. I have never tried but friends have sent negative comments and they haven’t been published either. What has become of fair coment in DC’s world?
December 25th, 2008 at 21:35DC and fairness?
I ll never forget how he pointed out to security people in the hall where people with cameras where located.
He signalled them by holding his hand on his head like he was just looking out for someone.
Sooooooooooooooo low!
December 25th, 2008 at 23:08Martin
I visited your myspace and website.
I like the music
Could be a good night out.
December 25th, 2008 at 23:16But you ll probably never gig in The Netherlands?
I just listened to the complete soldier of fortune on youtube.
December 26th, 2008 at 11:18I don’t know why everybody is having a discussion about his voice. It’s very clear that it is just totally to pieces. Even a tribute band wouldn’t hire a singer who sings a song like soldier of fortune, technically not a difficult song, like that. Even the medium high notes on low volume he can’t reach!
If you are going to charge people to listen to you, you should at least make an effort to give them what they expect. If you’re not able to do that then don’t, nobody will hold that against you.
Thank you priest, I doubt if we could afford a trip to the Netherlands if the bars there pay the pathetic fees that pubs do in England. We have thought of doing a summer tour of Cornwall and Devon, but we’d have to sleep in tents!
Thanks for the good words. Happy new year!
Further to fairness and you know who, it is rumooured that he dumped Mel Galley saying that he wasn’t gonna have a cripple in his band, how true this is I don’t know, just something I have heard on the grapevine.
December 26th, 2008 at 17:26OK…..
Whitesnake as with Rainbow is a solo project headed by a Deep Purple Ex-Member. That is the total attraction to these outfits. Yes they are Great Bands and yes they produced some beautiful music, and yes many other bands have gone on and on since. Mainly due to the original….DEEP PURPLE. When Purple called it quits back in 1976, the industry and the fans flocked to any and all Purple related efforts. But, the underlying dream was for Purple to reform. Ritchie put HIS band together…’Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’. Coverdale did his…..’David Coverdale’s Whitesnake’. Gillan did….’Ian Gillan Band’……and so on. Whitesnake took on many forms. ALL GREAT! Depending on which type of music you prefer, they all were good though. Just like Rainbow. Many forms….ALL GREAT!! As with the many forms of the MAIN ENTITY ‘DEEP PURPLE’. ALL GREAT. Some prefer different line-ups. That’s OK. But to claim any of it is CRAP or NOT the REAL THING is ludicrous.
I prefer some of the Old Whitesnake stuff and some of the NEW. There is a variety….ALL IS DAVID COVERDALE. What do you suggest? JLT take over Whitesnake? See my point? It’s Coverdale’s band……His solo project with a Name.
As far as statements like…..David needs to take some time off…….WHAT? He’s been off for a long time. He just put out this latest record and it’s been years in the making. He was gone for long time already. He doesn’t need time off. He needs to work on his vocal cords and come to terms with his limitations and sing the many songs that he has in his huge library that fit his voice. It’s That Simple. Sing the songs that you sing well, and ditch the ones that you don’t. BE A PROFESSIONAL.
Coverdale has a great voice still. Actually, his ‘Deep Purple Voice’ still exists. It’s the later ‘Zeppelin’ voice he needs to forget about…..I think he found himself wanting to hit the highs that Gillan and Hughes did and he lost his way in that place. He forgot about himself and his own place in all of this. He needs to return to his natural style and be satisfied. Nobody will bitch if he doesn’t ‘Scream’. He was never good at it and that’s where he needs to limit himself….Don’t do the songs you can’t do anymore. It’s That Simple.
Cheers
December 26th, 2008 at 22:52Tracy:
December 27th, 2008 at 00:221.I can’t understand your need to re-write the story of Purple-Rainbow-Whitesnake….
2.Coverdale was never good to scream high notes???you are joking I hope….
Cannot help it but I ll have to agree with Tracy.
December 27th, 2008 at 01:05I’ll second that, good job Tracy!!
December 27th, 2008 at 02:51I too recall ’76 when DP called it quits and trying to fing anything Purple related, I ended up with some classic stuff along the way.
Cheers
Right on!
December 27th, 2008 at 05:31Well, i have seen Whitesnake in Essen , a couple of weeks ago.DC has got all the problems other shouters have too.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:30In their younger years they took all their vocal abilities to the limit. Now they have to sing with reduced bandwith.
With DC it is a bit more of a pity.His bandwith is much more reduced then compared to for example IG. He wasn´t able to sing even the newer songs.He lost his high notes.Maybe a whole octave.This is a problem lots of singers have. Look at Hell´s bells (AC DC, Brian Johnson),or Number of the beast (Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson). Compare the recording with some later recorded live gigs. The refrain is sung an octave lower.
That´s the way it is.
Roberto: I know you have yourself admitted to not totally understanding the ‘English’ language, but my point was as clear as I could muster, and you missed the whole thing. I didn’t write the ‘Story’ of these bands at all. I used a particular section of each to make my point. Basically that we go these concerts to see the ‘Star’. Even though may a bloke likes certain ‘Line-ups’ from these bands, they truly only go to see (in this case), Coverdale. The rest of the band is the side show. If any of his musicians played the songs you like, just like the original player, you’d be happy. But, most of the criticism or observation centers on Coverdale, because HE is the Purple Relative that is the whole point to going in the first place.
He is in total charge of His Band. He needs to look very closely at some footage of his latest efforts and do a little soul searching towards where he needs to go with it. He still has a wonderful voice. He needs to redeem himself by doing a better job with selecting those that work and that he does well. He truly has the ability to make the hair stand up on my neck when he comes through with his smooth, sultry, bluesy style of delivery. Though his resent record is truly a Great record, it leaned too much toward the era that he has trouble singing. It’s time he goes back to the studio and does some reflecting to the days when he had some ‘Soul’ and forgets the ‘Hairband Era’…….
I would love to see him succeed in showing what he has and shy away from trying to ‘Hold On’ to the wrong stuff……
Oh, and I guess I did not make myself clear on the Screaming…..Yes, he did find the high screams finally. I remember him trying to do so in the MK3 performances and it just didn’t work. Hughes took that part over and ruined it with his constant ‘screechy squeals’ that he to this day over indulges in. When Coverdale revamped for the ‘Hair Band’ days, he did a better job on the highs and throwing in some nice screams, I’ll admit. I remember seeing them live and saying to myself….”That is not his natural voice and he is going to hurt himself”. It didn’t take long before I was right. Yeah, he can scream, but he can’t do both. Where Gillan actually ‘clears his throat’ and recoups after a couple of screams, Coverdale does damage and then is troubled with his voice, causing him to then, rely on the back=up singers to fill and then he just walks around ‘Screaming’ out the rest……
Again. Come On David. You are better than that.
Cheers
December 27th, 2008 at 17:20Something else I left out in my loooooong winded entry. So, to make a Long story even Longer, As I was stating about these “Off Shoot Purple Bands”, the main entity is the “Purple Member” whom is then the main attraction. Where as with Deep Purple, we find ourselves in tune with All Members. There actually is no single ‘Star’. Deep Purple is the ‘Sun’ with 5 equal parts or ‘Sun Spots’which is always accepted as One or a whole, no matter what MK. Each MK has made it’s place and then spawned many other planets that continue to circle the main Star, which is Deep Purple. Each planet is headed by a past or present member of Deep Purple, and is viewed as such, but mainly from that individual’s standpoint. Though it has been deemed “The Deep Purple Family Tree”, I see it more as the “Deep Purple Solar System”.
Woops, too much Christmas Egg Nog has finally taken it’s toll. Now I’m spewing a bunch of ‘Cosmic Jazz’…becoming too philosophical.
Time for some Hair of the Dog…..(not the Nazareth song)….but some ‘Arrogant Bastard Ale’ to flush out the Rum and return me to my Prick Self.
Cheers
December 27th, 2008 at 17:57I too think that Coverdale nowdays should sings songs without screaming simply because he is not more able to do that but in the past I loved his screams:
December 27th, 2008 at 18:46on monster of rock ’83 and japan ’88 He was wonderful on the high notes and I admire him even for his vocal range…I love too his screams during the Come taste the band tour.
Yes he has had his moments of ‘Nice Screams’ but it was short lived and it took it’s toll early on. It wasn’t his comfort zone. He did it out of regard to being a signature ‘Purple Thing’. His pipes couldn’t support it. ‘Now it’s gone’. Actually, he can still scream. He just can’t sing afterwards…..It’s one or the other. I prefer his singing.
Cheers
December 28th, 2008 at 00:19His scremas short lived???
December 28th, 2008 at 14:16from 1973 to 2003 (more or less) is a short period for you????
His screams are a part of his singing and I love him ,He can do enything with passion!
Roberto: You need to stop contradicting yourself.
Here you say……#38 “I too think that Coverdale nowdays should sings songs without screaming simply because he is not more able to do that…”
Then you say……#40 “His screams are a part of his singing and I love him, He can do enything with passion!”
I’m so confused……..
Cheers
December 28th, 2008 at 16:37Everyone with a right mind and good ste of eras hear DC lost it at the end of the 80 s, thats NOT uptill 2003
Screaming was never his thing
He did that in Purple cause fans loved it so much when Ian did that
But THAT was a complete other level
During Whitesnake years 77 up till 85 it all stayed within his range but since then he could not stop
December 28th, 2008 at 18:29ears
December 28th, 2008 at 18:32Tracy:
38: nowdays but in the past…
40: untill 2003…
just read….
Purplepriest:
Coverdale has been able to scream very well untill 1993 (coverdale-page tour) but good untill 2003 when I saw them…then He started to lose high notes…
He has been a wonderful screamer!
ears…
December 28th, 2008 at 20:42Roberto: I guess you need ‘stick figures’ to make you understand a clear point. YES HE CAN SCREAM. We All can scream. If all that was required to do Whitesnake songs was to scream, then he would get the job done. BUT he can’t do BOTH. Sing and Scream. GET IT? For F..ks Sake! That is the only point any of us are lead to. His inability to do all of those higher pitched Hair Era tunes. He just can’t pull it off and make it sound right. Like Gillan with ‘Child in Time’. People want it to sound like it did in the 70’s and 80’s. He just can’t quite hit that note anymore. So, he does other tunes that he does WELL. There are a shit load of tunes to choose from. Pick the ones you do well…..Other wise face the wrath of the disgruntled discriminate fan….
Cheers
December 28th, 2008 at 22:17In my opinion Coverdale has been able to do both:sing and scream until 2003…GET IT?
December 29th, 2008 at 00:00Roberto!
You have the sight to retain…..you have to might to….you have the right remain silent, anything you say might be used against you in a court of law…..
December 29th, 2008 at 06:35ahahahaha
I make this blog more interestng than it is!
but I never judge someone while You are accustomed to do it…
December 29th, 2008 at 13:22I think he started to really lose it around the time of ‘Restless Heart’ 97 I think it was, that’s when the power started to considerably drop.
December 29th, 2008 at 15:30CG I agree….and exactly when is irrelevant. Because there are levels which many don’t hear nor even care to hear. It’s like the ‘Love is blind’ statement. In this case it’s Deaf….LOL
But hopefully even the deaf can agree with 2008 as showing what many of us began hearing 10 years ago…..
Cheers
December 29th, 2008 at 18:20This goes to the Moderators….
I sent the above entry with the wrong e-mail…..so I guess it has to go through the Moderation Zone. Sorry about that…..it’s OK. It’s really me….
Cheers
December 29th, 2008 at 18:24Moderators, just disregard the prior one, I’ll send it with the known e-mail….
December 29th, 2008 at 18:26CG I agree….and exactly when is irrelevant. Because there are levels which many don’t hear nor even care to hear. It’s like the ‘Love is blind’ statement. In this case it’s Deaf….LOL
But hopefully even the deaf can agree with 2008 as showing what many of us began to hear 10 years ago…..
Cheers
December 29th, 2008 at 18:27Crimson,
December 30th, 2008 at 13:54yes He began to lose his voice in 97 but was still good/acceptable until 2003, but then…
I hope Coverdale will return to his first two solo albums with a gospel style, I love them