25 Comments to “Coverdale’s solo albums remixed”:

1. 1
   Uwe Hornung says:

   Into The Light was a pleasantly adult work (and a ditto haircut!) around the Millennium, I’m looking forward to this. Seems like he finally disentangled the rights of his debut and Northwinds from John Coletta too, what about the early Whitesnake recordings then?

   August 16th, 2024 at 22:03
2. 2
   Micke says:

   I have always liked Into the Light. It’s solid through and through. Midnight Blue and To Many Tears are both among the best ever from Coverdale. Imo.

   August 17th, 2024 at 06:43
3. 3
   Uwe Hornung says:

   DC really deserves a lifetime achievement award for undulating commitment to recycling his own material, the great masticator! 😆 I bet his own house is filled with pictures and paintings of himself.

   Still, there is some beautiful music on those pre-Whitesnake albums and his millennial failed attempt to break free from the albatross around his neck.

   August 17th, 2024 at 12:36
4. 4
   John says:

   Just wondering if the cover artwork of this snaked up musical offering, was influenced by the cover artwork of something from his former Professor’s (University of Deep Purple), current musical setup?:
   https://www.thehighwaystar.com/news/2020/12/11/natures-light-release-details/

   August 19th, 2024 at 01:29
5. 5
   Uwe Hornung says:

   In that case, DC will have to pay royalties/licensing fees to Miss Autumn Blackmore

   https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzmzlYJF0mqUY7_zN6g3dot-QKX0pfnXZiMw&usqp=CAU

   because she was responsible for that particular cover art! And poor Jasper Coverdale will see his inheritance dwindle …

   August 19th, 2024 at 06:41
6. 6
   David Black says:

   I bought the Love Songs set in 2020 which had “Yours For The Asking” and “Let’s Talk It Over” – both great tracks and remixed by Chris Collier. So have they been re-mixed again?

   No details if any of the tracks on any of the three albums have been added to (keys or guitar) so I’m not going to shell out £70 for some demos (based on previous releases where the demos should have stayed in the cupboard) unless the remix of Northwinds & Whitesnake make a quantum difference

   August 19th, 2024 at 12:50
7. 7
   Wiktor says:

   That David Coverdale…that David Coverdale.. forever in love….. with himself!

   August 19th, 2024 at 14:50
8. 8
   Jaffa says:

   Into the Light is a good album, almost a great one. I think Earl Slick in Whitesnake would have been cool, never mind. Really looking forward to the early two albums to see what they’ve done to them. It seems there is lots of stuff here… personally I like the inclusion of rough and ready demos if only to demonstrate Coverdale’s song writing process and as a little piece of history.

   August 19th, 2024 at 15:29
9. 9
   Uwe Hornung says:

   I betcha, David, DC has “augmented” and remixed the tracks where he can again – as he inevitably does. Say what you will about his revolving repackaging industry, he always adds something new/different, maybe that is the passionate record collector in him. Those WS boxes are not loveless affairs by any means even if I sometimes roll my eyes about them.

   Not sure whether he would touch the debut and sophomore efforts though, it would be difficult to today replicate the mid 70ies groove they still had (they sounded a little old-fashioned even back then). Musicians today – especially the American ones DC seems to prefer – play totally different to the then Brit session creme-de-la-creme he had on White Snake and Northwinds.

   The remix of the first two solo albums should be eye- and ear-opening though. And back then, Coverdale’s voice was in its untampered, still unstrained glory + he stuck to his natural range. While not all the song material won any prizes, there are sufficient gems strewn over both records.

   And I want Lee Brilleaux’s harmonica turned up louder on Keep On Giving Me Love!

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp2DvPKh118

   And if he re-obtained those rights, it can only be a matter of time until Snakebite, Trouble, Live At Hammersmith, Lovehunter, Ready An’ Willing, Live In The Heart Of The City, Come An’ Get it + Saints & Sinners get a reworking. Neil Murray has said for years that they are in dire need a remix.

   August 19th, 2024 at 15:47
10. 10
    Simon Ford says:

    I have been waiting for D.C’s first two solo albums to get a remix. The press release mentioned a remix with the latest A.I technology. I can only assume that D.C didn’t have access to the original unmixed masters. I hope that the jarring over-loud cymbal crash on the ‘Northwinds’ itself can be brought down in the mix and the slightly wobbly backing vocals on ‘Blindman’ can be addressed too! I presume that the unmixed masters to Rainbow’s 1975 debut could/should get an overdue remix via A.I ??

    August 20th, 2024 at 11:07
11. 11
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I thought the Blindman version on the debut still infinitely better than Whitesnake’s surprisingly failed attempt to rerecord it a few years later on Ready an’ Willing. It had none of the intensity, might and emotional depth of the original (even though the backing vocals were indeed a bit wobbly, you’re right Simon!), even sounded a little cheesy (especially Jon’s choice of string sounds in the chorus) – as if Whitesnake hadn’t quite known what to do with the song. Strange, it seemed right up their alley, but perhaps it was a rushed last minute recording to get the album full. Given the strength of the composition, the Marsden/Moody line-up sounds lackluster on it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF_gza3e49w

    The original version on the debut, however, is one of Coverdale’s best individual recordings ever, oozing atmosphere.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QvdWbzP_IY

    Why it was left off Starkers in Tokyo is a mystery to me. They (Adrian + DC) had even rehearsed it!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZCmZd8RnQ

    Coverdale sings beautifully on Starkers, but it has to be said that Adrian’s acoustic guitar skills/arrangements were lacking on that recording. Not every excellent electric guitarist is great on acoustic and vice versa. Ry Cooder (or Micky Moody for that matter) he wasn’t.

    I remember seeing Michael Schenker once live unplugged and he, strangely enough, didn’t know how to make an acoustic guitar sound good and full either, he mostly played lead in an electric guitar style on it. Without his Flying V and 50 Watt Marshall, he seemed out of his depth.

    August 20th, 2024 at 21:59
12. 12
    AndreA says:

    I had INTO THE LIGHT but I don’t know why, like an idiot I sold it.

    However these are commercial initiatives that never attract me. Also because I would have to look for CDs on the internet and I hate this, since I won’t find anything in the store.

    August 21st, 2024 at 06:42
13. 13
    David Black says:

    I heard the R&W version first and love it. When the band pile in it has a lot of power that I think is missed in the original version. But the original is more mournful which I appreciate appeals to many.

    What I can never understand is why it never made it into the live set. I don’t think there is a soundboard version of a full version – unless Uwe’s extensive knowledge of YouTube knows different!

    August 22nd, 2024 at 06:55
14. 14
    Uwe Hornung says:

    That’s a very good way of putting it, David, “more mournful”, desperate even, that really touched me when I first heard it. I like it when DC’s voice is raw and just before cracking, like it is in the middle part of Time & Again (at 02:40) which always gave/gives me shivers.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RwAQD5EaPs

    Really looking forward to hearing that song remixed, are they gonna give it a “Naked”-treatment like on those more recent John Lennon releases?

    Except for releasing it under the Whitesnake moniker (obviously a commercially driven decision), I think the idea of combining DC’s debut, Northwinds and Into The Light as a boxed set makes very good sense, DC for grown-ups so to say. The most interesting “DC’s work” repackaging effort yet. (The second most interesting will be the future Coverdale Page boxed set I believe.)

    August 22nd, 2024 at 13:22
15. 15
    Uwe Hornung says:

    From the ole scaly reptile’s homepage:

    – QUOTE –

    The upcoming boxed set features two versions of Coverdale’s solo albums: one newly remixed to deliver a more dynamic sonic experience and a second remastered from the original recordings for those who want to revisit the classic sound. The remixed versions feature significant updates (particularly to White Snake and Northwinds) and utilize cutting-edge audio separation software.

    The track “Time & Again” from Northwinds benefited from innovative voice extraction technology, allowing for new string and piano arrangements that Coverdale has envisioned for decades.

    Coverdale shares,

    “The remixes are modern, using new technology to squeeze the best out of them… Truly exciting to revisit and take care of any technical ‘issues’ I had with the tracks all those years ago.”

    ….

    The set also revisits Northwinds and White Snake, Coverdale’s first two solo albums recorded immediately after leaving Deep Purple. Both albums have been reimagined and re-sequenced for the upcoming collection. Northwinds includes some new arrangements and additional tracks like “Sweet Mistreater” and “Shame The Devil, Tell The Truth”, breathing new life into this classic. Whitesnake features impossible remixes thanks to AI sound separation software, courtesy of technology that has only been available in the last couple of years.

    The collection also unearths several unreleased demos from Coverdale’s archives, including songs destined for future Whitesnake albums. “Lay Your Love On Me” would later appear as “Lay Down Your Love” on 2008’s Good To Be Bad, while “Crazy ’Bout Cha” evolved into “Whipping Boy Blues” on 2011’s Forevermore. The set even goes back to 1968 with demos Coverdale recorded as a teenager, including an early version of “Sunny Days,” a track that would appear on his solo debut, White Snake.

    While Coverdale originally released these albums as a solo artist, he now considers them Whitesnake albums.

    “As I’m recognized as ‘Mr. Whitesnake,’ I thought, Why not? They’re all Whitesnake albums to me…we’ve remixed them to stand proudly alongside any Whitesnake album.”

    – UNQUOTE –

    I always loved Time & Again for exactly its simple and sparse, yet succinct keyboard backing (played by DC himself), but let’s see what the remixes bring.

    The 1968 demos should be interesting too.

    August 23rd, 2024 at 18:22
16. 16
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Now that’s a pleasant Whitesnake cover for once, DC should relocate to Nashville:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U2tIHeAfRU

    September 2nd, 2024 at 19:59
17. 17
    Max says:

    I attended a christian youth club when I was young and innocent. In fact I didn’t care about christian faith a lot – but I did care an awful lot for Chris, the most beautiful girl to ever walk the schoolyard. So there I was on a tuesday afternoon with Chris, the vicar and some spotty girls and boys, holding a cassette tape of David Coverdale’s Whitesnake in my sweaty hands. The vicar had asked us to bring along some favourite music to play to the group, preferably with some sort of “message”. I played Blindman to them… the vicar’s eyes I seem to remember lit up when Coverdale begged “help me Jesus…to fnd a way…”. But some bewildered looks met my eyes when – towards the end of the track – Coverdale startet moaning for “a woman … I need a woman …” I havn’t attended the club ever since but Chris still speaks to me time and again.

    Great stuff indeed – I value those albums to this day and have played them so much more than any post 87 stuff. I am really looking forward to that new release.

    September 3rd, 2024 at 07:30
18. 18
    Uwe Hornung says:

    “I attended a christian youth club when I was young and innocent. In fact I didn’t care about christian faith a lot – but I did care an awful lot for Chris, the most beautiful girl to ever walk the schoolyard.”

    😂 I feel with you Bruder Max, my first girlfriend, also ominously called Chris(tiane), had me, a card-carrying agnostic even then, play in her devotional music (aka “Sakralrock” in musicians’ circles) band INRI.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBZzliA58Qg

    Die Sache Jesu brauchte indeed Begeisterte and we were together for nearly three years and during that time INRI’s arrangements blossomed to become quite a bit more rock (we even had guitar solos in church towards the end getting standing ovations) until my work was done … 😈

    Following that spiritual epiphany, I needed to cleanse myself again, Manuela (who went by the stage name of Tanja) came from Stuttgart and we met in the Frankfurt red light district, where she was a performing artist. Maybe that is why I have such weak spot for Big Ian’s Mitzi Dupree experience, it rings a biographical bell. 😉

    September 3rd, 2024 at 10:41
19. 19
    Uwe Hornung says:

    And thinking about it, when I hear those devotional songs today with the distance of 45 years, I’m immediately reminded of Blackmore’s Night and that might explain some of the disdain/cringe I feel for Ritchie’s current day job. 😂 It sometimes sounds a bit too close for comfort.

    Ironically though, my one guilty pleasure in the BN canon is exactly that: a devotional song. Incredibly corny and a waltz to boot. Don’t tell anybody, this IS SO embarrassing. 😳😳😳

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDmAuYKYFLo

    It’s a cover of Alan Bell’s original, sometimes also titled “Bread & Fishes”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvYwnVgPU50

    I really (still) blame Christiane for this. 😁

    September 3rd, 2024 at 20:20
20. 20
    Max says:

    Well that Alan Bell did not exactly ring a bell (sorry)… never heard of him and his bread and his fishes. Thanks for this piece of trainspotting, always very welcome.

    I don’t think one needs any excuse for enjoying Mitzi Dupree – a really nice offering on an underated album in my book. And the line “I said …ooh..and had another drink” made it into my repertoire.

    Thinking about it it is not too surprising that BN go down so well in Germany, home of Rühr- und Schlagerseligkeit. Aber wer unter Euch ohne Sünde ist … I have a soft spot for some of their songs too, especially when played in a Burghof.

    September 4th, 2024 at 10:15
21. 21
    John says:

    @16 Uwe, that bluegrass cover of Here I Go Again was awesome!, & I’ve put it on my phone’s playlist. So thanks for the heads up . The singer’s name is Rebecca Frazier, & the band may have been called “Hit and Run”, coincidentally also the name of another Whitesnake song!.

    Here’s a little something in return:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cVM3_zW7tM

    September 10th, 2024 at 02:11
22. 22
    Uwe Hornung says:

    First things first, John, I only saw this now, I really like the Bluegrass version of SOTW, danke!!!

    *****************************

    Now to the belated resurrection of this worthy thread: Are Nick and I the only people who got this Solo Albums box set? Why is no one making any noise about it?

    DC might wear to much make up for a man his age, be caught in a 80ies rock time bubble and have lost his voice, but one thing the man does exquisitely well is repackage, reinterpret and re-present his back catalog, he really is a benchmark in how to do this, even if Whitesnake’s music leaves you cold. You can tell he is a music collector himself with a vast record and CD collection, he has an eye (and an ear) for these things.

    The remixes of the White Snake debut and of Northwinds are bleedin’ fuckin’ great!!! You’ve never heard them like this, the sonic rejuvenation has to be heard to be believed.

    1. The debut’s master tapes are irretrievably lost, so DC used state-of-the-art AI extraction technology to “unmix” the album and then remix it again. That sounds like the process of grinding steak meat and then putting it together in the shape of a steak again, but: the results are great. The album has a crisp makeover and all instruments plus DC’s voice have benefited, especially, however, bass and drums. In fact, White Snake now sounds like a Simon Phillips solo album with DC guesting! 🤣 And Alan Spenner’s busy, but tasateful “lead bass” throughout takes a whole new role on too. I swear, if you have listened to this, you’ll never dig out your old mix of White Snake again.

    2. Northwinds turned out just as great, present day additions to the music have been tastefully done. I’m not entirely happy that ‘Time & Again’ exists on the remix only in the new string and piano arrangements:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuTuUIEII3Y

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGsuY6mCln0

    These are done well and with great taste and feel, but I just loved the original with DC’s sparse Fender Rhodes chords (played by himself). But of course you can get that version still on the disc with the simple remasters also in this boxed set (those remasters are a noticeable improvement to what was available before too, but they just can’t compete with the “whoa!!!”-effect of the remixes).

    3. Into The Light was always a well-produced and -mixed album, so the new remix of it isn’t quite as striking as what they did to the 70s albums. There is a lovely alternative version of ‘Love Is Blind’ in John Mellencamp guise

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aHlWjkPCpg

    ‘As Long As I have You’ is another remix and it reminds me of something Ian Gillan would put on his solo albums, a bit of an Elvis pastiche romp, very enjoyable.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NtwwXDkjTM

    4. The stuff DC demoed with Tony Franklin (another excellent bassist) is interesting as it shows DC’s breadth as a songwriter, but the tracks are all instrumental, DC never got around to singing over them (and these days likely doesn’t have the voice anymore to do it). The compositions are not the standard “heavied up” modern day Whitesnake fare, but verge into pop, AOR and even Americana. You could see them working well with even someone other than DC singing them.

    ___________________________________

    If you liked those early DC solo albums, this is an absofuckinglutely mandatory purchase. Order now, das ist ein Befehl!

    November 4th, 2024 at 14:58
23. 23
    max says:

    But of course I held it in my trembling hands the day it came out, Uwe! And in a way of saving the best for last – you might call it castigating myself – I listen to it piece by piece. I have worn out several copies of DC’s early albums and still play them today so I got very excited when the news got around he’s to rerelease them at last. BTW: I commented for years under his posts to tell him to do so and he even got back to me about it. So no worries here: this release won’t go down unnoticed. Befehl ausgeführt.

    And what’s not to love about: Oh no, not the Blues again…?

    November 5th, 2024 at 09:13
24. 24
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Sehr gut, wegtreten!

    That still only makes us three: you, Nick & me.

    November 5th, 2024 at 12:23
25. 25
    Uwe Hornung says:

    “And what’s not to love about: Oh no, not the Blues again …?”

    Yup, that is a spirited and rompy little ditty too that wouldn’t be out of place on a Gillan solo album. The keyboard horns are of course terrible, but it’s after all just a demo sketch.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkGA7Rhu8Lg

    It has a certain lightness to it that has been lost on the last Whitesnake albums where DC has been adamant to build these mammoth walls of sound – rock music needs a little air to breathe.

    November 5th, 2024 at 14:35

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