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Book tip with Coverdale stories
If you like funny tour stories, and as a bonus, if you are a fan of any or all of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Coverdale-Page, Whitesnake, Bryan Ferry, Madonna, The Smiths, Michael Jackson, you should read bass player extraordinaire Guy Pratt‘s book “My bass and other animals”.
The Coverdale-Page/Whitesnake chapter is pretty short but as the rest of the book, very funny. Doing drugs and shopping for bootlegs in Tokyo with Jimmy Page (well, they got to pick whatever they needed, of course) is entertaining to read about. You also get another view of the big rock star David Coverdale. When Pratt was recording the Whitesnake “Restless Heart” album, he stayed at DC’s place in Lake Tahoe. Pratt got to lend a sweater and “a rather spiffing pair of jammies” from DC. He also forced Pratt to take a fishing trip with his tour manager close to his house.
“David called a couple of times to make sure I was all right/having a good time/warm enough/had a hanky/been to the loo.
(…)
Who would’ve thought that this giant, thrusting rock figure would turn out to be the Jewish mother I never had?”
In the small world that is British rock’n’roll, we can also note that Guy’s wife Gala Wright (daughter to Richard Wright from Pink Floyd) is best friends with Jon’s daughter Sara Lord. Pratt writes that he thinks that DC’s way with words are funny. When DC found out that Gala would bring Sara to DC’s house, the first time in 15 years DC had seen Sara, DC said:
“Sara? That Precious flower? Why bring her forth that I may rest my eyes upon her again!”
Pratt also mentions that DC did all his guide vocals during run-throughs in an octave lower than he did when he did the actual recording of the album. This apparently sounded much better but Pratt didn’t dare to tell him.
“But what was I going to say? ‘Hey, David, you know how that ball-busting heavy-metal singing’s all bollocks, yeah?'”
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Oh How I’d love to hear the C/P album sang like that!
March 5th, 2010 at 08:22Ja, sicher!
March 5th, 2010 at 17:11“Sara? That Precious flower? Why bring her forth that I may rest my eyes upon her again!”
Sounds like bluddy Shakespeare!
March 6th, 2010 at 03:01Imagine a DC album with Shakespearian lyrics! 😀
March 10th, 2010 at 10:11I have the same opinion a Pratt,David is in his best in the lower range of his voice.don’t know why he force himself to sound like Brian Johnson.
March 13th, 2010 at 15:47