Reading about the 35th anniversary special edition re-release of Whitesnake’s 1984 album Slide It In I got to thinking…  you know, that’s not a bad idea for my next Showdown post-  how about a faceoff between the band’s two biggest albums in the States?  Granted I’m not the biggest Whitesnake fan in the world but I’ll fully admit that one of these two albums ranks fairly high in sentimental value, has a lot of cool memories from back in the day, and some of the songs are in frequent rotation on the ol’ iPod.  So which one is it?  Read on…

Come 1983, David Coverdale and his band of ‘Snakes were at a bit of a crossroads-  well known in Europe with a strong back catalog of hefty blues rock tunes, the band had nary any popularity in the States plus with the burgeoning metal scene bubbling up on radio and MTV, may have been looked upon as old hat by the younger crowd.  The band itself was in a state of flux; gone were longstanding members in guitarist Bernie Marsden, bassist Neil Murray, and drummer (and former Deep Purple great) Ian Paice; incoming was returning guitarist Micky Moody, new guitarist Mel Galley, drummer Cozy Powell, and bassist Colin Hodgkinson.  With the new band (and remaining keyboardist Jon Lord) under foot, Coverdale signed a deal with Geffen Records in the US and commenced work on their seventh album with producer Eddie Kramer before the eventual switch to Martin Birch to man the board and complete the job.  The album was first released the following January in Europe and did well; however, in Geffen’s mind the disc needed a bit more oomph and quickly called for a redo for the US version:  in came new producer Keith Olson to thicken up the mix as well as guitarist John Sykes and returning bassist Neil Murray to overdub the work of Moody/Hodgkinson and eventually replacing them in the band for the tour.

By April 1984 the remixed version of Slide It In came out in the States via lead cut “Slow ‘N Easy”, a slow boiling corker of a tune written by Coverdale and departing guitarist Moody featuring the latter’s smooth slide playing, Lord’s brooding keyboards, and cannonlike drums from Powell.  However, it was Coverdale’s vocal that stole the show:  everything from Robert Plant roars to sensual crooning and over the top breathless panting, the former Deep Purple vocalist definitely made his mark with rock fans who dug the band’s classic bluesier stylings yet appreciated the heavier sounds found on the disc.  Outside of “Slow” the disc features a great, great number of tunes; from the self titled cut’s stomping riff to the killer radio ready rock of “Love Ain’t No Stranger” to unsung cuts like the melodic rock hookiness of “Standing In The Shadows” and uptempo swing of “Guilty Of Love”, all featuring some great heavy rock tones, memorable tunes, and great playing from all players involved.  Sure, you had a fair bit of cock rock going on (after all, the band IS named Whitesnake) and some of the lyrical content is sophomoric at best (ahhh…  “Spit It Out” and the title cut anyone?), but there was no mistaking Slide It In for a Culture Club or Duran Duran record.  Nope, this was the perfect tonic for album oriented radio in 1984 featuring just a touch of 70s rabble rousing with some new guitar stomp for the 80s.

Interestingly enough, the three years between the release of Slide It In and the follow up self titled album (called 1987 in some countries) were frought with similar tensions that tore at the band back in 1983.  Gone was Powell\Galley\Lord, leaving the core team of Coverdale\Sykes\Murray and new skinsman Aynsley Dunbar to pen and eventually record a new album that featured seven originals, two rerecorded Whitesnake classics from the early days, and a MUCH more metallic mix with hotshot guitarist Sykes at the forefront.  While Sykes was a featured player on the previous disc his stamp is all over this one – gone is the inherent bluesiness of the original band, having been replaced by molten metal, layers of heavily reverbed guitar, and squealing, pinched harmonics.  On songs such as “Bad Boys”, “Children Of The Night” and the immortal “Still Of The Night” Sykes lays down astonishingly heavy riffs that propel the band, who can only try to keep up with the manic intensity from the six stringer and not get caught resting on their heels.  It’s not until their re-recording of “Here I Go Again” and (bleahhh) power ballad “Is This Love” that the band falls back into a groove, the former a bit of a rousing rocker after a smoothly crooned Coverdale intro while the latter is a sickly sweet tune that is rather forgettable (sorry David!).  Overall, the disc was a hit on MTV as the videos did everything from cross the lines of parody with odd hints of Led Zeppelinisms (that bow in “Still Of The Night”) to turning Coverdale into some sort of permafrost hair sex symbol to the best of the lot in making a video star out of one Tawny Kitaen (soon to be the new Mrs. C).

So which disc is the best?  Slide It In, and it’s not even close.  Yes, it holds sentimental value for me as it is one of the earliest records I’d ever purchased but as a whole the disc still holds up incredibly well thirty-five years later.  The sound and mix is massive; just the right amount of heaviness and atmospherics between all instruments and enough space that allows the songs to breathe but most of all it’s the songs-  “Slow ‘N Easy” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger” are brilliant, thick ‘n meaty rockers with plenty of hooks and the rest of the album features good to great cuts with zero filler.  However, I find the self titled pretty uneven: “Still Of The Night” is an absolute monster and THE cut on the album but the remainder is a mixed bag of good tunes to a so so batch of unmemorable ones.  As much as I love John Sykes (check out Blue Murder!) he’s almost TOO over the top here and I’m a metal guy!  But I think a lot of that can be chalked up to a poor sounding disc with crap drum sounds, oversaturated guitar, and very little bottom end to show for it.

In the end, both discs are pretty much apples and oranges… Slide It In hearkened back to the classic old days with a touch of the new and Whitesnake was on a sonic rocket ride to the future, no holds barred.  But one thing I don’t get…  Whitesnake is a hair metal band?  Seriously?  It’s that damn ballad, I tell you…