White Snake
Studio album by
David Coverdale
Released6 May 1977[1]
RecordedAugust-September 1976[2]
StudioKingsway Recorders, London, England, and Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany
GenreBlues rock, hard rock
Length38:18
LabelPurple
ProducerRoger Glover
David Coverdale chronology
White Snake
(1977)		 Northwinds
(1978)
Alternative Cover
2000 CD reissue
Singles from White Snake
  1. "Hole in the Sky"
    Released: 6 May 1977 (UK)
  2. "Whitesnake"
    Released: 1977 (Japan)
  3. "Lady"
    Released: 1977 (AUS)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Record Mirror[4]

White Snake is the first solo album by David Coverdale, released in May 1977. Coverdale would use the album title as the name of his future band, first known as "David Coverdale's Whitesnake" and soon afterwards shortened to Whitesnake. The album was released as a part of a compilation album Whitesnake/Northwinds in 1988, was reissued alone in 2000, and released again as part of a double compilation album now titled as The Early Days (2003).

Background and writing

As his first solo effort, Coverdale later admitted: "It's very difficult to think back and talk sensible about the first album. White Snake had been a very inward looking, reflective and low-key affair in many ways, written and recorded as it was in the aftermath of the collapse of Deep Purple".[5]

Reception

The album received mixed reviews. Bret Adams of AllMusic gave it 2/5 stars, considering it "a tentative, generally disappointing album because Coverdale is clearly flummoxed regarding the direction the music should take", mixing blues rock, R&B and soul music, with the track "Blindman" as "the best song because of its blues-rock purity" and sounds "ultimately, future Whitesnake".[3] Richie Unterberger gave 3/5 stars to the 1988 double compilation, concluding "they're mediocre listening, the product of a man uncertain about where to take his music as a solo act, without the rock-hard hard rock support of one of his steady bands".[6]

Victor Valdivia writing for PopMatters a 6/10 review about both 70s albums states it is from a pre-late 80s period image when Coverdale "was considered a talented singer with a bluesy voice far more reminiscent of Bad Company's Paul Rodgers than Zep's Robert Plant" and the album sounds "absolutely nothing like Led Zeppelin. Not only is Coverdale's voice much lower and bluesier than it would be in later years, but the music meanders all over the place, from horn-driven funk and R&B, to jazzy piano noodling and a more compact style of hard rock than he would ever try in his career's later incarnations", highlighting tracks "Whitesnake" and "Celebration", but also "badly dated" production.[7]

Neil Jeffries in 2021 Classic Rock retrospective included the album as 7th out of 20 on a list of Coverdale-Whitesnake's best albums,[8] saying "with a lazy, bar-room style, a bit of brass and ace backing singers, this is David Coverdale as few have heard him ... had "Hole In The Sky" (a ballad built on Tim Hinkley's piano) provided Coverdale with a hit, he might well have sailed off into Frankie Miller/Joe Cocker territory without a second thought about asking anyone to lie down or let him slide it in". [9]

Track listing

All songs written by David Coverdale, except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "Lady" (Coverdale, Micky Moody) – 3:48
  2. "Blindman" – 6:01
  3. "Goldies Place" – 5:03
  4. "Whitesnake" (Coverdale, Moody) – 4:22

Side two

  1. "Time on My Side" (Coverdale, Moody) – 4:26
  2. "Peace Lovin' Man" – 4:53
  3. "Sunny Days" – 3:31
  4. "Hole in the Sky" – 3:23
  5. "Celebration" (Coverdale, Moody) – 4:11

Bonus tracks on the 2000 CD reissue

  1. "Peace Lovin' Man" (Take 1) – 5:04
  2. "Sunny Days" (Take 1) – 3:21

Personnel

[10]

Miscellaneous

Charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)98[11]

References

  1. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-908724-42-7.
  2. ↑ Bloom, Jerry (2015). The Road of Golden Dust (1st ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-908724-23-6.
  3. 1 2 Adams, Bret. "David Coverdale – White Snake review". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Smith, Robin (30 April 1977). "Albums: David Coverdale – White Snake" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 23. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via World Radio History.
  5. ↑ DeRiso, Nick (19 July 2021). "45 Years Ago: David Coverdale Quits As Deep Purple Disintegrate". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "David Coverdale – Whitesnake/Northwinds review". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  7. ↑ Valdivia, Victor (16 October 2011). "David Coverdale: White Snake / North Winds". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Jeffries, Neil (22 September 2021). "Every David Coverdale and Whitesnake album, ranked from worst to best". Classic Rock. Louder. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Jeffries, Neil (5 January 2021). "David Coverdale: a guide to his best albums". Classic Rock. Louder. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  10. ↑ David Coverdale – Whitesnake @Discogs.com Retrieved 12-29-2012.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 74. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  • Liner notes from the Spitfire remastered edition of White Snake.
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