Whitesnake have announced their new bass player. Michael Devin steps in to replace Uriah Duffy, who departed in June 2010 along with drummer Chris Frasier.

Devin has recently been playing with Lynch Mob (lalongside Whitesnake's new drummer Brian Tichy). He will be playing on Whitesnake's new studio album. The album is currently being recorded for release on the Frontiers label in early 2011. The band say they will also be returning to touring in support of the new album's release.

Deep Purple family trees : David Coverdale & Whitesnake, 1991-2010

DB#200260

Calling all olde time photographers! There is a smart new book of Whitesnake photographs in the pipeline and the publishers have asked if we can see what DPAS Members (and viewers) might have in the way of pictures taken anytime from 1977 onwards. I have dug out all my negatives and colour slides, and I know from doing the magazine that people have let us use pictures they took in the past. They must be pictures you took so we can arrange to clear them for copyright purposes. Quality is important but also rarity, and ideally you should have the negatives. A modest fee will be offered.

Do get in touch and we will take it from there. More details on this exciting book as soon as we are able. Exciting? Well they've chosen one of my shots for the front so I'm excited if nobody else is!

See also the DPAS blog.

SR#2002591

The same mob who did the Rainbow coloured vinyl reissues are working on three Whitesnake titles. They are planning to release Ready An’ Willing, Lovehunter and Live.... Heart Of The City at the end of August. The latter is a double, and they come in gatefold sleeves. As before the coloured versions are a LIMITED EDITION of 1,000 copies after which they will revert to black.

All can be preordered at the dpas online store.

MM#200258

Italian label Frontiers Records have announced their signing of Whitesnake. The band have apparently started to compose new material for the follow-up to 2008's highly successful 'Good To Be Bad' album. According to David Coverdale "We are off to a very good start, with the new songs taking positive shape. It feels good, fresh & exciting. As always, we want to take it to the next level, I feel that with the last album we achieved a strong Whitesnake 'cocktail' that comfortably embraced & mixed all the previous musical aspects & styles of the band's history, while taking our identity a little further... all on one album..."

TS#200257, photo: Niklas Nilsson

David Coverdale had to pull a show in Denver on August 11th after just four songs. He explained to the crowd that his voice wasn't up to it. It  seems likely that he has tried to get back on the road too quickly  after a bout of laryngitis. Whitesnake cancelled their scheduled show  in Arizona last week after doctors advised Coverdale not to risk it. 

The Whitesnake website has posted a statement: "The specialist discovered that David was suffering from severe vocal fold edema and a left vocal fold vascular lesion. He was instructed to cancel all performances for the next two weeks & then undergo a further examination. The doctors told us we were fortunate this was caught at a stage where no apparent permanent damage has been caused."

SR#200256 (Thanks to Rock Radio in Manchester and Jon Kirkman for the news)
photo: Niklas Nilsson

Slip And Slide with Whitesnake Reissues    *updated 14.06.09*

Re-releases of the  Slip Of The Tongue (20th anniversary) and Slide It In (25th  anniversary) albums are now planned for June 2009.  Both are the combined CD / DVD type now favoured by EMI and come in  nice digipaks. Goodies are listed below, and certainly the Slide It In release will  be welcomed by collectors wanting the US mix. DVD content is also  generous, with a mix of promos and live tracks. Both discs can be ordered at dpas mailorder. Whitesnake's previous remastered editions are still available at dpas mailorder.

An expanded edition of their recent studio album Good To Be Bad is  also planned. So if you've bought it twice, be prepared to cough up a  third time.

Slide It In CD has : both US and UK mixes of all tracks plus one live song (20  tracks total). DVD has: Guilty Of Love, Slow An' Easy, Love Ain't No Stranger (all  promos), Guilty Of Love (Donnington 1983), Love Ain't No Stranger  (Live: Starkers In Tokyo), Give Me More Time (BBC TV Top Of The Pops  19/1/84), Love Ain't No Stranger (Live... In The Still Of The Night).

Slip Of The Tongue CD has : album plus Now You're Gone (US Remix), Fool For Your Loving  (The Vai Voltage Mix), Slip Of The Tongue, Kittens Got Claws (Live At  Donnington 1990) DVD has: Fool For Your Loving, Now You're Gone, The Deeper The Love  (all promos), The Deeper The Love, Sailing Ships (Live: 'Starkers In  Tokyo'), Judgement Day (Live... In The Still Of The Night), Slip Of  The Tongue, Kittens Got Claws (Live At Donnington 1990)

The Whitesnake reissues have raised three immediate questions which a number of people have been asking: 1 - Why are there only 8 tracks from the UK mix of Slide It In? 2 - Why is the version of Need Your Love So Bad on Slide It In the kitschy 1987 re-recording not the original 1984 Jon Lord driven Hammond organ version? 3 - According to Jacqui Carter "the live version of Judgement Day from Live In The Shadow of the Blues which is listed as Track 14 on the CD packaging is not present."

"On SLIDE IT IN I fully agree concerning the mistake with "Need Your Love So Bad", again, that version has nothing to do with the other stuff featured on this set. But there are far more big disappointments:
The complete US-Mix but in a new running order! The incomplete UK Versions! The two missing Eddie Kramer mixes from the advance 7"! These mixes are even mentioned in the linernotes by D.C. They would have done better making a 3-CD-Set with all (and correct) versions on board. Again here on the CD "Love Ain't No Stranger" from "Starkers" is inappropriate.

Sound, linernotes and packaging are marvellous but the overall result especially for "SLIDE" is indeed frustrating." Bruce Schmidt

We could guess that on 1) they miss-timed it and found something had to give but forgot to change the packaging, (though not for why they used other bonus cuts instead). 2) may just be a DC decision. If we hear anything from EMI I will pass this on.

For 3) there is now an announcemant at http://whitesnake.com/media/slipslide/cdreplacement.html :

"It has come to our attention that track #14 'Judgment Day' (live) is missing from the new CD. This was an error that has been corrected, however there are some still in circulation that are missing this track. For those of you that have the incorrect CD and wish to replace it they should send the audio CD only (not the entire package) to the appropriate address below for replacement with the correct CD. Sorry for the inconvenience." Poor Albert

DPAS album reviews: Whitesnake, Slide It In & Slip Of The Tongue, anniversary editions

SR/DB#2002544 (with thanks to Joerg Planer and, Chris Brown)

SPV Records, home to many metal acts, and in particular at one time or another to Heaven & Hell, Glenn Hughes, Blackmore's Night, the recent Tommy Bolin archive albums and Whitesnake (the latter still on the label) have declared themselves insolvent. They are currently working on a restructuring plan, or a possible take over by another company. While this happens they are hoping to trade as normal.

Thanks to Chris Meloche for the story

SR#200255

Whitesnake are marking their thirtieth anniversary with a triple CD compilation set on EMI, scheduled for June 2008. This turns out to be a repackage of the Early Years and  Silver Anniversary CD sets with one or two updates.

EMI have announced that the triple CD 30 Anniversary Whitesnake release is due out on June 9th 2008. 52 tracks in all but no rarities announced.

MR#2002402
(Thanks to Jim Henderson for the news)

WHITESNAKE's new studio album, "Good to be Bad", will be shipping from dpas mailorder on April 21st. The group's first studio album in a decade features "11 new, slamming WHITESNAKE songs which are guaranteed to take their place alongside their multi-million selling catalogue," according to a press release.

The new songs, written by Coverdale and guitarist Doug Aldrich (who also co-produced the album with Coverdale and Michael McIntyre) "provide a good balance of eight rocking tracks and three ballads". Coverdale feels it's the first "real" WHITESNAKE album in almost 20 years.

The track listing is: Call On Me / Can You Hear The Wind Blow? / Best Years / All I Want All I Need / Good To Be Bad / All For Love / Summer Rain / Lay Down Your Love / A Fool In Love / Got What You Need / 'Till The End Of Time.

DPAS Album Review: Good To Be Bad

DB#2002373

Whitesnake have announced a limited edition of their new album Good To Be Bad, due out on April 18. This will feature the regular CD, a bonus CD in card sleeve, poster, photocard and sticker, all in a flashy box. The bonus disc has four tracks: Summer Rain (acoustic version), All I Want All I Need (radio edit), Take Me With You (live version - origin unknown), Ready To Rock (video). Thanks to Tim Summers.

The album is also now due as a very limited double vinyl release in a  gatefold sleeve. dpas mailorder are stocking this. Pre-ordering is advisable on this format. SPV have also announced that Whitesnake's new album is to be heavily  advertised across the UK, including TV and radio commercials and the  national press, as well as the usual music outlets.

They also reckon  that the upcoming tour is close to selling out; a total of over  80,000 ticket sales. dpas mailorder tell us they've been able to get a pre-order discount  on the Ltd Ed of the CD so this will now sell for the same price as  the regular version. Anyone who has pre-ordered already will get the  discount.

MK#2002401