Great White
Once Bitten

THE REVIEW

The Great White represents the most classic and purely hard/blues face within the colorful Hollywood scene of the mid-'80s. Their offering elevates well beyond the standards and audio/visual clichés rampant in street rock (Guns N' Roses, L.A. Guns), clearly distancing themselves from the anonymous and shapeless chaos of glam metal (Poison, Pretty Boy Floyd). The Californian ensemble managed to rejuvenate with profound intelligence and elegance the typical sounds of historic ’70s bands like Led Zeppelin, Free, and Mott the Hoople, capturing a large following of admirers particularly in the United States and Japan, where their records have broken the platinum barrier more than once. Deeply connected to the elaborate riffing of Deep Purple and Whitesnake but mindful of the melodic lessons imparted by Aerosmith in albums like “Toys In The Attic” (1975) and “Rocks” (1976), Great White skillfully amplifies their influences, creating very intriguing and engaging solutions.

“Once bitten”, the fourth studio work for these five musicians, is simply one of the best albums ever in the hard rock field and clearly highlights the deep connection that this band's sound maintains with the blues tradition: Mark Kendall's style (one of the most representative guitar heroes of the ’80s, too often foolishly overlooked by so-called experts) becomes unmistakable thanks to his refined and singular approach, but it's the singer Jack Russell who showcases a perfect execution technique, unleashing an extremely powerful voice that sits halfway between Robert Plant's high notes, Steven Tyler's power, and David Coverdale's evolution. “Rock me” and the tender ballad “Save your love” quickly become hits, thanks to an impeccable harmonic structure, while “Lady Red Light” and “All Over Now” are unforgettable tracks for their ability to unleash energy and feeling. Great White’s music proves to be extremely evocative in pieces like “Never Change Heart” and “On The Edge”, where the group's sinuous and solemn sound seems to romantically merge with the sound of the sea waves.

In the booklet, the songs are individually commented upon by the band members, and particularly appropriate is the caption regarding the ballad “Save Your Love”, which includes a brief but comprehensive «dream on». It’s also impossible not to mention the great work done by multi-instrumentalist Michael Lardie, engaged in weaving sinuous patterns outlined by delicate keyboard touches. The striking sales numbers achieved by this platter (which surpassed 1,000,000 copies sold in the United States alone as of 04/27/1988, becoming double platinum in less than five years) immediately launched Great White into the pantheon of American hard rock, contributing to exponentially extend the cult of the Great White Shark (this is the meaning of the group monicker: in American popular expression, the word shark = squalo is often omitted). In 1988, the year preceding the release of their second masterpiece “Twice Shy” (1989), Mark Kendall's band would embark on a lengthy tour that would allow the quintet to reach the Old Continent in the company of the British Whitesnake, fresh from the global success of the album “1987”. The class naturally exuded by the Californian quintet during the “Once Bitten” sessions still contributes today to enhance the geometric structure of songs already imbued with a feeling that skillfully combines the melancholic notes of the blues with the overwhelming energy of hard rock.

(Enrico Rosticci)

"ONCE BITTEN" (1987, CAPITOL)