Whitesnake
Live... In The Heart Of The City

Tracklist:

1. Come On
2. Sweet Talker
3. Walking in the Shadow of the Blues
4. Love Hunter
5. Fool for your Loving
6. Ain’t gonna cry no more
7. Ready’an Willing
8. Take me with you Live at Hammersmith from '78
9. Might just take your life
10. Lie Down
11. Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
12. Trouble
13. Mistreated

David Coverdale Vocals - Ian Paice Drums - Micky Moody Guitars - Bernie Marsden Guitars - Jon Lord Keyboards - Neil Murray Bass

These days, a live album magically came back to my mind, which probably represents the brightest and most radiant image of a band that has undoubtedly written unforgettable and memorable pages in the sphere of hard rock, Whitesnake. This band, which artistically was born in the latter half of the '70s as a "branch" of Deep Purple, shows, at least in the initial part of their career, a marked influence of the Purples, not surprisingly the same lineup includes a certain Ian Paice on drums and John Lord on keyboards. However, the charisma of David Coverdale and his precise desire to give a highly personal imprint to the group would lead, over the years, to wide evolution and changes not only in terms of musicianship but also, and most importantly, in terms of musical content.

This live album was made in 1980 and is actually the sum of three concerts, two of which took place in the same year during the tour of "Ready an Willing", while the third dates back to 1978 and, more specifically, is the famous performance held at Hammersmith. The aspect I believe is important to highlight about this work is the unique and extraordinary ability of the group to interpret anthems like "Come On", "Fool For Your Loving", or "Walking in the Shadows of the Blues" with a feeling and a rendition even superior, if possible, to the respective studio versions. The credit for all this goes to many factors, among which undoubtedly the experience gained over several years of performing on stage between Coverdale, Paice, and Lord, and not to be underestimated, the presence of two great, amazing guitarists, true masters of blues, the Moody & Marsden duo, who imbue Whitesnake with an absolutely unique sound, full of warmth and expressiveness, which unfortunately would later decline in the following years with their departure and the arrival of guitar players with typically virtuous characters like Vivian Campbell, Sykes, up to the formidable Steve Vai. The setlist contains a total of 13 tracks and perfectly exemplifies the best offered by the early Snake phase, with the presence of other unforgettable tracks alongside those previously mentioned, like "Love Hunter" or "Ready an Willing", both eponymous to their respective albums, or the magnificent cover "Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City" or still "Might Just Take Your Life" and the timeless "Mistreated", legacy of the magical Deep Purple Coverdale - Hughes era.

What else to add, except to say the true Whitesnake, in their golden splendor, are all encapsulated in this live, a true little gem of the era, which will only offer great emotions and perhaps even a note of subtle nostalgia to all fans and lovers of high-class hard rock.