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Rating:
Someone said.... "before Mr. Coverdale's hair turned blond, before the 'Still of The Night' video dominated MTV, before '1987', there was a great English band. They were called Whitesnake."
After the release of "Come An' Get It" (1981) David Coverdale was determined to break into the American market, aiming to replicate the sales success they had achieved in Europe up to that point. When, even after the States tour supporting Jethro Tull, the expected sales increase didn't materialize, Coverdale decided to change the line-up, choosing musicians he deemed more motivated. By the time "Saints & Sinners" (1982) was released, the line-up that recorded it no longer existed, with Murrey, Marsden, and Ian Paice replaced by Colin Hodginkson, Mel Galley (Trapaze), and Cozy Powell, whose backgrounds allowed the band to maintain a strong connection with the '70s hard rock tradition. Together they triumphed after a grueling tour at the Monsters of Rock in Donington in 1983.
At this point, the studio test was what was missing, and it arrived promptly the following year with the album titled "Slide It In." With this album, David Coverdale finally realized the dream of breaking Whitesnake into the American market; the album presents a melodic hard rock, tending towards radio-friendly, which gradually begins to abandon the bluesy notes, a dominant feature in the early Whitesnake. Mel Galley aptly replaces Marsden, writing powerful riffs and radio-friendly tracks, while Cozy Powell's powerful and elegant drumming perfectly complements the band's new songwriting style.
The work in question features many notable tracks, starting with the opener "Gambler," a hard rock track that in some ways foreshadows the sound of "1987." The title track has a square, overwhelming riff, which unleashes its best live, becoming an important piece for Coverdale in the recent reunion tours. "Love Ain't No Stranger" begins as a sweet ballad with a radio-friendly appeal, changing its skin after less than a minute into a classic of the white snake, a legendary track where Coverdale manages to combine melody and power, creating a unique mix, a trademark in the years to come. "Slow An' Easy" is the track I'm most attached to: groove, Rock, blues, sex, sweat, blood, this is what comes out of the notes of "Slow An Easy." Heart-stopping. "All or Nothing" is perhaps the hardest track of the lot, where after a typically hard verse, Coverdale sharply veers towards a chorus with AOR impact, somewhat overshadowed in the rest of the album. In this track, you finally hear a prominent Jon Lord, who is also destined to leave the band for the Deep Purple reunion happening in the same year of "Slide It In"'s release. The album includes two other great songs: the anthemic "Guilty Of Love" and the Americanized "Standin' In The Shadow".
We are still a long way from the sound of "1987," but "Slide It In" is the album that bridges old Whitesnake to what they will become, it is an hybrid that, perhaps in hindsight, can satisfy all fans of the white snake.
P.S. There are two versions of the album: one with Micky Moody's guitar parts, and one, originally released on Picture Disc, with John Sykes replacing the departing historic band member's guitar.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Gambler (03:57)
I've been a gypsy
For a thousand years
A victim of circumstance
I go wherever my destiny calls
I'm caught in a game of chance
I stand on the outside
Looking at love
I wanna get inside
I stand on the outside
Looking at love
Just trying to get inside
No fame or fortune,
No luck of the draw
When I dance with Queen of Hearts
A jack of all trades
But, a loser in love
It's tearing my soul apart
Still I stand on the outside
Looking at love
I wanna get inside
I stand on the outside
Looking in
I stand on the outside
Looking at love
Just trying to get inside
I stand on the outside
Looking in
The jack of diamonds
An' the ace of spades
Try to use me, and to abuse me
It seems the dealer
Wont give me a chance
I'm victim of circumstance
So I stand on the outside
Looking at love
I wanna get inside
I stand on the outside
Looking in
So I stand on the outside
Looking at love
Just trying to get inside
I stand on the outside
Looking in...
02 Slide It In (03:19)
You talk too much,
Never saying what's on your mind,
It's written on your face,
An' in the words you hide behind.
I know what you want,
I can see what you're looking for,
I know what you want from me,
An' I'm gonna give you more.
I'm gonna slide it in
Right to the top,
Slide it in,
I ain't never gonna stop.
Slide it in,
Right to the top,
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in,
Slide it, in baby.
Sometimes you seem
Just like a stranger to me,
But, all the games you play
Make it so easy to see.
You're looking for love,
Tho' you try to deny,
The things you put me through
Tell me what I've got to do to you.
I'm gonna slide it in,
Right to the top,
Slide it in,
I ain't never gonna stop.
Slide it in,
Right to the top,
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in.
(Solo)
You talk too much,
Always treating me so unkind,
I know what I've got to do,
To get me some peace of mind.
I'm gonna slide it in,
Right to the top,
Slide it in,
I ain't never gonna stop.
Slide it in,
Right to the top,
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in,
Slide it in,
Right to the top.
Slide it in,
I ain't never gonna stop.
Slide it in,
Right to the top,
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in, slide it,
Slide it in, slide it in,
Right to the top, baby.
03 Slow an' Easy (06:00)
You keep on pushing, babe,
Like I've never known before.
You know you drive me crazy, child,
An' I just wanna see you on the floor.
I wanna superstitious woman
An' she got a superstitious mind.
I can't see you, baby,
I can't see you anymore, no more.
You keep on loving me
Like I've never known before.
I wanna superstitious woman
With a superstitious, a superstitious mind, an' I don't mind, baby.
My heart is beating faster, babe,
It's beating like a big bass drum.
You know you got me speeding, child,
Faster than a bullet from a gun.
You're a superstitious woman
An' I got a superstitious mind, an' I don't care.
So take me down slow an' easy,
Make love to me slow an' easy.
I know that hard luck an' trouble
Is coming my way,
So rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone,
Rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone.
I don't care about, oh,
I don't care about love, no more.
The way you keep abusing me
Oh, I can't take no more.
I wanna woman
She got a superstitious mind.
So take me down slow an' easy,
Make love to me slow an' easy.
I know that hard luck an' trouble
Is coming my way,
So rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone,
Rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone,
Rock me 'til I'm burned.
(Solo)
So take me down slow an' easy,
Make love to me slow an' easy.
Take me down slow an' easy,
Rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone.
Take me down slow an' easy,
Make love to me slow an' easy.
I know that hard luck an' trouble
Is coming my way,
So rock me 'til I'm burned to the bone...
08 All or Nothing (03:40)
Tonight's the night
To come in out of the cold,
I've waited such a long, long time
I'm getting out of control
All or nothing
That's what I want from you,
I'm gonna give you everything I got
Now what are you gonna do
Don't try running away,
You know you get nothing that way
'Cos it's too late,
I'm gonna prove it to you
Too late,
I'll do what you want me to do
Too late,
You can't run anymore
Cos' it's too late for you now
My heart is burning
An' the fire is hot,
My temperature is rising, rising, rising
I'm ready to rock
All or nothing
I'm gonna make you see,
I've made up my mind, for sure, this time
You're gonna spend the night with me
So don't try running away,
You know you get nothing that way
'Cos it's too late,
I'm gonna prove it to you
Too late,
I'll do what you want me to do
Too late,
You can't run anymore
'Cos it's too late for you now
So don't try running away,
You know you get nothing that way
'Cos it's too late,
I'm gonna prove it to you
Too late,
I'll do what you want me to do
Too late,
You can't run anymore
'Cos it's too late for you now
Too late,
I'm gonna prove it to you
Too late,
I'll do what you want me to do
Too late,
You can't run anymore
'Cos it's too late for you now...
09 Spit It Out (04:28)
I never knew what a kiss could mean
Until the first time I kissed you,
You took my love in the palm of your hand
An' showed me what a woman could do
Now I don't want sugar coated loving
Just silver tongue tenderness,
You gotta give me a certain satisfaction
The kind of love you seal with a kiss
An' spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
I can remember, I can recall
When I first set my eyes on you,
I'll never forget the thrill of it all
Dreaming of the things we could do
Baby, you must be crazy,
Fooling with a man like me,
'Cos I roll my dice with a heart of ice
An' make it clear to see
Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
I never knew what a kiss could mean
'Til the first time I kissed you,
You took my love in the palm of your hand
An' showed me what a woman could do
Your sweet caress an' tenderness
Can take the pain away,
The things that you do make a queen out of you
An' make me a king for a day
If you don't like it, spit it out
Now I know what your love can do
I'll be hanging 'round your door,
An' I'm gonna love you baby,
I'll give you more than you bargained for
Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
Spit it out, spit it out, spit it out
If you don't like it
Spit it out, if you don't like it...
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