On December 12, 2015, Whitesnake played Genting Arena in Birmingham, England, a stop on The Purple Tour that saw them playing songs from David Coverdale's Mark III lineup of Deep Purple as well as classic Whitesnake tunes. The cameras were rolling, and the result is a live CD and Blu-Ray of that concert.
On the Blu-Ray disc you get thirteen songs from the concert. These are the same as on the CD. The Blu-Ray also gives you 5.1 Surround versions of "You Keep On Moving," "Stormbringer," "Lay Down Stay Down," and guitar solos from Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra called "Lotsanotes." Listen carefully, and you will catch Hoekstra tearing his way through a bit of "Amazing Grace." There is also the new video for "Burn" and a fun interview of Hoekstra and Beach by bassist Michael Devin in which you learn what the guys enjoy on their off days and everything you wanted to know about bacon. Yes, bacon.
But let's get down to what matters, the concert. First of all, David Coverdale, who will turn 67 this September, looks and sounds great. I truly do not understand comments that he has lost his voice. Has it changed? Of course it has. He first sang "Burn" when he was 22. Yet he still has power and the emotion to carry any song. Ian Gillan, by contrast, as I noted in a post on Deep Purple's Long Goodbye tour, has lost much of his vocal gift, but Coverdale's is still there. And don't let anyone tell you he can't hit the high notes anymore, for he digs down deep into the private reserve of his vintage vocals for as powerful and earth shattering a "Here I GOOOOOOOOOOO" as ever.
Whitesnake has always been a twin-guitar band, and axe-slingers like Hoekstra and Beach demonstrate why this works. Hoekstra simply wails on the six-string, and the solos passing back and forth between him and Beach are electric. As for Reb Beach, that guy has all the cool of a '70s southern rocker and looks as if he would be just as at home in Lynyrd Skynyrd. Actually, his look fits in well with the full beards of Michael Devin and guitarist Michele Luppi, and even Coverdale's own extended sideburns are a good look for this '70s-meet-21st century rock extravaganza.
Let's face it, rock is about image almost as much as it is about music, and the visuals of this concert accentuate the songs. We see the "Coverdale candle" from the cover of the original Burn album on the big screen during some of the Purple-era songs,
pictures from Whitesnake's 1987 tour book behind songs from the '87 album, and the band's original logo during tunes from the earlier years. And when it comes to image, Hoekstra frequently steals the show for me with too-cool guitars. He starts with a white Les Paul emblazoned with a stylized snake and the Whitesnake amulet, switches to a purple glitter axe, and then back to a black and gold version of his opening Les Paul.
Don't think that the rhythm section isn't in on the action. Throughout the concert bassist Michael Devin just has fun. In fact, he seems to be having such a good time that he could just as easily have been standing next to you in the audience, singing along as one of Whitesnake's biggest fans. Tommy Aldridge's drum solo comes along about halfway through during "You Fool No One," and when he tosses his sticks to the crowd, he begins pounding and flailing away like a madman, only to find another set of sticks for his final percussive attack that ends with the Christian drummer holding them aloft in the shape of a cross.
The concert opens with a sonic tsunami, but by the time you hit the middle, you begin to settle in and realize something. These are simply incredible songs. For example, for the longtime Whitesnake fan, there is just nothing like seeing the band play "Ain't No Love (In The Heart of The City)" and joining the world-famous Whitesnake Choir to sing along. You move from epic to epic as "Mistreated" comes next, and it dawns on you what amazing music Coverdale has created and delivered for more than four decades. And then comes "Soldier Of Fortune," an exquisite song telling a beautiful story that reminds of you how great songs can transport you to another time and place. By the time you get to "Here I Go Again," you feel as if old friends have gathered to sing the songs of favorite memories, and there is something in the Snakes' performance of this beloved hit that reinforces the comfortable, fun, relaxed feeling.
The Blu-Ray captures the energy and enthusiasm of this historic concert and ends
with "We Wish You Well," a song the Snakes have never played live but with which they have ended most of their concerts for nearly forty years. Having the same songs on CD makes it nice to be able to hear the concert anywhere.
Official video of "The Gypsy" from The Purple Tour
