Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Whitesnake
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1997
Length: 55:51
Rating: 4/5
In 1994, after a short but fun experiment called Coverdale and Page, the legendary hard rock champions Whitesnake rose from the dead, thanks to ‘the master of their fate’, equally legendary singer David Coverdale. In yet another completely overhauled lineup, they headed out on a short European tour, promoting the compilation album »Whitesnake’s Greatest Hits« (1994). Alongside David’s old buddy, Dutch guitar virtuoso Adrian Vandenberg, that lineup featured a returning face in bassist Rudy Sarzo (ex-Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne), guitarist Warren DeMartini (ex-Ratt), drummer Denny Carmassi (ex-Montrose, Heart) and occasional keyboardist Paul Mirkovich. When the tour wrapped, David bid the music world farewell once again and took a three-year break in Bolivia. In the meantime, the Whitesnake lineup was thoroughly shaken up yet again.
David decided to revive his solo career as early as 1995, so in 1997 he intended to release »Restless Heart« as his third solo album. Under pressure from EMI, it ended up coming out under the name ‘David Coverdale & Whitesnake’, which made it the first new Whitesnake studio album since »Slip of the Tongue« (1989). »Restless Heart« was a considerable stylistic departure from what Mr. Coverdale had last done with Whitesnake in the late eighties, and keeping him company on it, besides Vandenberg and Carmassi, were keyboardist Brett Tuggle and bassist Guy Pratt, a fine session player best known for his work with Pink Floyd and David Gilmour.
With modern production handled by David himself, »Restless Heart« delivered the long-awaited return to Whitesnake’s r’n’b roots. The songs are dominated by a sophisticated brand of hard rock with a bluesy feel, plus a few interesting, fairly unexpected ‘detours’ from the usual songwriting moves, which suggest the legendary singer wanted to leave some of his commercially successful tricks from the past behind. Just how little repeating his earlier commercial triumphs meant to Coverdale at the time is clear from the fact that »Restless Heart« wasn’t even originally released in the US, and that its only (British) hit was the moving blues ballad »Too Many Tears«. The lyrics stayed ‘standard’, full of romantic longing, while David’s wild sexual side was pushed aside this time. That makes »Restless Heart« a much more melancholic affair in mood than most past Whitesnake releases, which positively dripped with erotic mischief.
Opener »Don’t Fade Away« is a gorgeous, contemplative ballad with sophisticated symphonic arrangements in the background and a soaring chorus up front, where David leans on the strong emotional backing of female harmony vocals. Vandenberg is his usual brilliant self with his refined bluesy guitar passages, which only deepen the overall melancholy of this unusual but very successful album opener. You can even sense from the lyrics that even the ‘Benny Hill of hard rock’ had mellowed his wild erotomaniac streak over the years and gone ‘deep into soul-searching’. The best indicator of David’s emotional state at the time is the look on his worn-out, disappointed, dried-up face, which ‘graces’ the totally uninspired cover of »Restless Heart«. After all, he already had two divorces behind him by then, since his marriage to the notorious American model Tawny Kitaen, who starred in most of Whitesnake’s late-eighties videos, predictably didn’t last long either.
»All In the Name of Love«, again peaking in a vocally harmonized chorus, packs an enviable dose of seductive blues rock rhythms, the kind Whitesnake fans, especially lovers of their classic blues rock era, had been missing since the mid-eighties. Mr. Coverdale, strongly backed by both female backing singers, once again impresses with incredible vocal and emotional range, while Vandenberg, with the organ behind him, keeps switching successfully between electric guitar punch and sophistication. The energetic title track, where a punchy guitar phrase rules between wild drum fills, is a production-modernized take on hard rock that tries to keep up with the times, climaxing in an epic chorus. This energy catalyst was nice proof that the ‘white snakes’ still knew how to bite hard now and then, even in their golden years.
The previously mentioned hit »Too Many Tears« is one of the best ballads in the entire Whitesnake story, graced with an uncommonly subtle atmosphere. Sophisticated organ arrangements and melancholic guitar passages give superb support to David’s emotionally rich singing, which finds its triumph in the moving chorus. »Crying« is a full-blooded blues rocker with uncompromising guitar phrasing and a generous gallon of heartache in David’s foaming vocals, once again backed mightily by both female singers and old collaborator Tommy Funderburk. With lavish guitar variations, Vandenberg once more confirms his original status as an eighties guitar hero. As for what the lyrics are about, this time it’s really not worth wasting words.
The cover »Stay With Me«, originally by American soul singer Lorraine Ellison, is yet another calm, emotionally rich blues ballad set at a slow tempo, with David’s heart-wrenching performance front and center, accompanied by subtle guitar embellishments and mighty drum fills. »Can’t Go On« is an acoustic-guitar-driven ballad that shows off the extremely fruitful collaboration between the legendary singer and Vandenberg, as the moving guitar passages once again give mighty support to Coverdale’s melancholic, passionate vocal outpouring. The flirty »You’re So Fine«, mostly thanks to its dirty guitar passages and massive drum crashes, is a successful return to somewhat punchier blues rock waters. It’s also a rare moment on »Restless Heart« when David’s vocal approach, over a bouncy rhythmic groove, again recalls the playful hedonist of old.
»Your Precious Love« successfully continues »Restless Heart«’s run of moving blues ballads, where Coverdale’s vocals, thanks to their enviable emotional range, have traditionally always shone brightest, while the two female singers bring in a whiff of soul. »Take Me Back Again«, on the other hand, is an almost (stereo)typical, boozy bar ballad with hard rock interludes. David deliberately sings it with a whiskey-soaked rasp, switching effectively between inconsolable snarling and tender confession, while Vandenberg keeps hammering out angry guitar passages and conjuring up very tasteful bluesy soloing. Closer »Woman Trouble Blues« is another interesting hybrid, between an acoustic-guitar-spiced blues ballad and a potent hard rocker with a pronounced guitar phrase, where, amid the wail of harmonica and sharpened guitar passages, you can even feel a bit of ‘cowboy’ flavor.
»Restless Heart« is a one-of-a-kind record that marked a hugely successful return of the ‘white snakes’ to their r’n’b roots, so it’s a real shame it gets overlooked today, even by Coverdale himself. The fact that Whitesnake play nothing from it live isn’t surprising, since David, because of its deeply personal nature, always saw it as a solo album, despite the label’s blatantly commercial move. The renewed Whitesnake comeback was over as early as 1998, when Coverdale, after the acoustic live album »Starkers in Tokyo« (released in Europe in 1998), on which his long-running collaboration with Vandenberg reached its peak, decided there was no point (for a few years at least) in carrying on as chieftain of the ‘white snakes’.
Lineup
David Coverdale – vocals
Adrian Vandenberg – guitar
Brett Tuggle – keyboards and backing vocals
Guy Pratt – bass guitar
Denny Carmassi – drums and percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Tommy Funderburk – backing vocals
Beth Anderson – backing vocals
Maxine Waters – backing vocals
Elk Thunder – harmonica
Production
David Coverdale
Track list
1. Don’t Fade Away
2. All In the Name of Love
3. Restless Heart
4. Too Many Tears
5. Crying
6. Stay with Me
7. Can’t Go On
8. You’re So Fine
9. Your Precious Love
10. Take Me Back Again
11. Woman Trouble Blues
