Band : Whitesnake

Album title : Good To Be Bad

Label : Steamhammer

Distributor : SPV/ CNR

Release date : 21/04/2008

Release : CD

Well, I've already mentioned it before (in the review of the pre-album sampler All For Love , posted 12/03 of last, and in the review of the band's 2006 double live album Live In The Shadow Of The Blues , which already included 4 brandnew bonus studio tracks), but Whitesnake 's post-millenium studio material definitely belongs among the most explosive David Coverdale 's vehicle ever brought to this world! Talked about even before the late November 2006 release of that live album, the new studio album was in the making for long enough...but the the wait is over, and every bit of anticipation couldn't be any more positively fulfilled!

With such a versatile lead guitarist as Doug Aldrich (antecedents with Lion , Burning Rain , and Dio !) backed by the equally great Reb Beach (who's known for working with Winger and Dokken among others), the guitars are simply explosive in the somewhat heavier songs, while both guitarists still have enough of an affinity to Blues Rock to get into that mood as well, even if in somewhat driven and incredibly catchy manner! It gives the album an overall energetic feel never before heard on a Whitesnake album, and results in its being given a first place in the band's discography! Even the calmer tracks (say ballads) "All I Want All I Need" , "Summer Rain" , and album closer "'Til The End Of Time" have a quality unheard before. As Coverdale puts it himself, "The new album contains all the elements I enjoy about Whitesnake , and more. I can here moments that take me back to the Bluesy, early years of the band all the way through the band's musical history to fully embrace the more electric aspects of where we are now, as a band...", he also feels it's the first 'real' Whitesnake album in almost 20 years, commenting "It's very butch...very muscular...", which it certainly IS!!!

And with fans of the former Deep Purple finally getting a new album by their favourite singer again for the first time in over 10 years, there's a slight negativity hanging in the air when Coverdale is cited saying, "If this is indeed the last Whitesnake studio record then I'm happy to finish like this..."...ominous words to say the least, but then he goes on to say that making Good To Be Bad "...was a labour of love...a joy...and I'm still enjoying listening to it. Can't be bad!". Certainly isn't, David , especially since yours tryuly can't stop enjoying the album with each listening session as well. I could've done without a third ballad, but I take it in nevertheless, due to the overall quality of the album being so exceptionally high.

And so here's an urgent message to all those Whitesnake fans out there who've continued to support the band in their non-album years by going to their concerts: go get the album! Show Coverdale that there is still need for new Whitesnake songs...in fact, ask for the new songs to be played during the upcoming shows you'll be visiting, rather than shouting out yet again for one of the band's classic tracks! Show The Man that his time for retirement is still a long time away! Doesn't he sing it out loud enough in the chorus lines of album opener “Best Years” (“...these are the best days of my life...”)? Let's make that feeling last for a long time to come!

98/100

Tony.