In May of 1980, the band released their third album, “Ready an’ Willing”, an album that you can discover and hear all about on Episode 64 of this podcast, and it was also an album that saw the lead off single of “Fool for Your Loving” that captured the music listening public’s attention. It reached #13 on the UK singles chart, as well as charting for the first time in the US where it reached #53. The single propelled the success of the album, which reached #6 on the UK charts, and cracked the US top 100 for the first time, reaching #90. It was a breakthrough for the band, which then saw the release of the live album in November 1980 titled “Live... in the Heart of the City”. This was a double LP showcasing two performances separated by two years, and showcased the band’s live sound to a growing audience. It reached #5 on the UK Charts, continuing to promote the band and its identity.
The band now had momentum to pay with, and had actually recorded most of their follow up album in the middle of 1980, with some extra touch ups added during January of 1981. As he had for the band’s two previous albums, Martin Birch came on as producer. The band had the same line up for its second album in a row, with three-fifths of the final Deep Purple line up of Coverdale, Jon Lord and Ian Paice joined by guitaring maestro's in Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody and legendary bass guitarist Neil Murray. Everything seemed in place to create an album that could build on the progress they had made together as a group, and produce the next step in the band’s legacy. That step perhaps came to be a prophecy, or maybe just a hope, with the album titled “Come an’ Get It”.
“Come an’ Get It” offered a glimpse of the hard working ethic and drive that Whitesnake had during this first phase of their career, given that it was the band’s fourth studio album they had released in a period of 2.5 years, as well as the live album. Five releases in 2.5 years. That is an incredible achievement, backing up a constant touring schedule and writing regime as a result. In this instance, given the rising sales of the band’s releases, it seems like a pertinent move.
One of the things to consider with the band’s sound overall and certainly this album in particular, as it is the one we are concentrating on for this episode, is that it is very different from other music that was being produced in the UK at the time. The punk and disco genres had reached an impasse, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal had exploded but was quickly retreating back into itself, and new wave was the sound that was generating itself into chart success. Whitesnake however continued on their course, a blues rock background driven into a harder core on occasions, attempting to channel those glory days of Deep Purple.
The album opens with the title track “Come an’ Get It”, a solid blues based track that sits straight into the mid tempo that the band made their own during this time, a riff that struts its purpose and the rhythm locking in immediately with Paice’s drums and Murray’s bass line taking the main stage. Coverdale tracks in with his vocals in their best low key attitude, while Lord’s organ sound offers the final warming touches. This is followed by “Hot Stuff” that lifts the tempo and energy from the opener, Paice’s double time drumming driving the song to greater heights and performing the platform along with Murray and Lord that gives this song a bigger attitude throughout. Coverdale’s vocals are more energised and in the picture, while Lord’s classic organ solo brings back great memories of albums past. The guitars of Moody and Marsden almost channel that old Purple sound as well. “Hot Stuff” by name and by nature. This is tracked on by the beautiful moody Whitesnake standard “Don’t Break My Heart Again”, again purposefully started and composed by the drums, bass and organ, before being joined by the guitar riff and eventually Coverdale’s classic vocal lines. Those vocals are at their very finest here, that moody bluesy smooth singing that send shudders down the spine when listening to him in this capacity. The backing from Marsden and Moody through the bridge and chorus brings it all together. The solo through the back half of the track matches the mood of the track perfectly. This was the first single released from the album, reaching #17 in the UK, but most importantly, it is the very mold of the great Whitesnake songs of this era of the band. It doesn’t rise or fall out of the boundaries that has been set for it, no one overstates their place here, and everything just fits together like a snug puzzle. This showcases the best of everyone’s talents in one track.
“Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” remains in the album’s general tempo and mood, channelling the blues rock that this version and period of the band produced so well. Both Marsden and Moody on guitars excel during this song with their flourishes being the mainstay of the track, some great licks and riffs that keep the interest up with the rhythm stuck solidly in the lower tempo the track has been composed in. Side A is closed out by the blues track of the piano variety, with Lord’s organ moved aside for the more traditional piano keyboard style. “Wine, Women an’ Song” eventually develops into a modern sounding blues backed track after the opening, and the duelling guitars in the middle give Marsden and Moody a chance to shine. There is more bar-room rock to this song than blues, but the sewing together of the two traditions here offers a n upbeat conclusion to the first half of the album.
It is Coverdale’s vocals on “Child of Babylon” that proves the winning point of the opener to side two, as the mood and tempo sit back again, and give the lead vocalist the chance to emote into a higher and more passionate range. The bouncier style of the band returns with “Would I Lie to You”, with a slightly (very slightly) faster tempo, and the bright melodic chorus that, to be fair, pretty much just repeats the name of the song. There is nothing outstanding offered here by the band, the song just acts as you hear it, a chance for Coverdale to lather his honey vocals over some simplified lyrics and give a simplified chorus the opportunity to be sung along with by the listener, even if it isn’t the most exciting track available. And, as it turns out, the same could almost be washed, rinsed and repeated with “Girl”, which performs a similar role to “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” musically, and “Would I Lie to You” lyrically. Again musically, the song gets stuck in sort of a rut, where the band seem to sit in the same tempo and play the same thing for the four minutes of the song. They all sound great, but they are almost all superfluous, they could have played eight bars and then put it on a loop.
“Hit an’ Run” starts off at a faster clip, but soon devolves back into the basic rhythm tempo of the album. There is more punch to this song, a more determined drum beat and guitar riff that pushes it along when it is in danger of stalling. Then comes the final song, “Till the Day I Die”. Opening with the clear and acoustic guitar backed by Lord’s organ, this song soothes along in its quiet demeanour until just after the two minute mark, at which point it crashes into life with the addition of the harder riffing guitars and beating drums, and the mood changes swiftly. Lord is offered another opportunity to produce an organ solo from his salad days in the latter part of the track, as the song plays out with emphasis and fades to complete the album on a dose of energy.
Like many of my generation, my first experience of the Whitesnake phenomenon was with their seminal album “1987”, one that contained all of the glitz and glitter of the enveloping heavy genre that it was aimed at on its release, the commercial exploration that David Coverdale was looking for, and which was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for at the time as well. When it came to all of the Whitesnake albums prior to this, that was more of a journey. It was just a matter of getting down the road to doing it. I went through the Deep Purple discography prior to that, and in doing so discovered each of “Burn, “Stormbringer” and “Come Taste the Band” that are in some ways a forgotten branch of music and yet are so wonderful in their own right, and of course are the forerunner to this band. So when I came to discover the early Whitesnake albums, I wasn’t as underprepared as I could have been when it came to their sound. Well... that’s partly true.
When discovering the band’s early discography, it was inevitably “Slide it in” that I came to first, followed by “Saints and Sinners”. Both are very good albums (in my opinion), and having experienced those two first, when I then came to this album I was better prepared for what it offered. And I guess when I first heard it, having heard the two albums that come after its release, I guess I was expecting something different. Something perhaps a bit more revelationary. And it took me a while to work out why I didn’t think that was the case. Eventually – some years later as it turned out, once I realised that these albums were all composed and released in very quick succession – I came to the conclusion that there were similar focuses on the music hear because they were happy with their direction and their increasing success, so don’t try and muck around with the formula too much. And that’s why I think that there is a slight stall on this album. One that was rectified over those next two albums.
Flash forward to the present day, and my CD goes into the stereo, and although I get similar vibes initially, I find that on closer inspection there is a bit more here than perhaps I have given this album credit for in the past. “Don’t Break My Heart Again” in particular is a song that I enjoyed in the past but didn’t give much more thought to, but over this past little bit I have been indoctrinated as to the beauty and craftsmanship of the track itself and its performance. Beyond that, it has been the performers themselves who I now hear play an enormous part on this album. It is easy to name Paice, Lord and Murray because their work is always sublime and special. But truly, Ian Paice is a master craftsman on the drums. And he is exceptional on this album once again, almost the star as far as I am concerned. How he continues to play so brilliantly every album is beyond me. His combination here, firstly with Jon Lord and his organ, is particularly good – and Lord is offered a couple of nice places to showcase some of his amazing talent – and also with Neil Murray’s bass is sensational. These three create the foundations of the album, that give Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody the chance to do what they do best. And Coverdale of course is as wonderful as always.
Overall, this is another good solid album from this version and line up of the band. I will once again state for the record that I like this album, I just don’t love it. It is great to listen to, and it has several excellent songs. Here endeth the episode.
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