Whitesnake

Good to Be Bad marks Whitesnake's 30th anniversary as a band (though frontman and chief songwriter David Coverdale is the only original member), and their first studio album since 1998's Restless Heart, which was never released in the United States. While it's true that, even at the height of their popularity, Whitesnake were never a prolific band, Coverdale was able to keep their sound rooted in the bluesy hard rock of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple (who Coverdale recorded three albums with), and late-'70s Brit metal. The current incarnation of Whitesnake is made up of guitarist and co-songwriter Doug Aldrich, second guitarist Reb Beach, bassist Uriah Duffy, keyboardist Timothy Drury, and drummer Chris Frazier. Frazier is the band's newest member; the others all appeared on 2006's Live... In the Shadow of the Blues, and all but Duffy and Frazier were on the Live in the Still of the Night CD/DVD set that same year. Given that this is a seasoned road group, it remained to be heard if the bandmembers could pull it off in the studio, and whether it was worth pulling off at all. The answer, in brief, is hell yes! -- beginning with the single "All for Love," dead center on the album, with classic power chords as a majestic intro to the big bad crunch of a four-chord riff that the tune hinges on. Rough and rowdy, it's still got a killer hook in the refrain that is pure trademark Whitesnake. Guitars don't sound like this on records anymore, and it's too bad because that solid wall of big fat distorted roar still sounds like a Les Paul. Music aside, Coverdale's voice is a bit lower in the 21st century, but he's still better than 90 percent of the frontmen out there. He can emote, growl, and get up above that dense mix.

Another killer arrives with the wild, unhinged blues licks that open "Best Years" on an off-the-rails charge. What's interesting is that the riff in the body of the tune sounds like an inversion of the Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post," and the verse is based on the same changes. Who cares if it's a stretch; the tune is one of the hardest rockers to come swaggering down the big rock alley in a dog's age. That said, what's really weird is the fact that this sound, as "retro" as it is in recalling the 1980s, is actually a far greater alternative to what's on corporate and even satellite radios in the 21st century than anything out there. "Can You Hear the Wind Blow" is a monster of a rocker with big guitars and shimmering keyboards lending their lilt to the blues wail in Coverdale's voice. Here again, the hook in the chorus is simply monstrous -- à la an earlier incarnation of Whitesnake to be sure, but also reminiscent of the tune "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions. No shame in that either. Every hard-rocking blues-riffing band of the late '70s and big metal group from Britain in particular and Europe in general used runs, riffs, changes, and big fat production where one group borrowed from another but gave something else. Another notable thing about this set is Aldrich's guitar playing. He's obviously listened to Jimmy Page, and the slippery, knotty, and funky blues riffs in tracks like "Call on Me" reflect that, but his sound with its effects pedals is more overdriven and bigger than life, offering a base for this Whitesnake's core sound -- straight-out stadium rock y'all -- that was missing on their later records. Of course, it wouldn't be a Whitesnake recording without a beautiful power ballad and this one's got a beauty in "Summer Rain," with its washed-out meld of acoustic guitars playing a country-ish tune, an organ painting a landscape with its swells, great cymbal and bass drum work, and of course a big electric guitar solo near the end to make it a power ballad for a minute. It's a great song because of its craft and attention to detail.

The vocal showcase for Coverdale is "Lay Down Your Love," where he begins a cappella and gets to do a better Robert Plant than even Plant himself can do these days. "A Fool in Love" begins with the sound of a crackling vinyl record, and the tune is pure balls-out blues-rock complete with slide guitar. If it weren't for the metallic overdrive, Free could have done this tune. Good to Be Bad closes on the acoustic blues tip with "'Til the End of Time," which might seem a strange choice, but by the time the big tom-toms roll in and the keys weave through those guitars, it feels like something off Led Zeppelin III or the more subdued moments of Physical Graffiti. And yeah, that's a good thing. With all the obvious references and nods to other bands' songs, it's what Whitesnake have done all along: tried to be part of the big bang continuum that began in the 1970s and lasted until it was knocked out of the box by Nirvana in the 1990s. It doesn't matter that the sound is "old," because it's not an attempt at retro. Coverdale has always stuck very close to his blues-rock roots and continues to mine them for what they mean to him. Add to this that he understands that what makes slogging outsized guitars palatable are excellent choruses and hooks, and his gift for writing a particular kind of song -- one you can't get out of your head once you hear it -- is complete. It would be a shock if this record got airplay in America, but it should. This is one hell of a comeback, and for a band that recorded singles but didn't always deliver on its albums, this ranks right near the top of the Whitesnake catalog. [Early editions of the CD come with a bonus disc containing seven live tracks and an enhanced video documentary called Ready to Rock.] ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide