Whitesnake

Saints & Sinners (1982 Geffen Records)

1. Young Blood
2. Rough An' Ready
3. Bloody Luxury
4. Victim Of Love
5. Crying In The Rain
6. Here I Go Again
7. Love An' Affection
8. Rock An' Roll Angels
9. Dancing Girls
10. Saints An' Sinners

Mike's Review
When I heard the first few chords of "Young Blood," I knew that I was in for a treat. I had been accustomed to the enormous, over-the-top Whitesnake on albums like 1987's Whitesnake and 1989's Slip Of The Tongue. But Saints & Sinners is a more straightforward, unpolished Whitesnake. I refer to this as a treat because I always enjoy hearing different periods of a band. Unlike later, flashier incarnations of Whitesnake (which I love just as much, don't get me wrong) the band on this album is happy just to churn out quick, enjoyable rockers more similar to 70s radio rock. The only two longer songs on this album, "Crying In The Rain" and "Here I Go Again," were dusted off and intensified a few years later on the Whitesnake album. Although the 1987 version of "Here I Go Again" is the hit everybody knows, the original version is worth hearing for its use of organ and the original lyric "hobo" instead of "drifter."

If you're only interested in the "big hair" version of Whitesnake, Saints & Sinners probably isn't for you. But I would wager that it's just as good, and an excellent insight to what the band sounded like before they became huge.

Mike's Picks: Young Blood, Crying In The Rain, Here I Go Again, Dancing Girls

Mike's Rating

Thankfully Saints & Sinners is still in print (for the time being) on Geffen Goldline. But I wouldn't risk waiting too long to pick this one up.

Slide It In (1984 Geffen Records)

1. Slide It In
2. Slow An' Easy
3. Love Ain't No Stranger
4. All Or Nothing
5. Gambler
6. Guilty Of Love
7. Hungry For Love
8. Give Me More Time
9. Spit It Out
10. Standing In The Shadow

Derek's Review
Whitesnake and I go back a ways (keep in mind I am presently 19). I can remember listening to a cassette version of their monster mega-album Whitesnake in numerous car rides. Yet for reasons I still don't quite understand, I never decided to explore more Snake. Well, shortly after I saw Whitesnake tour with the Scorpions and Dokken and came away mightily impressed, I still had no conscious intention of extending my album collection with their CDs. But, I was making a trip up to Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) and happened to stop in at the Gurnee Mills mall (Gurnee, IL). They had a CD store that was going under and I was able to pick up Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection for about $8. Let me tell you, this is the way to do it. Not only do you get all three of the huge Whitesnake albums: Slide It In, Whitesnake, and Slip Of The Tongue, but you also get a few B-sides.

This brings me to my review of Slide It In. Whitesnake doesn't sound a whole lot different before their mega-success with their next album. The album starts off with two classic Whitesnake songs, "Slide It In" and "Slow An' Easy," with its infectious clapping chorus that makes you feel like you are at the show. "Love Ain't No Stranger" starts off very slow with melodic keyboards provided by the legendary Jon Lord (Deep Purple) and then all of a sudden turns into a rightful fist-in-the-air rocker. "Gambler" has a nice little keyboard solo before the guitar solo comes in. "Guilty Of Love" is another melodic rocker. "Spit It Out" has some nice multi-layered vocals.

This album really sounds no different than its follow up and is a great album. For everyone who claims that Coverdale is nothing more than a Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) clone, he has gotten the official "OK" from legend Jimmy Page (which resulted in the Coverdale/Page album) and that's good enough for me. Pick this album up, but buy Here I Go Again: The Whitesnake Collection instead:

Ironically, Sykes was not in the original band that recorded this album, but was then called in to overdub guitar work for Mel Galley, who was fired. This has led fans to debate as to which version is better: with Sykes or sans-Sykes. Since I have this on a compilation CD, I think I have the version with Sykes, and cannot comment on the version without him. However, in defense of Sykes, I think he sounds awesome.

Derek’s Picks: Slide It In, Slow An' Easy, Love Ain't No Stranger

Derek’s Rating