Flashback CD Review #73 - Whitesnake - The Definitive Collection

This review was written for the Rock Is Life.com website in 2006.

Whitesnake
The Definitive Collection
Geffen Records - 2006
http://www.whitesnake.com

What's The 4-1-1?

The compilation is the latest gathering of Whitesnake material into a greatest hits format.

Genre

Hard Rock / Rock / Blues Rock / Classic Rock

The Good

What I really liked about this collection is the inclusion of the lesser known 1970's and early 80's songs when the band sounded more like a classic rock band than the 80's metal band most fans know.

The CD is broken up into three major portions.

The blues/classic rock style comes first and includes one of my all-time favorite Whitesnake songs "Walking In The Shadow of the Blues".

The second part of the CD is when the band was making the transition from classic rock to 80's metal. This period was basically the Slide It In album, which has three songs on the compilation.

The last major part features the hits from the 1987 Whitesnake and 1989 Slip of the Tongue albums. Some of the songs included here are another of my all-time favorite Whitesnake tracks "Now You're Gone", plus "Still of the Night" and "Here I Go Again".

The album closes with another older song that serves as a way of the band saying goodbye as the CD ends called "We Wish You Well." It's a short little track but it is a nice way of ending the album.

The sound is great, whether the original versions of the songs are used or the remixed versions.

The Bad

While I acknowledge that each song had to be included, I gritted my teeth during "The Deeper The Love" and "Is This Love". They spent so much time playing each song to death when they were hit singles that the irritation they ended up causing me still remains to this day.

I have to wonder why in the world a WHITESNAKE greatest hits CD would include a track from singer David Coverdale's one-off album project with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. It simply doesn't belong, especially since the disc left off another great Whitesnake song in "Cryin' In The Rain".

The Verdict

Yes, this is a greatest hits album. The band has been the subject of quite a few of these compilation releases lately. Like those others, you are never going to completely satisfy everyone's idea of the perfect greatest hits track listing, but this CD does come pretty close. I am a huge fan of all versions of the band, but I haven't really listened to all that much Whitesnake recently. This album was a welcome reminder of why I enjoy the band so much.

Did You Know?

The former guitarist for Whitesnake, Adrian Vandenberg, actually appeared on the classic 1987 Whitesnake album before he eventually replaced guitarist John Sykes in the band.

Drummer Tommy Aldridge has been a member or played on the albums for a variety of bands in his long career. Among these groups are Black Oak Arkansas, House of Lords, Ozzy Osbourne, Project: Drive and Thin Lizzy.

Rating: 4 out of 5