Released By : Frontiers Records
Genre : Melodic Rock, Hard Rock
Links : http://www.whitesnake.com/
Tracklist:
01. Steal Your Heart Away
02. All Out Of Luck
03. Love Will Set You Free
04. Easier Said Than Done
05. Tell Me How
06. I Need You (Shine A Light)
07. One Of These Days
08. Love And Treat Me Right
09. Dogs In The Street
10. Fare The Well
11. Whipping Boy Blues
12. My Evil Ways
13. Forevermore
Here it is folks…. The best album of 2011 winner is FOREVERMORE by WHITESNAKE!! “What?” I hear you saying… “But it’s only March, how can he do that?” Well, I guess there’s a possibility of a better album coming along some time this year but man it seems unlikely so for now just stick with me…
I got ridiculously excited in 2008 when word got out that a new WHITESNAKE album (their first in eleven years) would be coming out and had already built it up in my head as the greatest thing ever. When it finally arrived, yes it was close to being perfect and just the fact of having new Coverdale songs was something that was really awesome at the time. After twenty or so listens to GOOD TO BE BAD though, I did have one minor complaint that stopped the album from being utterly amazing, and that was the fact that virtually the entire album was hard & heavy and lacked some of the color & soul I usually associate with Coverdale and WHITESNAKE.This is totally understandable when you think about it because they waited so long to release new material that they wanted to come back with a bang and show the world they could still kick its ass when they wanted to.
Getting yet another WHITESNAKE album a mere three years after the previous one was a surprise to say the least and it seems that Coverdale and co. have found a new lease on life thanks to their partnership with Frontiers Records, who as a matter of fact have been instrumental in refreshing the careers of a lot of our favorite bands from years gone by.
FOREVERMORE is actually a step up from the previous album and while it still definitely rocks your socks, there is some of the color & soul been put back into the music and a few balladesque tunes featuring that lower Coverdale tone that we all know and love. Musically they sound as powerful as ever and it seems like this may be the best WHITESNAKE line-up since the almighty 1987 line-up. Guitar duo Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich remain thankfully, but this time around are joined by an all-new rhythm section that features Brian Tichy (Billy Idol band, Ozzy Osbourne Band, Foreigner) on drums and Michael Devin (Lynch Mob) slapping the bass guitar. David Coverdale has always had a keen knack for finding the right musicians for the band but this time around he has really, really got it right and hopefully the line-up can stabilize long enough to get another album out in the future.
Opening track STEAL YOUR HEART is a great mix of classic WHITESNAKE and their newer meaty sound, kind of like a modern day blues rock tune and a great way kick things off. This is followed by two thumping hard rockers ALL OUT OF LOVE and LOVE WILL SET YOU FREE, both of which could have slotted in to the 1987 album perfectly. EASIER SAID THAN DONE is a classic power ballad that keeps it slow and moody without ever getting cheesy and too soft. TELL ME HOW is a great power rock tune that features some of the finest vocals David Coverdale has recorded in twenty years and is great way to follow up after the ballad. I NEED YOU (SHINE A LIGHT) has a bit of seventies era WHITESNAKE about it, but mixed with some very tough sounding guitar work in the verses. ONE OF THESE DAYS continues the slight seventies era vibe and is a great acoustic based rock tune. LOVE AND TREAT ME RIGHT and DOGS IN THE STREET take us back to the 1987 era with style and would both be excellent live tracks I’m sure. FARE THEE WELL is another great acoustic based rock tune that features a surprisingly deep Coverdale lyric (Well, deep compared to usual anyways). WHIPPING BOY BLUES is a bit of sleaze-rock tune that reminds me a bit of modern day DANGER DANGER or something of the like. MY EVIL WAYS is a great late album highlight and features some very Eddie Van Halen type guitar work. The album also closes in fine fashion with title track FOREVERMORE, a very cruisy acoustic based song that really accentuates how good David Coverdale’s vocals still are even though he is quickly approaching sixty years of age.
Any WHITESNAKE fan young or old should be able to find much to like within the albums thirteen songs, and while it’s not the best album they have ever recorded it is an improvement over the already fantastic 2008 album GOOD TO BE BAD. I personally cannot find a fault here and there is not one weaker track to be found so I am left with no other option than to give FOREVERMORE a perfect score.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 10/10
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