A glorious live album that all ‘Snake fans should enjoy.

There is little to choose between my all time top three acts, but ask anyone who knows me well and they will say, without hesitation, that the one I’ve always been most consistently enthusiastic about is Whitesnake/David Coverdale. So forgive me for getting rather excited about this new Snake live album, especially as I was present at two nights that were recorded.

The first disc, ‘Made In Britain’ was recorded over the two UK legs of the Snake’s massive 2011 World Tour. The track selection is effectively a set list in order of the songs that featured at both of the concerts I went to. There are all the top tracks from the last album like ‘Steal Your Heart Away’, ‘Fare Thee Well’ and ‘Love Will Set You Free’. Then there are the expected all time favourites, ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’, ‘Fool For Your Loving’ and of course ‘Here I Go Again’. Disc two, ‘The World Record’ features other songs that appeared intermittently from the tour but this time recorded on distant shores. These include ‘Can You Hear The Wind Blow’, ‘Slide It In’ and ‘The Deeper The Love’. They have even found space for the ‘Burn/Stormbringer’ medley although it seems odd to include ‘Fare Thee Well’ twice. To fit all the songs in, there is a lack of the charismatic Coverdale crowd banter on the ‘…Britain’ disc. But that is made up for on disc two with plenty of amusing comments and typical Coverdale charm and wit.

I’ll say it loud and proud...I absolutely love this live release from ‘Snake. The two concerts I attended a year or so back were two of my all time favourites and this brings back so many fantastic memories. In my opinion this is the most dynamic guitar pairing in the bands history and here they are playing pretty much all my favourite tracks. I have no doubt some longer term fans will say this isn’t Coverdale at his best vocally (compared to the old days), and there is truth in that. But for me ‘Snake is about so much more; it’s about the songs, the humour and most importantly, as Coverdale would say, it’s all about the love. The production qualities are pretty perfect as is the balance between the band and audience.

All in all I think this is a glorious live album that all ‘Snake fans should enjoy, even if it’s for different reasons. I have played this album constantly since I received it and the more I listen to it the more I adore it. The best advice I can give is in the words of the great man himself...”all you have to do is sing with us, have as much fucking fun as you can and of course make as much noise as you possibly can”.

Dave Scott