David+coverdale

In 2000, David Coverdale was officially a full-time solo artist, but it wasn't like the former Whitesnake and Deep Purple vocalist had never recorded an album by himself – his first solo project, Northwinds, came out in the late '70s. Although not groundbreaking, 2000's Into the Light is a decent solo effort that should please those who admire his '70s and '80s output. In fact, this isn't a radical departure from the British singer's work with Whitesnake and Deep Purple. Instead of attempting to be relevant to the alternate rock scene of 2000, Coverdale sticks with the type of commercial hard rock, arena rock, and power ballads that he is best known for.

David Coverdale's first two post-Deep Purple solo albums, 1977's White Snake and 1978's Northwinds, were combined onto one CD prior to this package, which came out on the Purple label in 2003. That two-fer, however, didn't have the four bonus tracks that appear on this configuration…

English rock vocalist and songwriter, most famous for his work with hard rock band Deep Purple, and his later band Whitesnake. He has also worked with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on the 'Coverdale Page' project…

Taken together, David Coverdale's first two post-Deep Purple solo albums, 1977's White Snake and 1978's Northwinds, are rather more subdued and, while not exactly laid-back, more in a mainstream late-'70s rock groove than you might expect from a singer who fronted both Deep Purple and Whitesnake, with pit stops for roots rock, AOR ballads, and gently funky stuff. Taken on their own terms outside of the context of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, they're mediocre listening, the product of a man uncertain about where to take his music as a solo act, without the rock-hard hard rock support of one of his steady bands.

Everything about Coverdale/Page, right down to the goofy copping of the Presence artwork, is an attempt to recapture the pompous majesty of Led Zeppelin. It doesn't succeed, of course, but it does leave all of the Zep clones in the dust. Although Jimmy Page plays better here than he has since 1979's In Through the Out Door, there is a conspicuous lack of solos. If you've never liked David Coverdale, his performance will not change your opinion. Both fare better on the rockers; the power ballads tend be slightly tedious. Essentially, Coverdale/Page boils down to a guilty pleasure at its best moments ("Shake My Tree," "Pride and Joy," "Absolution Blues"), but never quite rivals the bold experimentation of Led Zeppelin.

Even though they were a global chart-topping, hit-making machine less than ten years prior, David Coverdale came up empty when he tried to find a U.S.-based record company to issue the group's 1997 release, Restless Heart (available Stateside only as an import). To Coverdale's credit, he did not attempt to give Whitesnake a modern-day makeover (which so many pop- metal bands of the late '80s did post-Nirvana, and failed miserably), as he follows in the same melodic rock mold of Whitesnake's previous two releases, 1987's Whitesnake and 1989's Slip of the Tongue…

1978's Northwinds, David Coverdale's second solo album after the demise of Deep Purple, is a powerful dose of blues- and R&B-influenced hard rock. This album – the final new release on Purple Records – is also a huge leap forward in quality from the previous year's White Snake, a tentative and generally cautious record. As with White Snake, Northwinds was produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and is anchored by guitarist Micky Moody and keyboardist Tim Hinckley. Bassist Alan Spenner and drummer Tony Newman comprise the rhythm section. "Keeping on Giving Me Love" is loose and funky and a blowout jam wraps it up.

David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English rock singer best known for his work with Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after which he established his solo career. A collaboration with Jimmy Page resulted in a 1993 album that was a commercial and critical success…

Taken together, David Coverdale's first two post-Deep Purple solo albums, 1977's White Snake and 1978's Northwinds, are rather more subdued and, while not exactly laid-back, more in a mainstream late-'70s rock groove than you might expect from a singer who fronted both Deep Purple and Whitesnake, with pit stops for roots rock, AOR ballads, and gently funky stuff…