David Coverdale Northwinds

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…

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.

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.

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.

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…

Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history. Whitesnake enjoyed much success in the UK, Europe and Japan through their early years. Their albums Ready an' Willing, Come an' Get It and Saints & Sinners all reached the top ten on the UK Albums Chart.

Rhino will issue Unzipped, a new Whitesnake super deluxe edition box set, later this year, that focuses on ‘unplugged’ and acoustic-based performances recorded over the last 20 years or so. This 5CD+DVD package includes rare and unreleased studio and live recordings, acoustic demos, concert videos, interviews and more.