Purplesnake

I'm generally not a fan of bands re-recording their classic albums. I just don't get the point. I'm not interested in you recording it with better production, or giving it a more modern sound. Those excuses don't mean shit to me, and when I heard that David Coverdale was going to record a bunch of his Deep Purple songs with his current Whitesnake band, I threw up in my mouth a little.

I'm a big Deep Purple fan. Coverdale's first album with the band, Burn, is flawless as it practically boils over with passion and power...and Made In Europe is one of the all-time greatest live albums (move aside Made In Japan, Coverdale's got you beat here). I considered this new re-recording an offensive abomination, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I'll stick with the originals, thank you very much.

Then I had an old friend from High School reach out to me about this new Whitesnake album of Deep Purple songs. He sent me a link to the new Stormbringer video, and wouldn't stop praising how great he thought it sounded. I resisted, yet he wouldn't shut up about it. It was just like it was '86/'87 all over again, with him trying to sell me on Deep Purple and Whitesnake, and me wanting no part of it.

I finally broke down, and stole a free download of the album. I gave it a listen, and prepared to set my friend straight by tearing it apart. Well, I was wrong.

Now while I love Deep Purple, the one thing that has always rubbed me the wrong way was Glenn Hughes. I fucking hate his R&B/funk influence on Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band. So while this Whitesnake album is too thick and heavy to really let those Purple songs properly breathe, they do have one thing going for them, and that is that there is no Glenn Fucking Hughes. Having him removed from the equation, lets me appreciate these songs on another level, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed this fresh take on the old classics. Goddamn it, I hate being wrong, but I'll give credit where it is due, and this Whitesnake album is a blast to listen to.

I'd procrastinated on picking up the double vinyl for this album all year. Since it was 2015 release, I really wanted to buy a copy before the year came to a close, but time after time I kept finding records that I wanted to own more than this. Plus, as an import, it wasn't easy to justify spending the extra money on it. When I got a notification from eBay last week, stating that The Purple Album was available at a reduced price, I figured that I'd check it out. Considering that this was typically a $30 album, I jumped at the Buy It Now option of $14. Sold.