Whitesnake frontman / founder David Coverdale guested on the October 11th installment of Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk and discussed the status of the band after they were forced to cancel a series of European shows last year. The cancellations were due to Coverdale suffering from a respiratory infection.
Coverdale: "There is still a Whitesnake and there are still offers coming. I can't entertain anything (performing live) until I get my physical aspect together. I had a fall recently, which I don't think helped my… I've got two torn rotator cuffs, which would certainly compromise my performance, but arthritis (and) all this kind of stuff's kicking in. It's so awful, getting older and having this burden of responsibility to try to be as good as you can so you don't disappoint anybody. But I can't commit to anything until I know how my health is. The last thing I wanna do is go on tour and have to do what happened last year, which was come home, tail between my legs. It was heartbreaking, and being sick for a year didn't really help matters."
Whitesnake returned in 2008 with Good To Be Bad, the band’s 10th studio album and its first in over a decade. Fans embraced the comeback, pushing the album into the Top 10 in the UK and flocking to shows on the band’s massive world tour. Today, album tracks like “Best Years” and “Summer Rain” have taken their place in the band’s live repertoire alongside global hits like “Here I Go Again” and “Still Of The Night.”
Whitesnake explores the group’s 2008 return with the legacy retrospective, Still Good To Be Bad. The collection is now available in different configurations. The first collection is a 4-CD/Blu-ray with two new versions of the original album (one remastered and the other newly remixed), a selection of rare and unreleased studio and live recordings from the period, and videos all the music videos, interviews, and electrifying live performances from the Good To Be Bad world tour.
Three other versions of Still Good To Be Bad are also available. The album’s 2023 Remix is released on vinyl as a double-LP and a single CD. Still Good To Be Bad also comes as a 2-CD set that includes the remixed and remastered versions of the album. The new alternate mixes also feature new background vocals from the “Hook City Harlots,” Cami Thompson, Misty Rae & Jackie Landrum, plus the “Hook City Horns” with Rick Metz on saxes and the trumpet of Joshua Reed.
David Coverdale played an integral role in making the new collection, serving as its executive producer. In the set’s liner notes, Coverdale traces the creative spark for Good to Be Bad back to 2003 when he reconvened Whitesnake for a tour celebrating the band’s 25th anniversary.
“We went out for two months and came back nine months later, and I had a big smile on my face and felt really energized.... I thought—‘Wow! I’ve got thirty years of music here that I can go out and play, and I don’t have to promote a new record...I can just have fun out there.’”
The anniversary ended, but the tour buses kept rolling as Whitesnake remained in demand on the road. As a result, in 2006, the band released Live...In The Shadow Of The Blues, a concert album that also introduced four new studio recordings. Those songs raised fans’ hopes for a new Whitesnake studio album, the first since 1997’s Restless Heart.
Coverdale enjoyed a newly forged creative friendship with electrifying guitarist Doug Aldrich...After initially saying he wasn’t interested in new projects...after three years of touring, he felt the need for new music...not only for the fans, but also to reinvigorate himself.
He found the perfect writing partner with Doug Aldrich. Not only as a co-writer but, as a co-producer, too...
“Doug & I got on so well, I suggested we sit down with our acoustic guitars & see what unfolded...I was thrilled how effortless it was to create new Whitesnake music with him...”
So, it was that in 2007, Coverdale, guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, keyboardist Timothy Drury, bassist Uriah Duffy, and drummer Chris Frazier began recording tracks for Whitesnake’s 10th studio album, Good to Be Bad. Celebrated by both fans and critics, the record was named “Album of the Year” at the 2008 Classic Rock Awards.
Still Good To Be Bad explores the creative process behind the record with 28 different mixes and alternate versions of album tracks, all but one of them previously unreleased. High points include “If You Want Me,” backed by the Hook City Harlots and Horns and a version of “All For Love” that features a different guitar solo by Aldrich. The collection also includes “Evolutions”, a disc of unreleased recordings that presents a guide through the genesis of each song, from initial ideas with rough vocal melodies, lyrics and riffs through to finished demos and full band production versions.
The Blu-ray delivers a variety of Whitesnake video footage, including live tracks from the band’s 2008 European tour, acoustic performances from the era, and an interview by Eddie Trunk. New songs like “Best Years,” “A Fool In Love,” and “Can You Hear The Wind Blow” come to life in these incredible live performances. The Blu-ray also features promo videos for “Ready To Rock” and “Lay Down Your Love.”
Order here.
Super Deluxe tracklisting:
CD 1: New Remix
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"
CD 2: New Remaster
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"
CD 3: Alt Mixes and Various Versions
"Lay Down Your Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"If You Want Me":w/ Hook City Harlots
"Call On Me" w/ Hook City Harlots
"Good To Be Bad" w/ Hook City Harlots
"All For Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"Got What You Need" w/ Hook City Harlots
"A Fool In Love" w/ Hook City Harlots
"If You Want Me" Tommy Aldridge drums
"Ready To Rock" Tommy Aldridge drums
"All I Want Is You" Tommy Aldridge drums
"Dog" Tommy Aldridge drums
"All For Love" Doug Aldridge alternate solo
"Summer Rain" Unzipped
CD 4: Evolutions
"Best Years"
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow"
"Lay Down Your Love"
"If You Want Me"
"All I Want All I Need"
"Call On Me"
"Ready To Rock"
"Summer Rain"
"Good To Be Bad"
"All For Love"
"All I Want Is You"
"Got What You Need"
"A Fool In Love"
"Dog"
"‘Til The End Of Time"
Disc 5: Blu-ray / DVD
"Ready To Rock" (Promo Video)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Promo Video)
"Best Years" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"A Fool In Love" (Mini Concert From 2008)
"Got What You Need" (Purplesnake Video)
"Call On Me" (Purplesnake Video)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Purplesnake Video)
"All For Love" (Purplesnake Video)
"Best Years" (Purplesnake Video)
"Can You Hear The Wind Blow" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)
"All I Want All I Need" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)
"Lay Down Your Love" (Cutting Room NY Live Acoustic)
