The Plastic Mancunian: Top 10 David Coverdale Songs

I recently heard that one of my musical heroes has finally decided to hang up his microphone and officially retire. That man is David Coverdale, the man behind the rock band Whitesnake. I’ve been listening to his music for most of my life and whenever I hear some of his songs, it takes me back to earlier chapters of my life.

I have seen him live at least ten times and he is one of those frontmen who is entertaining and fascinating to watch.

He first crossed my radar back in the 1970’s when Whitesnake were a new band who played a kind of blues rock that I really enjoyed. Around that time I also learned that he had been in the band Deep Purple, replacing Ian Gillan as vocalist . Those were very big shoes to fill.

After his stint with Deep Purple, he formed Whitesnake and gradually the band become more popular in the UK with a few top 20 hits. It wasn’t, however, until the mid-1980’s when he changed the band’s style and they took off massively in America.

David Coverdale became a huge rock star and Whitesnake became massively famous.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see him in both eras of the band, from those early bluesier days or Whitesnake to the later more American hard rock phase. I’ve seen some amazing musicians play live in the band including, legendary drummers Cozy Powell and Ian Paice, incredible guitarist Steve Vai and of course John Lord, former Deep Purple keyboard player.

When it comes to his music, I have to say that I prefer Whitesnake’s earlier style of music before they became a huge band. Nevertheless, the later albums were still really good too.

I thought I would offer my list of favourite ten songs featuring David Coverdale, including his days with Deep Purple and his one-off project with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page.

10. Don’t Leave Me This Way – Coverdale/Page (from Coverdale/Page – 1993)

The album Coverdale/Page wasn’t really that well received and I think that view is unfair. The album is really good and has some really strong songs. Jimmy Page is a fantastic guitar player and I think David Coverdale’s voice complemented the guitar really well. My favourite song from the album is a really amazing piece of heavy blues.

9. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More – Whitesnake (from Ready an’ Willing – 1980)

I still consider the classic line up of Whitesnake to be the that from the first four albums with Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody on guitars and Jon Lord on keyboards. This is a lovely song from that era that starts off slowly and melodically before evolving into a heavier song.

8. Till the Day I Die – Whitesnake (from Come an’ Get It – 1981)

In some ways. This song is very similar to the last one. Again it follows the formula of starting off slowly and melodically, evolving into a slightly heavier affair. I love listening to Jon Lord’s keyboards towards the end of the song.

7. Still of the Night – Whitesnake (from 1987 – 1987)

In 1987, Whitesnake completely changed their style from being the blues rock band I had grown up with to a more hard rock hair metal band. When I first heard the only thing that told me the band was Whitesnake were David Coverdale’s unique vocals. The entire band had been replaced apart from him and that made me sad. I guess he felt that the band had to evolve but it was a shame in my opinion. That said, I think Still of the Night is a brilliant song and there are elements of the previous style throughout the song.

6. Crying in the Rain – Whitesnake (from Saints & Sinners – 1982)

David Coverdale felt the need to rerecord a new version of this song for the album 1987, turning it from a bluesy rock song into a hard rock version. And I don’t know why he did this. The original version is a masterpiece and in my opinion didn’t need to evolve to satisfy a more American market. He also did a similar thing with Fool For Your Loving and again the new version lost something. This version of Crying in the Rain is vastly superior.

5. Slow an’ Easy – Whitesnake (from Slide It In 1983)

The first time I saw Whitesnake was in 1984 while at university in Liverpool and it featured John Sykes on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboard and Cozy Powell on drums. It was an amazing gig and I loved watching the band perform this song live.

4. Blindman – Whitesnake (from Ready an’ Willing – 1980)

Blindman highlights just what a great voice David Coverdale has. I think it is a beautiful song and perhaps should have been released as a single. I don’t know what the criteria is for such decisions but I imagine that the band and/or producers thought that the world didn’t need a beautiful blues song to help it along. That’s such a shame.

Like a blind man I can feel the heat of the sun

But like a blind man I don’t know where it’s coming from

3. Take Me With You – Whitesnake (from Trouble – 1978)

Take Me With You is a great rock song and is the first song on the first album. While the studio version is a great song in its own right, the live version from the live album “Live … In the Heart of the City” is even better.

2. Burn – Deep Purple (from Burn – 1973)

Ian Gillan is a great vocalist but he left Deep Purple when the band was at its peak with the famous “Mark II” lineup. The arrival of David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass/backing vocals marked the start of the “Mark III” lineup and as I said earlier, David Coverdale had big shoes to fill. The album Burn is a great album and the title track is just magnificent. With Ritche Blackmore on guitar, this version of Deep Purple wrote some great songs, but none greater than Burn.

1. – Don’t Break My Heart Again (from Come an’ Get It – 1981)

The album “Come an’ Get It” holds a special place in my heart. It was released in April 1981 and that was a pivotal year for me. It is the year that I did my A-levels, my final year at school, the year I started going to the pub with my mates and the year that I started university. It is also the year that my dad died.

This particular song takes me back through all of those memories, both euphoric and miserable and I like to look back in a positive way, despite everything that happened. I used to play the album on Saturday night before I caught the bus with my old mate Simon and the song would play in my head. It’s definitely a nostalgia trip and I am sure that other Whitesnake fans would disagree with me. I don’t care. It brings back bittersweet memories for me.