Whitesnake/England,UK 02.24.1984

David Coverdale and John Sykes met by fate and produced the historic masterpiece “SERPENS ALBUS”. However, the chemical reaction between the two was not complete from the beginning. The chemistry grew during the “SLIDE IT IN TOUR”, where the members were reduced from “6 people” to “5 people” to “4 people” by a prank of fate, and the final destination was “SERPENS ALBUS”. Currently, the 30th anniversary of “SERPENS ALBUS” is in full swing, but this work is a film that depicts the starting point of “Cavadale & Sykes”. It is an audience album of “Liverpool performance on February 24, 1984”. First of all, let’s look back on the overview of “SLIDE IT IN TOUR”, including the changes in the members. 1984, February 17th – April 5th: Europe (28 performances) ←★Here★《Mel injured → 5-person formation》・April 8th – 16th: Europe (6 performances)《Lord leaves → 4-person formation》・June 30th: ST.GALLEN FESTIVAL・July 17th – 30th: North America (10 performances)・August 4th – 16th: Japan (8 performances)・September 12th – November 30th: North America (53 performances)1985, January 11th + 19th: ROCK IN RIO (2 performances)《Cozy leaves》This is the whole picture of “SLIDE IT IN TOUR”. The Liverpool performance of this work is the first 6th performance. It is a very early live album. This show has long been known as “February 23rd”. However, the original sound was not understood due to the deviation of the tape speed. This work was fully digitally remastered from the original master of such a famous recording. The outline of the performance, which was a little blurred in the previous release, has been tightened, and a smart sound that comes out sharply has been achieved. Of course, the tape speed has also been corrected to a normal pitch, making it several steps easier to listen to than the previous release, and it is a definitive edition that conveys the original famous recording. At this Liverpool performance, no one turned on the heater in the venue even though it was the middle of winter, so Coverdale’s breath was visible even just before the show started. However, despite the harsh cold, the enthusiasm of the band and the fans who flocked to the venue was tremendous, and the audience responded with loud cheers to the band’s spirit that rose from the opening song “Gambler”. Because it was the early part of the tour, there was a rare scene in which Coverdale made a mistake in the timing of his singing in the following “Guilty Of Love”, but his passionate performance that blew away such a minor mistake was overwhelming. Of particular note is “Soldier Of Fortune” inserted into the coda of “Crying In The Rain”. Although it is a traditional promise, here, at the beginning, Coverdale surprises by singing one phrase of “Only My Soul”! This is also a production on the press CD “DEFINITIVE GLASGOW 1984”, but this one is much longer. Although the atmosphere is different, you can listen to this masterpiece recorded in “NORTHWINDS” accompanied by Jon Lord. Jon Lord’s solo part is also delicious. The phrase that you can hear in “BEFORE I FORGET” is excellent, and the composition that interweaves DEEP PURPLE numbers is very fun. The show ends with a frenzy with the anthem “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City”, which is full of unity and emotion because of the British performance, “Fool For Your Loving” that draws the whole venue into a whirlpool of heat, the encore “Slide It In”, and the exciting “Don’t Break My Heart Again” (it’s a shame that “We Wish You Well” was not recorded!). This is the starting point of “Cavadale & Sykes”. Although recordings have been discovered from performances prior to this work, unfortunately there are problems with the quality. In that respect, this work is an undisputed high-quality sound. It is exactly their starting point, the masterpiece of the very early days of “SLIDE IT IN TOUR”. The miracle of “SERPENS ALBUS” was not made in a day. Live at Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK 24th February 1984 TRULY AMAZING SOUND R.I.P. John Sykes (29th July 1959 – 20th January 2025) Disc 1 1. Intro. 2. Gambler 3. Guilty Of Love 4. Ready An’ Willing 5. Love Ain’t No Stranger 6. Here I Go Again 7. Slow An’ Easy 8. Crying In The Rain 9. Only My Soul/Soldier Of Fortune Disc 2 1. Keyboard Solo 2. Drums Solo 3. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City 4. Fool For Your Loving 5. Need Your Love So Bad/Thank You 6. Slide It In 7. Don’t Break My Heart Again David Coverdale – Vocal John Sykes – Guitar Mel Galley – Guitar Jon Lord – Keyboards Neil Murray – Bass Cozy Powell – Drums