Whitesnake The Purple Album Review
The Purple Album
Whitesnake
Reviewed by Michael McDermott
David Coverdale returns to the fray with a somewhat surprising revisitation of a selection of tracks from his three album stint spent with Deep Purple between 1973 and 1975, apparently inspired by a recent reconnection with old bandmate Richie Blackmore. With Whitesnake having evolved several years ago into a harder rocking, keyboard-less configuration, this release offers a guitar-driven update of the chosen Purple tunes, where the original pairing of Richie Blackmore’s (and later Tommy Bolin’s) guitar and John Lord’s keyboards interwove to create the signature sound of classic Deep Purple.
Covering material from the Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band albums, this 13-song selection features well-worn classics alongside less regularly-aired Purple fare. Whitesnake have been playing the likes of Burn, Stormbringer and Mistreated for years as part of their live set, but it’s a treat to hear them updated and revved up for 2015. Coverdale’s voice is still rich and fulsome, but understandably pitched a few semi-tones below the laryngeal gymnastics he was capable of in his early-twenties. With the no-prisoners, twin guitar attack of Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra (Doug Aldritch departed the band in 2013) and the powerhouse rhythm section of Tommy Aldridge and Michael Devin, both familiar and unfamiliar Purple material is reforged into a heavier musical alloy than was first produced 40 years ago. And for those who may have found Purple’s sound a little overly rich in the keyboard department, this release provides a more direct, hard rock re-imagining with some excellent six-string interplay between Beach and Hoekstra.
For Purple and Whitesnake followers alike, this album delivers, at the very least, a curiosity-satisfying delve into the Mark III/IV Purple catalogue, but also shows that Coverdale himself, in reconnecting with his past, has shown he can still bring on a storm all these years later.
Track Listing:
01. Burn
02. You Fool No One (interpolating Itchy Fingers)
03. Love Child
04. Sail Away
05. The Gypsy
06. Lady Double Dealer
07. Mistreated
08. Holy Man
09. Might Just Take Your Life
10. You Keep On Moving
11. Soldier Of Fortune
12. Lay Down Stay Down
13. Stormbringer
Rating: 5/5 
RRP: £9.99
Available to buy from iTunes here or to pre-order from Amazon here.
