The second or third cassette I ever bought... the first cassette I ever air-guitared with (the second was Great White's Once Bitten, specifically "Rock Me," to which I still rock out on occasion)....
And this rocking out, possible via the video for "Still of the Night," was engendered by who I thought was John Sykes, but was actually Adrien Vandenberg in the video (remember, this was pre-internet; I just went by who the J-card said was the guitarist)....
I recently returned to this record because I was listening to a lot of John Sykes-era Thin Lizzy (e.g., "Cold Sweat," a great riff and a great song), and this made me think of Coverdale and Co.....
Except for "Still of the Night," the best tracks are not released: "Give Me All Your Love," "Children of the Night," "Straight for the Heart," and "Bad Boys" are great hard rock tunes, and these less-indebted to the blues-rock that Whitesnake dealt in previous releases....
David Coverdale was "old" when this came out in 1987; how old is that fucker now? [Note: I just checked-- he's 61 as of this review; may I look that good in 20 years.]
Whitesnake (aka Serpens Albus in Japan and 1987 in the UK) is still, 25 years later, a great hard rock record: catchy yet heavy, the kind of thing you would only marginally be ashamed of blasting out of your vehicle of choice.
Not bad for a band whose name euphemistically means Caucasian Penis.
--Horn
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