Becoming mega Rock-n-Roll leaders in the 1980s, the road to the top for Whitesnake is a rather interesting one. In fact, leading up to the success of the ‘80s (which featured huge albums such as 1984’s Slide It In and 1987’s Whitesnake), the band put out 2 albums in the 1970 era which acted as a springboard. And this is not the most compelling aspect of it all, that tidbit of detail would be the fact that Whitesnake’s leader, David Coverdale, formed the band after spending time with Deep Purple. A member of Deep Purple between 1973 and 1976 – singing on albums such as 1974’s Burn and Stormbringer, as well as 1975’s Come Taste the Band – clearly this was only the beginning for a very young Coverdale.
This in mind, Coverdale reflected on his history with Deep Purple back in 2015, putting out Whitesnake’s own The Purple Album. An album recorded with Guitarist Reb Beach, Bassist Michael Devin, Guitarist Joel Hoekstra (appearing on his first Whitesnake album), and Drummer Tommy Aldridge (reappearing on a Whitesnake album for the first time since ‘89s Slip Of The Tongue), it contains remakes of songs from Deep Purple band lineups (MK III & MK IV) when Coverdale was a member. At the time a hot release in the world of Rock, it went over exceptionally well with fans and critics alike.
Now 8 years later, Coverdale celebrates the 50th anniversary of his joining Deep Purple with a new amped up edition of The Purple Album. Put out on October 13, 2023 in several formats (digitally, as well as a 2CD/Blu-ray Set and 2-LP Set) via Rhino Records, the reissue has bundles to offer. First and foremost, the new release of The Purple Album is newly remixed, remastered and expanded for each respective edition.
Looking at both physical formats, the vinyl release and CD/Blu-ray editions have their own appealing attributes, some of these include previously unreleased recordings as well as the demo that resulted in Coverdale’s joining of Deep Purple. Looking briefly at the CD/Blu-ray edition, it includes live recordings and concert videos from The Purple Tour (“The Gypsy,” “Mistreated”), official music videos (“Sail Away,” “You Fool No One”), as well as six alternate mixes of album tracks, plus a behind-the-scene look at the album with Coverdale. Which leads us to the vinyl release, which is presented as a lovely 2-LP gold color vinyl. Rather cool, this gold edition is really a must have for long-time fans… especially thanks to the very personal touch of featuring copies of the hand-written lyrics on the inner vinyl sleeves.
All of these materials considered, and there are a lot of them to take in, what really sells the reissue of The Purple Album is that the remixes which are really quite inviting. Freshly done, and giving you a different perspective on the tracks, it is hard to decide if you like 2015’s edition or this better… so let us just say they are both equally good.
In all, Whitesnake continues to find great new ways to celebrate their music that is not only fun, but inspiring. In fact, in 2023, Coverdale and the band also put out a mega edition of their 2008 album Bad to Be Good as a 4-CD/Blu-ray set called Still Good To Be Bad. So, while the band’s farewell tour was put on hold in 2023, there is still plenty to indulge in within the world of Whitesnake. That is why Cryptic Rock gives the Special Gold Edition of The Purple Album 5 out of 5 stars.
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