Whitesnake’s new album The Purple Album, released earlier in 2015, shows that after a 35+ year career, they still have relevance today, and are still very talented. This album shows the band’s musical flexibility, with styles ranging from metal, to soft rock, to their more familiar classic rock feel. It should be said that I am only really familiar with their more commercially successful songs, specifically Still of the Night and Here I Go Again, so I am not aware of the band’s evolution in style over the years. However, this does give me a clear perspective on their skill and the quality of the music on this new album.
The first few tracks on The Purple Album are undeniably metal, with the band going back to the genre they helped to popularize. The songs feel very similar in structure to a contemporary metal band like Dragonforce, with longer songs and much more complex arrangements. Their skill really shines through in these beginning songs, as the riffs are fast and powerful, the solos are mind-bendingly complicated, and it all sounds fantastic. The album slows down in the middle, taking on a more soft rock feel. The instrumental work is still good, but the drums and guitar definitely take a backseat to the vocals here, really emphasizing the storytelling and feel of the songs over solos and energy. The final four or five tracks of the album bring the energy back in, sliding into the hard rock style that put them in the public eye some thirty-odd years ago. The guitars are quick enough, but really emphasize their style now, more than speed. Honestly, this part of the album sounds like it could have been released in 1985 not 2015, because they are just drenched in that classic 80’s rock tone.
The big highlights of this album are ‘Love Child,’ ‘Might Just Take Your Life,’ and ‘Lay Down Stay Down.’ ‘Love Child’ has some of that hard hitting metal sound, with an intro using two harmonized guitar riffs to send chills down your spine. ‘Might Just Take Your Life’ opens up with a slide guitar riff, melting into a solid rock beat that you could groove out to at any time. ‘Lay Down Stay Down’ opens with a really impressive guitar solo, and launches into a high octane track that begs to blasted whenever you feel like rocking out. Overall, this is a solid album that shows that Whitesnake has still got their touch, and can still give some modern groups a run for their money.
–By Matt Gillen, Legends of Rock
DJ of the Month September 2015