Whitesnake - Good to Be Bad
SPV
www.whitesnake.com

Rating: B

David Coverdale is back with yet another revamped lineup of Da Snake. Perhaps the only rock band to feature more lineup changes than Rainbow (led by another Deep Purple alum Ritchie Blackmore) Coverdale’s Snake keeps reinventing itself to positive reviews.

Good to Be Bad sees the blond-haired vocalist finding the perfect balance between old school Snake ala "Fool for Your Loving’" and 80's Hair Spray Snake with "All I Want I Need." The result is an album that rocks hard in places and still has enough power ballads to make Friday nite with the little lady fun.

Coverdale is no dummy. He has assembled an amazing band. Co-writing the album with the lion maned band leader is Doug Aldrich. This pretty boy can flat f-ing play the six-string. Formerly of Hurricane and DIO, Aldrich is a modern day Rock God. He is one of the best hard rock axe-masters currently recording and on the road. Coverdale stealing him from Ronnie James Dio was a perfect move as the guitarist continues the legacy of great players in his band. Aldrich is right at home being mentioned in the same company as Vai, Vandenberg and Sykes. Complimenting Aldrich is the hippy-dippy, 80's melodic metal master Reb Beach, most known as the guitar player in Winger. Beach keeps the Pop Snake alive and well and throws in plenty of squawks, squeals and lightening fast runs to earn his keep.

At the end of the day the title track, "Call on Me," "Best Years" and "Get What You Need" are all worth the price of the CD. There is not a weak track on here and this writer, for one, can’t wait to hear these songs in a live setting. Whitesnake remains committed to keeping hard rock alive and they back it up with one of the best albums released this year.

– Jeb Wright