30 years ago, members of Whitesnake came together to form Manic Eden.
25th March 2024Manic Eden released one solitary gem of an album in 1994, and today, Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group is proud to announce the reissue of the self-titled album on 12 April. It will be released on CD, and made available digitally and on vinyl for the first time.
You can pre-order the album HERE.
It was 1993, and Whitesnake was on a hiatus. David Coverdale was working on an album with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Adrian Vandenberg (Guitar/Keys), Rudy Sarzo (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums) decided to put a band together.
Remembering the time, Vandenberg says, “Rudy, Tommy and I just came out of the glamorous ’80s, having surfed the world’s biggest stages on the waves of the multi-million selling Whitesnake albums ‘1987′ and ‘Slip Of The Tongue’. The expensive, polished Whitesnake videos had been all over MTV non stop. Then the Grunge scene hit.”
Vandenberg wanted a more ‘organic’ sound, one that reminded him of the bands he grew up listening to; Cream, Free, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Mountain. “They still sound timeless and exciting and a bit ‘rough around the edges’,” he continues. “Pretty much always recorded in a very short period of time, so the spontaneity, dynamics and emotion in the musicians’ performances are right in your face. Mixed in such a way that the listener feels he or she is right there in the room while the band is playing.”
The moment came for them to return to their roots; bluesy, honest, in-your-face and ‘organic’ music. After a week or two of rehearsing in Palm Springs, they started working in a small, funky, authentic 70’s recording studio in Los Angeles. They had recruited Ron Young, the singer from American hard-rockers Little Caesar, to take on vocals for the recording. Young came off the back of two acclaimed albums with Little Caesar and a cameo appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Terminator 2.
The band had already recorded the instrumental tracks, and Young adapted his vocal lines to the tracks. His instantly recognisable signature style fitted the songs and their approach perfectly. The recordings were done in about two weeks, 70’s style.
Looking back, Vandenberg reflects, “When the album got its worldwide release, it was tough to get radio airplay because of the drastically changed ‘music fashion of the week’. Of course, we were anxious to hit the road and tour all over the place, but in the end, we only did an acoustic tour in France, which was a lot of fun. While in Paris, we recorded an extremely budget-friendly video for the song ‘Do Angels Die’, filmed by two students from the film academy in Amsterdam. Still one of my very favourite videos and songs of my career.”
He finishes by saying, “Personally, this album is a timeless work of honest, organic ‘Blues-Rock With a Twist’ by four musicians who’ve always been in the music business out of passion for music and who play from the heart. I’ve always been very proud of the Manic Eden album that my friends Ron, Rudy, Tommy and I recorded in 1993. After hearing the songs a million times, I still play the album regularly, which says a lot. It’s the real deal.”
Thirty years later, honest, authentic hard-rock is flying high by both the original torchbearers and those inspired by it, so what better time for ‘Manic Eden’ to resurface as a hidden gem from a bygone era.
Track List
1. Can You Feel It
2. Gimme A Shot
3. Fire In My Soul
4. Do Angels Die
5. Pushing Me
6. Dark Shade Of Grey
7. Keep It Coming
8. When The Hammer Comes Down
9. Ride The Storm
10. Can’t Hold It
11. Crossin’ The Line (digital only)
