WHITESNAKE: ‘SLIDE IT IN’ ULTIMATE SPECIAL EDITION
24th January 2019Whitesnake scored its first platinum-selling album in 1984 with Slide It In, a release that has sold more than six million copies worldwide thanks to hard-rocking songs like “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” “Slow An’ Easy” and the title track. The classic album turns 35 this year and Rhino / Parlophone is celebrating with several new versions, including an enormous seven-disc boxed set.
SLIDE IT IN: THE ULTIMATE SPECIAL EDITION will be available on March 8. The 6CD/DVD collection includes newly remastered versions of both the U.K. and U.S. mixes of the album as well as the 35th Anniversary Remixes from 2019, plus unreleased live and studio recordings, music videos, concert footage, and a new interview with Whitesnake founder and lead singer, David Coverdale.
Three other versions of Slide It In will also be available the same day. A double-CD Deluxe Edition includes the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes expanded with a selection of bonus tracks. The double-LP Deluxe Edition features the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes. And finally, a single-disc version includes the newly remastered brand-new mix of the complete album. The music will be available digitally as well.
“Slide It In was always meant to be a structured, more electric modern take on the classic blues-based hard rock that Whitesnake were famous for, but our new Hook City Hooligan, Mixer Extraordinaire Christopher Collier, has hand-tooled this classic record for the 21st century,” says Coverdale. “Hearing all the performances so fresh and so clear after 35 years was amazing. Mel, Cozy and Jon’s playing on the record is as vital now as it was all those years ago. All the featured players shine. Not only did Christopher get the best out of the recording, but, he gives the album a fresh coat of sonic paint bringing it right up to date. I’m personally thrilled with it.”
After releasing Saints & Sinners in 1982, Whitesnake reconvened the following year in Germany to begin recording songs for what would become the band’s sixth studio album, Slide It In. At the time, band members included Coverdale, guitarists Micky Moody and Mel Galley, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and keyboardist Jon Lord. The album was initially released in 1984 in the U.K., where it climbed into the Top 10.
Soon after, the band’s line-up changed. Jon Lord left to rejoin Deep Purple and Moody and Hodgkinson were replaced by guitarist John Sykes, and Neil Murray, who was Whitesnake’s original bassist. Prior to its U.S. release in 1985, Slide It In was remixed while newly recorded parts by Sykes, Murray and keyboardist Bill Cuomo were added, resulting in two distinct versions of the album, both of which are included in this set.
SLIDE IT IN: THE ULTIMATE SPECIAL EDITION features unreleased versions of every album track, including 35th Anniversary remixes made this year, as well as monitor mixes recorded in 1983. The set boasts more than a dozen unreleased live recordings from 1984 that feature an entire concert from Glasgow, Scotland, plus several songs from Jon Lord’s final show with Whitesnake in Sweden. The collection’s final disc unearths 30 tracks that cover original demos and early mixes for album tracks, as well as unfinished song ideas.
The DVD from SLIDE IT IN: THE ULTIMATE SPECIAL EDITION mixes music videos and live performances, all of which have been carefully restored and remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time ever. A newly recorded interview with singer David Coverdale rounds out the DVD.
SLIDE IT IN: THE ULTIMATE SPECIAL EDITION – Track Listing
Disc One: U.S. Mix (1985) 35th Anniversary Remaster
“Gambler”
“Slide It In”
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Give Me More Time”
“Standing In The Shadow”
“Hungry For Love”
“All Or Nothing”
“Spit It Out”
“Guilty Of Love”
Disc Two: U.K. Mix (1984) 35th Anniversary Remaster
“Gambler”
“Slide It In”
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Give Me More Time”
“Standing In The Shadow”
“Hungry For Love”
“All Or Nothing”
“Spit It Out”
“Guilty Of Love”
Bonus Tracks
“Need Your Love So Bad” – Single B-Side
“Gambler” – 7” Eddie Kramer Mix (1983)
“Guilty Of Love” – 7” Eddie Kramer Mix (1983)
Disc Three: 35th Anniversary Remixes (2019)
“Slide It In” *
“Slow An’ Easy” *
“Love Ain’t No Stranger” *
“Give Me More Time” *
“Guilty Of Love” *
“All Or Nothing” *
“Spit It Out” *
“Standing In The Shadow” *
“Hungry For Love” *
“Gambler” *
“Need Your Love So Bad” *
Disc Four: Monitor Mixes & Intros (September 1983)
Intro to “Gambler” from David Coverdale
“Gambler” *
“Standing in the Shadow” *
Intro to “Slide It In” from David Coverdale
“Slide It In” *
“Give Me More Time” *
Intro to “Love Ain’t No Stranger” from David Coverdale
“Love Ain’t No Stranger” *
“Hungry For Love” *
Intro to “Guilty Of Love” from David Coverdale
“Guilty Of Love” *
“Spit It Out” *
Intro to “Slow An’ Easy” from David Coverdale
“Slow An’ Easy” *
“All Or Nothing” *
David Coverdale discusses the U.S. vs U.K. versions of Slide It In
Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show (Sweden, April 16, 1984)
“Gambler”
“Guilty Of Love”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)”
Disc Five: Live in Glasgow, Scotland (March 1, 1984)
“Gambler” *
“Guilty Of Love” *
“Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)” *
“Love Ain’t No Stranger” *
“Here I Go Again” *
“Slow An’ Easy” *
“Cryin’ In The Rain” *
Keyboard Solo
“Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” *
“Fool For Your Loving” *
“Need Your Love So Bad / Thank You Blues” *
“Slide It In” *
“Don’t Break My Heart Again” *
Disc Six: Early Ruff Mixes, Original Demos and Obscurities
Early Ruff Mixes with Unfinished Lyrics
“All Or Nothing”
“Hungry For Love”
“Spit It Out”
“Give Me More Time”
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Need Your Love So Bad” – Instrumental
“All Or Nothing” – acapella excerpts remix
“Slow An’ Easy” – organ and drum excerpts remix
Wheezy Interludes – various alcoholic studio antics, David and Mel “fighting a cold”
Original Demos
“Slow An’ Easy”
“Slide It In”
“Standing In The Shadow”
“All Or Nothing”
“Spit It Out”
“Guilty Of Love”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
Intro to “Need Your Love So Bad” from David Coverdale
“Need Your Love So Bad”
Unfinished Symphonies: Demo Ideas that Were Never Finished
“Body Heat”
“The Gypsy In You”
“Lounge Lizards”
“Great Riff In The Morning”
“The River Song”
“Can’t Make A Deal With The Devil”
“Prayer For The Dying”
“Spend The Night With Me”
“So Much To Live For”
“Riff Raff Blues”
“Thanks You Blues”
DVD: Music Videos & Live Clips
“Guilty Of Love” – Music Video
“Slow An’ Easy” – Music Video
“Love Ain’t No Stranger” – Music Video
“Give Me More Time” – Top Of The Pops
“Standing In The Shadow” – New Promo Video
“Love Ain’t No Stranger” – Live… In The Still of the Night
“Slide It In” – Live at Donington (1990)
Extra Features
Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show (1984)
“Gambler”
“Guilty of Love”
“Love Ain’t No Stranger”
“Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)”
Whitesnake Chronicles: David Coverdale discusses the 35th anniversary of Slide It In
* previously unreleased
