I cannot recall when it was the last time I turned to Mr. Coverdale for a little bit of comfort from the troubles of love. It is getting even more often lately. But I can really remember that it's been almost 20 years that the Slip Of The Tongue LP almost melt on my turntable, and my speakers screamed along with Dave: Sailing ships will pass you byyyyy.... Restless Heart doesn't count as a WHITESNAKE album in my opinion, with Too Many Tears as the only bright exception from this CD.

After four new tracks that were included in Live...In The Shadow Of The Blues, the Coverdale-machine is back for good, or Good To Be Bad if you prefer; that is the name of WHITESNAKE's new album.

For the past 5 years David Coverdale managed to recruit a bunch of amazing musicians from the Hard Rock music scene like Doug Aldridge (DIO, LION, HURRICANE, BURNING RAIN, BAD MOON RISING) and Reb Peach (WINGER, DOKKEN, NIGHT RANGER) on the guitars, along with the available keyboard help of Timothy Drury (EAGLES, Stevie Nicks, YES), Covardale managed to grew inside them the WHITESNAKE philosophy on music. They toured around the world and, I must say, that the major WHITESNAKE hits sounded amazingly and the final result was really Heavy and fresh on stage. After some rhythm section changes, from Marco Mendoza (Dolores O'Riordan, SOULS SIRKUS, BLUE MURDER) and Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, THIN LIZZY), to Uriah Duffy (Christina Aguilera) on bass and Chris Frazier (Steve Vai) on drums, finally Coverdale had all the tools that he needed to complete WHITESNAKE's eleventh full studio album in their, over 30 year old, heartbreaking, pain-lovin', multi-hit-selling career.

Good To Be Bad kicks in with the old fashion WHITESNAKE way. Riffy/Bluesy Hard Rock, with Coverdale's muscular voice in the front. The first three songs have this particular style and attitude, marking the return of the legendary Snakes. All I Want Is All I Need is the first sensual song and one of the best songs of this album. Surely will touch the broken-hearted rockers even the strong metalheads won't resist. Melodic guitar intro and beautiful lyrics straight from Coverdale's troubled soul, what more could you ask for?

All For Love has a THIN LIZZY mood, with the particular tempo and chord changes in the verse that brings Jailbreak in mind, with the LIZZY trademark twin guitar melodic lines in the bridge and chorus. Summer Rain is an acoustic ballad, with a bittersweet melody. A truly nostalgic song for the journey of love that every man experiences in his life. The Still Of The Night legendary intro and its historic ZEPPELIN-like riff lives again in Lay Down Your Love. It seems to me that the 1987 - 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition stuck in the mind of David Coverdale, the strong guitar duet of Reb Beach and the (co-producer) Doug Aldrich along with the need for a new album, made him go back and reproduce the same feeling in these songs. A Fool In Love has the slow Blues riff that the old WHITESNAKE used to produce, plus the melodic vocals of Crying In The Rain and the Here I Go Again chorus. The album's 'closing' song 'Til The End Of Time is another acoustic ballad. I know that Aldrich is a huge Jimmy Page fan, so the acoustic guitar sound is a true tribute to Page. This song carries Coverdale's love for music, a sign that Good To Be Bad may be the last WHITESNAKE studio album with a glimpse on Only My Soul, where David started his lonely, but successful journey.

Eleven new WHITESNAKE songs are what Good To Be Bad has to offer, nothing more nothing less. I personally would prefer a stronger and more solid production, but I think that the plan for Coverdale and Michael McIntyre was to produce an album that sounds the same on stage as on the CD. I will wait 'till I listen to the new songs live so I can have a final opinion on this matter.

I know that WHITESNAKE's die-hard fans and Coverdale's admirers (mostly women with beautiful breasts, an inspiration as David himself admits) have already pre-ordered Good To Be Bad that is due to be released on April. Anyway, if you are in love, if you ever loved someone and you still regret it, WHITESNAKE will always have a song that speaks to your soul.