In 1979 a relatively unknown bluesy rock n' roll band by the name of Whitesnake that included former members of Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale and organ player Jon Lord was starting to pick up a bit of traction. They had already released an EP and a debut album that has received some decent feedback. Now though, they wanted to build on the foundation they had just laid down and make something even better. The result was their sophomore effort and arguably superior release Lovehunter.
Lovehunter follows similar territory to their previous album Trouble in that the music is loud and rocking, but very blues based. However, this time around there is a lot more slide guitar and open tunings featured. You can hear more of the old school blues influence shining through rather than them just trying to make another 70's hard rock album. Sadly none of the songs from it get played on the radio or even by the band itself any more, but it definitely contains some of their best work.
Long Way From Home was the only single that made it anywhere in the charts from Lovehunter, though it's easy to see why. From the first chord that's struck to the final hit of the drum it is very bright, melodic, and full of sunshiny positive energy. It blends in very well with other radio friendly rock singles of the time. In a way, it almost sounds like a late 70's/early 80's family friendly sitcom theme. That said, it's still worth cranking up.
Walking in the Shadow of the Blues is arguably the best track on the album aside from a couple others. It has this sexy steady chugging riff to it backed up by some top notch slide guitar playing from Mickey Moody (who in my opinion is a severely under rated guitar player along with Bernie Marsden). Coverdale really steals the show though with his chest beating soulful singing and lyrics about living the blues. How this isn't considered a major classic is beyond me.
I'm still happy to have all of the flamboyant hair metal stuff that we got from Whitesnake in the late 80's, but it's albums like Lovehunter that made me and still make me love them in the first place. Some tracks on the album are better than others, but there are no straight up bad ones. You can tell the band was gelling more as a unit and that they were having a lot of fun with what they were doing. It's a great way to have a rocking good time.
Lovehunter, by Whitesnake receives 3.8 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Long Way From Home
2. Walking in the Shadow of the Blues
3. Help Me Through the Day
4. Medicine Man
5. You 'n' Me
6. Mean Business
7. Love Hunter
8. Outlaw
9. Rock n' Roll Women
10. We Wish You Well
Buy the album on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Lovehunter-Whitesnake/dp/B00BKBJ80G/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1516334731&sr=8-1&keywords=Whitesnake+Lovehunter
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