4CD/DVD Collection Includes A Newly Remastered Version Of The Original Album, Plus Unreleased Live and Studio Recordings, Music Videos, And Documentary; Several Versions Will Be Available On October 6 From Parlophone
New Whitesnake Deal With Rhino Entertainment Puts Significant Catalogue
With Warner Music Group Worldwide For The First Time
Whitesnake had already released a string of Top 10 albums in the UK, Europe & Japan before the band conquered the entire world with its “1987” record, which was certified multi-platinum and featured the smash single “Here I Go Again.” The classic album turns 30 this year and Parlophone is celebrating with four new versions, including an expansive boxed set.
WHITESNAKE “1987”: SUPER DELUXE EDITION will be available on October 6. The 4-CD/DVD collection includes the original album with newly remastered sound, unreleased live and studio recordings, classic music videos, concert footage, a 30 minute documentary, featuring a new interview with David Coverdale, Whitesnake’s founder and lead singer. The music comes in a 60-page hardbound book that’s filled with rare and unseen photos from the era, an extended essay based on new interviews with Coverdale, plus a booklet of the album’s lyrics, handwritten by Coverdale. The audio will also be available via digital download and streaming services.
Three other versions of WHITESNAKE “1987” will also be available the same day. A Deluxe Edition will be available in both 2-CD and 2-LP versions, each including the newly remastered album expanded with a selection of unreleased bonus recordings. A single-disc version of the newly remastered album will also be available.
This also marks the first release under a newly signed catalogue deal with Whitesnake and Rhino Entertainment, the catalogue division of Warner Music Group. This new deal includes both the North American and Japanese rights, marking the first time a substantial amount of the Whitesnake catalogue will reside under Warner Music Group worldwide.
“It gives me great joy to finally have so much of my Whitesnake catalogue all under the same roof with the Warner family and I’m thrilled to be now working with this tremendous team on a worldwide basis,” says Coverdale. “I have great memories of being with Warner back in my days with Deep Purple, then when I was with Geffen, when they were distributed by Warner, so it feels like coming home to now have Whitesnake there. This elaborate reissue is the perfect project to kick off the new relationship.”
“Whitesnake is one of the all-time great rock ‘n’ roll bands, with David being an absolute icon as a vocalist and front man,” says Rhino President Mark Pinkus. “We are absolutely thrilled to now have so much of the Whitesnake catalogue with Warner on a global basis and are excited for the fans to see what great releases we have planned for the coming years.”
Soon after its release in April 1987, WHITESNAKE “1987” became a huge success around the world, selling more than multi million copies. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard album chart and spawned four popular singles: “Still Of The Night,” “Give Me All Your Love,” “Is This Love” (which reached #2) and the #1 hit “Here I Go Again.”
WHITESNAKE “1987”: SUPER DELUXE EDITION comes with an entire disc of unreleased live performances featuring Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell & Tommy Aldridge recorded during the band’s 1987-88 tour. The music includes live versions of several tracks from “1987”, plus Whitesnake classics “Slide It In,” “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” and “Slow An’ Easy.”
An additional disc spotlights the creative process behind WHITESNAKE “1987” with a selection of 11 unreleased demo and rehearsal recordings, including early versions of nearly every song on the album called 87 Evolutions. The final disc introduces newly remixed versions the album’s four singles, and includes rare radio mixes, as well as songs from 87 Versions, an EP released exclusively in Japan.
The DVD from WHITESNAKE “1987”: SUPER DELUXE EDITION includes music videos for the four singles, all of which have been carefully restored and remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time ever. In addition, the DVD also features a new 30 minute documentary about the making of WHITESNAKE “1987”, a new promo video made especially for this set of the 1988 version of “Here I Go Again” and unreleased live footage from the 1987-88 tour.
Pre-order links (USA Preorder pending Amazon updates):
WHITESNAKE “1987”: SUPER DELUXE EDITION
4CD/DVD Track Listing
Disc One: Original Album 2017 Remaster
1.“Still Of The Night”
2.“Give Me All Your Love”
3.“Bad Boys”
4.“Is This Love”
5.“Here I Go Again 87”
6.“Straight For The Heart”
7.“Looking For Love”
8.“Children Of The Night”
9.“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again”
10.“Crying In The Rain”
11.“Don’t Turn Away”
Disc Two: Snakeskin Boots [Live On Tour 1987-88]
1.“Bad Boys/Children Of The Night” *
2.“Slide It In” *
3.“Slow An’ Easy” *
4.“Here I Go Again” *
5.“Guilty Of Love” *
6.“Is This Love” *
7.“Love Ain’t No Stranger” *
8.Guitar Solo – Adrian and Vivian *
9.“Crying In The Rain” *
10.“Still Of The Night” *
11.“Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” *
12.“Give Me All Your Love” *
Disc Three: 87 Evolutions [Demos and Rehearsals]
1.“Still Of The Night” *
2.“Give Me All Your Love” *
3.“Bad Boys” *
4.“Is This Love” *
5.“Straight For the Heart” *
6.“Looking For Love” *
7.“Children Of The Night” *
8.“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” *
9.“Crying In The Rain” *
10.“Don’t Turn Away” *
11.“Crying In The Rain” (Lil’ Mountain Alternate Take Ruff Mix) *
Disc Four: 87 Versions [2017 Remixes]
1.“Still Of The Night” – Remix *
2.“Is This Love” – Remix *
3.“Give Me All Your Love” – Remix *
4.“Here I Go Again 87” – Remix *
5.“Standing In The Shadows” – 1987 Versions, Japanese Mini-Album
6.“Looking For Love” – 1987 Versions, Japanese Mini-Album
7.“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” – 1987 Versions, Japanese Mini-Album
8.“Need Your Love So Bad” – 1987 Versions, Japanese Mini-Album
9.“Here I Go Again” – Radio Mix
10.“Give Me All Your Love” – Single Version
DVD
1.“Still Of The Night” – Music Video, Restored and Remixed in 5.1
2.“Here I Go Again 87” – Music Video, Restored and Remixed in 5.1
3.“Is This Love” – Music Video, Restored and Remixed in 5.1
4.“Give Me All Your Love” – Music Video, Restored and Remixed in 5.1
5.Documentary about the making of 1987 Album *
6.“Here I Go Again” – Purplesnake Video Jam *
7.“Crying In The Rain” – 1987 Tour Video Bootleg *
8.Band Intros – 1987 Tour Video Bootleg *
9.“Still Of The Night” – 1987 Tour Video Bootleg *
WHITESNAKE “1987”: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
2LP Track Listing
Side One
1.“Still Of The Night”
2.“Bad Boys”
3.“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again”
4.“Straight For The Heart”
5.“Here I Go Again 87”
Side Two
1.“Give Me All Your Love”
2.“Is This Love”
3.“Children Of The Night”
4.“Crying In The Rain”
5.“Don’t Turn Away”
Side Three
1.“Still Of The Night” – 2017 Remix *
2.“Is This Love” – 2017 Remix *
3.“Give Me All Your Love” – 2017 Remix *
4.“Here I Go Again 87” – 2017 Remix *
5.“Looking For Love”
Side Four
1.“Bad Boys/Children of the Night” – Live *
2.“Here I Go Again” – Live *
3.“Is This Love “ – Live *
4.“Give Me All Your Love” – Live *
5.“Still of the Night” – Live *
WHITESNAKE “1987”: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
2CD Track Listing
Disc One: Original Album 2017 Remaster
1.“Still Of The Night”
2.“Give Me All Your Love”
3.“Bad Boys”
4.“Is This Love”
5.“Here I Go Again 87”
6.“Straight For The Heart”
7.“Looking For Love”
8.“Children Of The Night”
9.“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again”
10.“Crying In The Rain”
11.“Don’t Turn Away”
Disc Two: Snakeskin Boots [Live On Tour 1987-88]
1.“Bad Boys/Children Of The Night” *
2.“Slide It In” *
3.“Slow An’ Easy” *
4.“Here I Go Again” *
5.“Guilty Of Love” *
6.“Is This Love” *
7.“Love Ain’t No Stranger” *
8.Guitar Solo – Adrian and Vivian *
9.“Crying In The Rain” *
10.“Still Of The Night” *
11.“Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” *
12.“Give Me All Your Love” *
* Previously unreleased
After a quiet couple of years, Whitesnake's David Coverdale is "feeling like a fireman surrounded by little wildfires, just really, really busy" with upcoming releases both new and archival thanks to a new deal with the Warner Music Group Worldwide and Rhino Entertainment.
First up in the deal -- which puts a large chunk of Whitesnake's catalog under one roof for the first time ever -- is 30th anniversary editions of 1987's eight-times-platinum Whitesnake album on Oct. 6, with different configurations featuring unreleased studio, live and video material. (Check out a previously unreleased concert version of "Still Of The Night," from the Live On Tour 1987-88 disc of the reissue, premiering exclusively below.) Record Store Black Friday on Nov. 24 will see a home video as well as a coffee table book chronicling The Purple Album cycle from 2015, while the new year will bring a new Whitesnake studio album and world tour.
"The next three to five years is spoken for with some really exciting projects," Coverdale tells Billboard. He's also pleased to be back with what he calls "corporate music" after a decade with independents -- and particularly back with Warner, where he began his recording career with Deep Purple during the mid-70s and where Whitesnake made its most successful albums for Geffen Records.
"The cool expression was they wanted new Coverdale as well as the old, which means new product," Coverdale notes. He was won over by Rhino President Mark Pinkus coming to visit the singer at his home in Lake Tahoe during the winter, braving massive snowdrifts and a three-hour drive from the airport to have lunch and seal the deal. "We discussed all the projects that were going on and he said, 'Well, I'm totally in if you are,' and then drove back to the airport and flew back (to Los Angeles)," Coverdale remembers. "It was the most heroic record company executive scenario I've ever experienced. So it was relatively effortless to work together."
"It's really thrilling for Warner to now have the Whitesnake catalog for the entire world and to be able to work closely with David on some amazing projects that will continue the legacy of one of the all-time-great rock n’ roll bands," Pinkus says. "Our vision on how to approach the catalog for the future were incredibly aligned. While I can't go into too much detail, we plan to give the 'Rhino treatment' to the Whitesnake catalog with a wide variety of offerings for all types of consumers, from boxed sets to vinyl to download to streaming."
The Whitesnake album, which turned 30 in April, is the appropriate debut project under the new deal. The set launched the hit singles (and accompanying videos) "Here I Go Again" (Billboard Hot 100 No. 1), "Is This Love" (No. 2), "Give Me All Your Love" (No. 48) and "Still Of the Night" (No. 79) and the new editions -- a four-CD/DVD Super Deluxe Edition and a two-disc Deluxe Edition -- will feature plenty of bonuses, including some of Coverdale's demos with guitarist John Sykes.
"It was a lot of fun to do," Coverdale says of the reissue, "because I don't go back a lot. I kind of learn from the past to apply those lessons to the future and the present. But my gratitude for (the album) is beyond words. I've only ever gone into a studio to try to improve on the last record...There was no, 'Right, I'm gonna sell 30-odd million fucking records!' It was amazing, just amazing, so it's great to revisit all of this."
More archival reissues are planned for the future, while Coverdale and his main Whitesnake mates, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, have been convening for regular writing sessions towards an anticipated late spring of 2018 release -- Whitesnake's first set of original material since 2011's Forevermore. "I'm actually very excited about it because it's the first opportunity both Reb and Joel and I have actually had to sit down and write together," Coverdale says. "There's a lot of what one would refer to as arena rock; Reb and I were talking the other night over dinner and he said, 'Man, there's so many songs here that no matter where we play -- Portugal or Brazil or Tokyo -- they're gonna get this hook. They're gonna be punching the fuckin' air and have a great night.' And I went, 'Oh, absolutely -- and more than usual,' which is great. I can't do throwaway shit. The only reason I'm doing this record are the songs are gonna be a great Whitesnake album for Whitesnake fans -- and the band. It's very exciting."
