Review Summary: According to David Coverdale, Come An' Get It remains the highlight of the "original" Whitesnake's career.
5 of 5 thought this review was well writtenLove him or loathe him, one cannot deny that the impact David Coverdale has had on the hard rock scene throughout the seventies and eighties has been, at the very least, significant. Following his departure from Deep Purple, it took him the best part of three years to get his own band together, and when Whitensake’s debut album (1978’s Trouble) finally emerged it was somewhat of a disappointment considering the singer’s high profile following three albums with one of the biggest rock bands of the seventies. Lovehunter (1978) and Ready An’ Willing (1980) followed in quick succession and both were reasonably solid efforts, although the former perhaps sparked more interest due to it’s cover art than the actual music on offer. Despite a top 20 single with Ready An’ Willing’s opener, Fool For Your Loving, it wasn’t until the release of the live album, Live… In the Heart of the City, that the band really took off. The album reached number 6 in the UK and paved the way for the band’s next studio album, Come An’ Get It, which was released a mere 5 months later.
Line-up:
David Coverdale – Vocals
Micky Moody – Guitars
Bernie Marsden – Guitars
Jon Lord – Keyboards
Neil Murray – Bass Guitar
Ian Paice - Drums
David Coverdale sights Come An’ Get It as the ‘original’ Whitesnake’s “magnum opus” and while this is quite a statement, the album is certainly one of the more consistent albums of Whitesnake’s early years. By no means does this album break any new ground but what it does do is offer up a healthy dose of bluesy classic rock, and there’s no better song to kick off such an album than the opening title track, which with it’s stop-start riff and Coverdale’s instantly recognisable croon, is a solid rocker that sets the tone for what is to come. The album continues in similar fashion with following song, Hot Stuff, which owes more than a little to the trademark sound of Deep Purple particularly Jon Lord’s keyboard solo. One of the albums most memorable songs is it’s highest charting single, Don’t Break My Heart Again, which with it’s simple yet effective guitar lines and catchy chorus, serves as one of the album’s many highlights.
Coverdale has stated that he likes to have at least one song per album credited to the whole band, and on Come An’ Get It this comes in the form of Wine, Women and Song, which unfortunately is one of the album's more forgettable songs. That’s not to say that this a filler track, merely a song that is overshadowed by numerous album highlights, such as following track Child of Babylon. Child of Babylon is as close to epic as this album gets and includes one of the album’s most memorable guitar solos from Bernie Marsden. Would I Lie To You, the album’s second single, is in contrast a simple rocker, which relies on an infectious chorus and Coverdale’s sexual yet clever lyrics to make it another album highlight.
Both Girl and Hit An’ Run are also solid efforts, the former, with it’s funky riff is reminiscent of Deep Purple songs such as Sail Away while the latter is typical of Whitesnake’s early days.
Album closer, Till the Day I Die, is perhaps the biggest surprise of the album, one minute in, it looks set to be an acoustic track in the vain of Lovehunter’s closer, We Wish You Well, or Deep Purple’s Soldier of Fortune, but half way through it steps up in tempo and we’re greeted with another rocker complete with a fine keyboard solo from Jon Lord.
Come An’ Get It is by no means a ground breaking album and if you’re not already a Whitesnake fan this won’t change your mind, but it is undoubtedly one of the highlights of Whitesnake’s early years. Overall it is a great album that combines everything that was great from previous Whitesnake albums including two hit singles that helped the album reach number two in the UK, making it the bands most successful album up to that point.
