WHITESNAKE – Slide It In [25th Anniversary Remastered Edition] UK Mix

From the revisited WHITESNAKE ’80s discography, here’s some ‘extra’ you need to check; their great album “Slide It In” in its 25th Anniversary Remastered Edition. Yeah, we have already featured on the blog a SHM-CD/remaster if this album. But this 25th Anniversary Edition included a bonus disc, and this is the one of our interest: “Slide It In / UK Mix“.

Most people have heard the US Mix of “Slide It In”, with new guitarist John Sykes playing on it. What’s the difference then?
“Slide It In” was released in the UK with the Whitesnake lineup of David Coverdale and his cohorts Jon Lord (keys), drummer Cozy Powell, Colin Hodgkinson on bass, and guitarists Mel Galley and Mickey Moody.
Within a short while Mickey Moody had left the band and been replaced by the more flashy and modern John Sykes, from Thin Lizzy. Hodgkinson was fired and replaced by Neil Murray, who was already a Whitesnake veteran from a previous tenure. Jon Lord went off to rejoin Deep Purple, so Bill Cuomo added more keyboards.

With Sykes and Murray, much of “Slide It In” was re-recorded, basically adding more guitar licks / solos. The album was remixed and released as such in the US to tremendous success.
The addition of Sykes’ trademark squeals and a fresh mix made a good but “just another Whitesnake album” into a great and important one, at least for this genre and this band.

So, in short: the real difference in versions is the presence of John Sykes. If you like his sound and prefer the sound of the Whitesnake album ‘1987’ stick with the US remix, the more widely known and the one used for the SHM-CD remaster featured on this blog.
But if you’re a fan of early ‘British’ Whitesnake (Moody, Marsden, Galley) then need to listen to this original UK version.

“Slide It In / UK Mix” puts less emphasis on certain guitar parts but has a much more live (and loud) sounding bass drum. The hi-hats on the UK mix aren’t as prominent as they are on the US remix but they are definitely there. The bass is performed by Colin Hodgkinson, and I think they’re both fine and not noticeably different between versions.
And finally, and not less important, this UK Mix is less compressed and sounds more live(ly).

So with this “Slide It In / UK Mix” you have a sound and feel reminiscent of ‘Saints & Sinners’, while the US remix sounds closer to Whitesnake 1987.
While the US remix is very good (and what most of you are used to) it actually sounds somewhat dated compared to the UK version. It only took one full listen to not miss the guitar accents Sykes provided and realize they were superfluous.
I’ve always been fan to Moody and Marsden (or Moody and Galley in this case) but I never realized how much that original sound would be appropriate for this album. The only song that I think is better with the John Sykes guitar sound (and his solo) is the title track.

“Slide It In [25th Anniversary Remastered Edition / UK Mix] is a must have into any Whitesnake collection, and a nice exercise to comparing both versions. I love the early Whitesnake sound as much as the rollicking American era, so I like both versions of ‘Slide It In’ very much.
Here you have as bonus the soulful B-side ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ which deserved to be included into the main album, and the Starkers in Tokyo version of ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’.
Highly Recommended

01 – Need Your Love So Bad (45 B-side)
02 – Gambler (UK mix)
03 – Slide It In (UK mix)
04 – Standing in the Shadow (UK mix)
05 – Give Me More Time (UK mix)
06 – Slow & Easy (UK mix)
07 – Spit it Out (UK mix)
08 – All or Nothing (UK mix)
09 – Guilty of Love (UK mix)
10 – Love Ain’t No Stranger (Starkers in Tokyo)

David Coverdale – Lead Vocals
Mel Galley – Guitars
Micky Moody – Guitars, Vocals
Colin Hodgkinson – Bass, Vocals
Cozy Powell – Drums
Bill Cuomo – Keyboards

BUY IT !
www.amazon.co.uk/Slide-25th-Anniversary-Expanded-Whitesnake/dp/B0027HB9UY
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