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In the mid- to late 1980s, Whitesnake exploded from a popular British hard rock band into a worldwide phenomenon, becoming one of the decade’s most successful rock acts. This fall, Craft Recordings revisits that landmark period with vinyl reissues of Slide It In (1984), Whitesnake (1987), and Slip of the Tongue (1989). Powered by hits including “Here I Go Again,” “Is This Love,” “Still of the Night,” and “Fool for Your Loving,” the David Coverdale-led group’s run of multi-Platinum albums helped define the sound and spectacle of ’80s hard rock.

Arriving September 18, the titles return to vinyl in their original U.S. 1-LP configurations. Alongside the wide release on standard black vinyl, exclusive color pressings include the self-titled Whitesnake on “Tan Smoke” (via Walmart) and “Stone Marble” (Revolver). Fans can also find Whitesnake on limited-edition “Gold Black Ice,” alongside Slide It In on “Onyx” and Slip of the Tongue on “Crimson Moon,” exclusively here. All three albums are available to pre-order and stream today.

Founded in 1978 by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee David Coverdale, Whitesnake was the next chapter in a career that had already brought him international acclaim as the frontman of Deep Purple. After appearing on the influential Deep Purple albums Burn, Stormbringer, and Come Taste the Band, Coverdale formed Whitesnake to pursue his own songwriting vision. While the band’s earliest work was rooted in blues, soul, and classic British rock, later Whitesnake albums paired those influences with bigger hooks, a heavier guitar-driven sound, and arena-rock scale, propelling the band to worldwide success.

That evolution comes into sharp focus with 1984’s Slide It In, the album that pushed Whitesnake’s blues-rock foundation toward a leaner, more radio-ready hard rock sound. Powered by “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” “Slow an’ Easy,” and the swaggering title track, the album retained the grit and swing of the band’s earlier work while pointing clearly toward the bigger hooks and heightened production that would soon define the band’s international breakthrough. It became Whitesnake’s first U.S. Top 40 release and later achieved double-Platinum certification in the U.S.

If Slide It In opened the door, 1987’s self-titled Whitesnake kicked it off its hinges. Often referred to simply as 1987, the album transformed the band into international superstars with “Here I Go Again,” “Is This Love,” and “Still of the Night.” A reimagined version of a song first released in 1982, “Here I Go Again” became the band’s signature hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked at No.2 on the Billboard 200, was certified 8x Platinum in the U.S., and yielded the No.2 Hot 100 hit “Is This Love.”

For the MTV generation, Whitesnake’s cinematic videos were central to the band’s rise, giving the songs a visual language as bold and polished as the records themselves. Among the most iconic was the video for “Here I Go Again,” featuring model and actress Tawny Kitaen, whose memorable appearance helped make it one of the defining music videos of the MTV era. Heavy rotation on the network helped introduce the band to millions of new fans worldwide, further elevating Whitesnake’s status as one of hard rock’s defining acts. Decades later, tracks like “Here I Go Again,” “Is This Love,” and “Still of the Night” remain staples of classic rock radio, streaming playlists, and concert stages around the world.

By 1989’s Slip of the Tongue, Whitesnake was firmly established on the world stage. Co-written by Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg, the album took on a new dimension when Vandenberg was sidelined by a wrist injury and Steve Vai stepped in to record much of the guitar work. Featuring “Fool for Your Loving,” “The Deeper the Love,” and “Now You’re Gone,” Slip of the Tongue reached No.10 in both the U.S. and UK and earned Platinum certification in the States.

Together, Slide It In, Whitesnake, and Slip of the Tongue capture a pivotal chapter in rock history, when blues-rock roots, stadium-sized spectacle, MTV-era image-making, and pop crossover instinct converged to create some of the era’s most enduring anthems. Collectively, the albums document David Coverdale’s evolution from respected British rock vocalist to international superstar and remain cornerstones of the hard rock canon.

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., and Joan Sebastian. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few.

Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.

The post CRAFT RECORDINGS Announces Vinyl Reissues For Three Defining WHITESNAKE Classics appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Current fill-in Myke Terry will also be making a round trip.

The post Crystal Lake Recruit Enterprise Earth, Secrets, Etc. Members For The Rest Of Their Tour With Jinjer & Entheos appeared first on Theprp.com.

David Clayton-Thomas, lead singer for late-’60s hitmakers Blood, Sweat & Tears, has passed away. The CBC reports that Clayton-Thomas died on Wednesday at St. Michael’s hospital in Toronto. No cause of death has been reported. Clayton-Thomas was 84.

The post Blood, Sweat & Tears’ David Clayton-Thomas Dead At 84 appeared first on Stereogum.

Grammy-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have shared a new behind-the-scenes studio video documenting the recording of “Monster,” the first single from their forthcoming album OurHome, due September 18th via ATO Records.

Filmed at NK Sound Tokyo during the album sessions, the intimate footage offers a rare look inside the creative process behind a record that found the duo returning to Japan after a period of creative uncertainty, capturing Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero performing together in the studio where the album ultimately took shape.

Released earlier this month alongside an official animated video created by legendary manga artist Naoki Urasawa, “Monster” serves as the opening chapter of OurHome. Recorded in Japan and self-produced by Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero at NK Sound Tokyo, OurHome marks a new chapter for the Mexico City-bred duo, whose singular blend of instrumental guitar music and fearless musical exploration has earned them a global audience over the past two decades.

One of Japan’s most celebrated creators, Urasawa is the acclaimed author of “Monster”, 20th Century Boys, Pluto, and Master Keaton, with more than 140 million copies of his work sold worldwide. Inspired by Urasawa’s seminal psychological thriller “Monster”, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s single explores the tangled contradictions of the human psyche through one of the album’s darkest and most cinematic compositions. The official music video brings the connection full circle, with Urasawa creating original artwork inspired by the song and its themes.

“Monster is such a deep, philosophical story – it’s about a psychopathic killer, but it’s so uplifting and leaves you with a real sense of hope,” says Quintero. “We’d written that track without knowing that Urasawa was a fan of ours, and now he’s making the video for us.”

The admiration was mutual. Urasawa, who discovered Rodrigo y Gabriela through their live performances years before the collaboration came together, says he was stunned when he learned the duo had written a song inspired by “Monster”.

“I still find it incredible that encounters like this can really happen,” says Urasawa. “Originally, I watched videos of their live performances and thought they were amazing, so I started collecting their vinyl records and CDs.”

After learning that Rodrigo y Gabriela’s new song had been inspired by “Monster”, Urasawa reached out through the band’s Japanese promoter and soon found himself sitting down with the duo in Tokyo.

“When artists I admire that much bring you an offer like that, there’s no way you can say no!” he says. “The completed track, ‘Monster,’ not only perfectly captures the mood of my work Monster, but the duo’s guitar playing also transports us to an entirely different and elevated dimension.”

The collaboration serves as the opening chapter of OurHome, an album deeply shaped by Rodrigo y Gabriela’s long-standing connection to Japan. After a period of creative frustration and uncertainty, the duo found renewed inspiration in a country that has long served as a source of artistic and personal renewal.

“We’ve always felt drawn to Japan because of the art and aesthetics and attention to beauty,” says Quintero. “There’s also something about being there that invites you to look inward, to reconnect with who you really are and what gives you meaning.”

Returning to the textural fluidity of acoustic instrumentation after the electric-guitar-heavy sound of 2023’s In Between Thoughts…A New World, OurHome serves as both a love letter to Japan and a meditation on the possibility of finding peace wherever you are. The album features collaborations with former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi, cellist Hiyori Okuda, and guitarist/composer Yukihiro Atsumi. Mixed by five-time GRAMMY winner Dave Sardy (The Who, Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and mastered by Stephen Marcussen (Nirvana, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones), the album draws from manga, mythology, migration, philosophy, nature, and personal transformation while remaining rooted in the expressive acoustic interplay that has defined Rodrigo y Gabriela’s career.

Rodrigo y Gabriela will celebrate the release of OurHome with an extensive North American headline tour beginning September 30th in Dallas, including appearances at Austin City Limits, Washington, D.C.‘s The Anthem, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, and major theater dates across the U.S. and Canada. The duo will then continue the tour across Ireland, the U.K., and Europe in spring 2027. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit here.

As they prepare to bring the album to audiences around the world, Rodrigo y Gabriela see OurHome as an invitation to reconnect with what grounds us amid an increasingly chaotic world.

“Every day we face so many challenges, whether it’s economic crisis or ecological crisis or political crisis, so we need to protect what makes us feel safe and connected to our true essence,” says Quintero. “We made this album to celebrate what helps us to find that home within ourselves, and we hope it inspires everyone to figure out what home means to them. It’s a very powerful thing, because nobody can ever take it away from you.”

OurHome is due September 18 via ATO Records and is available now for pre-order and pre-save here.

The post RODRIGO Y GABRIELA Share Behind-the-Scenes Studio Video For The Making Of “Monster” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Gulf Coast Records [Release date 10.07.26] Which came first the music or the album title? Either way, ‘Grits & Glory’ is an excellent rock-blues record forged by the sort of perseverance, determination and will to succeed alluded to in the … Continue reading →

The post Album review: ALBERT CASTIGLIA – Grits & Glory appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.