Editor's Choice...
And this time... the album "Starkers in Tokyo" by "Whitesnake", which was released on 9/9/1997 in Japan only.
Technically, it's not really a "Whitesnake" album. This is a sort of an "Unplugged" album, in which singer David Coverdale and guitarist Adrian Vandenberg are performing as a due. Adrian Vandenberg had just joined the band during the work on the album "Slip of the Tongue" from 1989, and even co-wrote all the songs on the album with Coverdale, except for one.
The intention was to promote the album "Restless Heart" which the band released in March of that year. During the band's tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg also held several unplugged concerts, including the one in question that was held in Japan. The two gathered at the EMI studios in Japan for a show, in front of a very limited local audience, and although the show was acoustic, the result was nothing less than "electrifying", especially because this is a minimalist show of guitar and singer only.
Coverdale and Vandenberg perform some classics from the band's blues-rock era, such as "Here I Go Again", "Love Ain't No Stranger", alongside songs from the glam era such as "Sailing Ships", "Give Me All Your Love", "Is This Love" and two new songs from the album "Restless Heart" as well as a version of the timeless song of "Deep Purple" - "Soldier of Fortune", that Coverdale had resisted performing for years.
Think how lucky were those few who got to see this show, a true "living room" show by one of the greatest singers in rock, accompanied by Vandenberg's moving guitar playing. You have probably heard most of the songs on this album many times, but never in the way they are performed here, naked as on the day they were born, stripped down to the bone. You have also listened to unplugged shows many times, but few of them have been recorded in such a brave way with only guitar accompaniment. Such shows are reserved exclusively for huge singers like Coverdale who are not afraid to give free rein to their voice with minimalistic accompaniment.
We tried to find the album on various streaming platforms, but unfortunately, it is not available.
So, we have prepared for you a "YouTube" playlist of all the album's songs and another bonus piece that was not included in the album, but was performed at that same special performance. See here: YouTube
It is interesting to note, that the songs on this album can also be found on the "Unzipped" album that the band released in 2018, and it also includes excerpts from another unplugged show held in 2008. We have also put together a playlist of songs from the "Unzipped" album, here: Spotify