Search - Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray :: Rough An' Ready

Enjoy!

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 10/10/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You probably know how the story goes...David Coverdale, lead singer of Whitesnake, wanted to conquer the US, and so dismissed everybody but himself and hired an all new group of musicians with longer hair, fancier guitars (one guy reputedly had one with seven strings, gee) and a look more suited to 80s pop metal.

And you probably know what happened to the original members of Whitesnake as well, the guys who backed Coverdale back when the 'Snake were a tough, somewhat Deep Purple-like hard rock orchestra with a delicious strain of blues running through their best compositions. Jon Lord went back to Deep Purple, as had Ian Paice a couple of years earlier. And guitarists Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody and bassist Neil Murray (the three M's) have occationally reunited in order to perform the old Whitesnake material from the late 70s and early 80s, along with various other musicians. Swedish singer Stefan Berggren sang on the two albums that M3's previous incartion, the Company of Snakes, put out, and he is back here on "Rough an' Ready", sharing lead vocals with Scot Doogie White, Yngwie Malmsteen's former vocalist.



And they play 'Snake songs, of course. Company of Snakes did make an album of new material, which was pretty good but mostly sank without a trace, but M3 (or III) don't bother pretending to be anything other than Whitesnake without David Coverdale, playing Whitesnake's songs.

There is nothing revolutionary here, but fans of Whitesnake anno 1980 will certainly prefer these tough, swaggering, no-frills rendition of songs like "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" and "Fool For Your Loving" to the slightly more clichéd and hysterical output of the current Whitesnake lineup.

Both singers do a very fine job, no unnecessary wailing or posturing, and the two guitarists are in top form. And most of these 11 songs are among Whitesnake's finest, so most of them are highlight, really, although to me the dirty, funky grind of "Slow An' Easy", the thumping, 9-minute riff-rocker "Crying In The Rain", and the hook-laden "Don't Break My Heart" are especially terrific. And the original version of "Fool For Your Loving" is quite irrestistable, of course.



Most of the songs are mid-tempo hard rock, interspaced by a couple of slow numbers (a great "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" opens the set) and one or two up-tempo or "slow-fast" songs (including a majestic 11-minute "Ain't Gonna Cry No More"). Marsden and Moody trade off sizzling, blues based solos and crunchy riffs. And the fidelity is very good, too.



"Rough An' Ready" is not really a better purchase than the Company of Snakes' 2001 concert recording (titled "Here They Go Again"), although the singers let loose a little bit more on this one. And if you already have that one, you might not want to shell out for "Rough an' Ready" as well. But there is still more than enough here to satisfy; melodic, hard, blues-based rock n' roll played by a great, great band.

4 1/2 stars. Definitely recommended."