David Coverdale celebrates 50th anniversary of his Deep Purple debut
David Coverdale was a relatively unknown 21-year-old singer-songwriter when he joined Deep Purple in 1973. He went on to record three classic albums alongside the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers before embarking on his musical journey a few years later with his band, Whitesnake.
Coverdale is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Deep Purple debut this year with a special version of The Purple Album, Whitesnake’s tribute to his three-year tenure with the legendary group. This newly remixed, remastered, and expanded edition of the 2015 album features previously unreleased recordings, including the very demo that secured Coverdale’s spot with Deep Purple.
The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition arrives on October 13th as a 2 CD/Blu-ray set and a 2 LP set on resplendent gold vinyl. The new remix of “Burn” is available now digitally.
Coverdale recorded The Purple Album with guitarist Reb Beach, bassist Michael Devin, guitarist Joel Hoekstra (on his first Whitesnake album), and drummer Tommy Aldridge, reappearing on a Whitesnake studio album for the first time since 1989’s Slip Of The Tongue. The band cherry-picked gems from 1974’s Burn and Stormbringer, and 1975’s Come Taste The Band, delivering inspired takes on fan favorites like “Lay Down Stay Down,” “Lady Double Dealer,” and “You Keep On Moving.”
The 2 CD/Blu-ray version goes beyond the original with the addition of live recordings and concert videos from The Purple Tour (“The Gypsy,” “Mistreated”), official music videos (“Sail Away,” “You Fool No One”), and an assortment of previously unreleased material, including six alternate mixes of album tracks. The Blu-ray also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the album’s making and a song-by-song commentary by Coverdale.
An exciting addition to the upcoming collection is the four-song demo Coverdale submitted to Deep Purple, hoping to become the band’s next singer. Recorded in 1972 with his former band, The Fabulosa Brothers, the reel-to-reel tape was extensively restored after Coverdale stumbled upon it among his late mother’s belongings. In the album’s liner notes, Coverdale says: “I had no idea my Mam had the tape…For me, to open my Mam’s trunk of personal items, 30 years after her passing, was a gift from Heaven.” The collection also features several demos Coverdale recorded while working on songs for Deep Purple’s 1974 album Stormbringer.
CD 1: 2023 Remix
1. Burn
2. Lay Down, Stay Down
3. Love Child
4. Holy Man
5. The Gypsy
6. Lady Double Dealer
7. Might Just Take Your Life
8. Mistreated
9. Stormbringer
10. Sail Away (Interpolating Elegy For Jon)
11. You Keep On Moving featuring the Hook City Strings
12. Lady Luck
13. Coming Home
14. You Fool No One (Interpolating Itchy Fingers) Dedicated in loving memory to Jeff Beck
15. Soldier Of Fortune
CD 2: The Purple Tour Five Live
1. Burn
2. The Gypsy
3. Mistreated
4. You Fool No One
5. Soldier Of Fortune
6. Holy Man (Unzipped) [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
7. Stormbringer (Punch In The Nuts Mix) [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
8. Love Child [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
9. Soldier Of Fortune featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
10. Soldier Of Fortune featuring The Hook City Strings [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
11. Soldier Of Fortune (Instrumental) featuring The Hook City Strings [Previously Unreleased Alternative Mix]
12. Everybody’s Talkin’ [Previously Unreleased The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers]
13. Get Ready [Previously Unreleased The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers]
14. Lonely Town, Lonely Street [Previously Unreleased The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers]
15. Dancing In The Street [Previously Unreleased The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers]
16. 1974 DC Demo Ideas For The Stormbringer Album [Previously Unreleased The 1972 DC Purple Audition Tape Featuring The Fabulosa Brothers]
Blu-ray:
1. Lady Double Dealer [Music Video]
2. Stormbringer [Music Video]
3. Sail Away [Music Video]
4. Soldier Of Fortune [Music Video]
5. The Gypsy [Music Video]
6. Soldier Of Fortune featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings [Previously Unreleased Music Video]
7. Soldier Of Fortune” – featuring The Hook City Strings [Previously Unreleased Music Video]
8. Lay Down, Stay Down [Previously Unreleased Purplesnake Video]
9. Holy Man [Previously Unreleased Purplesnake Video]
10. You Keep On Moving [Previously Unreleased Purplesnake Video]
11. You Fool No One [Previously Unreleased Purplesnake Video]
12. Burn” – Live “Atlantis” Video
13. Burn/Stormbringer” – Live In The Still Of The Night
14. Soldier Of Fortune” – Starkers In Tokyo
15. Burn [The Purple Tour Five Live]
16. The Gypsy [The Purple Tour Five Live]
17. Mistreated [The Purple Tour Five Live]
18. You Fool No One [The Purple Tour Five Live]
19. Soldier Of Fortune [The Purple Tour Five Live]
20. The Purple Album: Behind The Scenes
21. The Purple Album: Song-By-Song
