Whitesnake scored its first platinum-selling album in 1984 with Slide It In, a release that has sold more than six million copies worldwide thanks to hard-rocking songs like “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” “Slow An’ Easy” and the title track. The classic album turns 35 this year and Rhino/Parlophone is celebrating with several new versions, including an enormous seven disc boxed set.
Slide It In: The Ultimate Special Edition will be available on March 8th. The 6 CD/DVD collection includes newly remastered versions of both the U.K. and U.S. mixes of the album as well as the 35th Anniversary remixes from 2019, plus unreleased live and studio recordings, music videos, concert footage, and a new interview with Whitesnake founder and lead singer, David Coverdale.
Three other versions of Slide It In will also be available the same day. A 2 CD Deluxe Edition includes the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes expanded with a selection of bonus tracks. The 2 LP Deluxe Edition features the newly remastered U.K. and U.S. mixes. Finally, a single disc version includes the newly remastered brand-new mix of the complete album. The music will be available digitally as well.
“Slide It In was always meant to be a structured, more electric modern take on the classic blues-based hard rock that Whitesnake were famous for, but our new Hook City Hooligan, Mixer Extraordinaire Christopher Collier, has hand-tooled this classic record for the 21st century,” says Coverdale. “Hearing all the performances so fresh and so clear after 35 years was amazing. Mel, Cozy and Jon’s playing on the record is as vital now as it was all those years ago. All the featured players shine. Not only did Christopher get the best out of the recording, but he gives the album a fresh coat of sonic paint bringing it right up to date. I’m personally thrilled with it.”
After releasing Saints & Sinners in 1982, Whitesnake reconvened the following year in Germany to begin recording songs for what would become the band’s sixth studio album, Slide It In. At the time, band members included Coverdale, guitarists Micky Moody and Mel Galley, bassist Colin Hodgkinson and keyboardist Jon Lord. The album was initially released in 1984 in the U.K., where it climbed into the Top 10.
Soon after, the band’s line-up changed. Jon Lord left to rejoin Deep Purple and Moody and Hodgkinson were replaced by guitarist John Sykes, and Neil Murray, who was Whitesnake’s original bassist. Prior to its U.S. release in 1985, Slide It In was remixed while newly recorded parts by Sykes, Murray and keyboardist Bill Cuomo were added, resulting in two distinct versions of the album, both of which are included in this set.
The project features unreleased versions of every album track, including 35th Anniversary remixes made this year, as well as monitor mixes recorded in 1983. The set boasts more than a dozen unreleased live recordings from 1984 that feature an entire concert from Glasgow, Scotland, plus several songs from Jon Lord’s final show with Whitesnake in Sweden. The collection’s final disc unearths 30 tracks that cover original demos and early mixes for album tracks, as well as unfinished song ideas.
The DVD from Slide It In: The Ultimate Special Edition mixes music videos and live performances, all of which have been carefully restored and remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound for the first time ever. A newly recorded interview with singer David Coverdale rounds out the DVD.
6 CD/DVD | 2 CD Deluxe Edition | CD | 2 LP Deluxe Edition
CD 1: U.S. Mix (1985) 35th Anniversary Remaster
1. Gambler
2. Slide It In
3. Slow An’ Easy
4. Love Ain’t No Stranger
5. Give Me More Time
6. Standing In The Shadow
7. Hungry For Love
8. All Or Nothing
9. Spit It Out
10. Guilty Of Love
CD 2: U.K. Mix (1984) 35th Anniversary Remaster
1. Gambler
2. Slide It In
3. Slow An’ Easy
4. Love Ain’t No Stranger
5. Give Me More Time
6. Standing In The Shadow
7. Hungry For Love
8. All Or Nothing
9. Spit It Out
10. Guilty Of Love
11. Need Your Love So Bad – Single B-Side [Bonus Track]
12. Gambler – 7″ Eddie Kramer Mix (1983) [Bonus Track]
13. Guilty Of Love – 7″ Eddie Kramer Mix (1983) [Bonus Track]
CD 3: 35th Anniversary Remixes (2019)
1. Slide It In*
2. Slow An’ Easy*
3. Love Ain’t No Stranger*
4. Give Me More Time*
5. Guilty Of Love*
6. All Or Nothing*
7. Spit It Out*
8. Standing In The Shadow*
9. Hungry For Love*
10. Gambler*
11. Need Your Love So Bad*
CD 4: Monitor Mixes & Intros (September 1983)
1. Intro to Gambler from David Coverdale
2. Gambler*
3. Standing in the Shadow*
4. Intro to Slide It In from David Coverdale
5. Slide It In*
6. Give Me More Time*
7. Intro to “Love Ain’t No Stranger from David Coverdale
8. Love Ain’t No Stranger*
9. Hungry For Love*
10. Intro to Guilty Of Love from David Coverdale
11. Guilty Of Love*
12. Spit It Out*
13. Intro to Slow An’ Easy from David Coverdale
14. Slow An’ Easy*
15. All Or Nothing*
16. David Coverdale discusses the U.S. vs U.K. versions of Slide It In
Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show (Sweden, April 16, 1984)
17. Gambler
18. Guilty Of Love
19. Love Ain’t No Stranger
20. Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)
CD 5: Live in Glasgow, Scotland (March 1, 1984)
1. Gambler*
2. Guilty Of Love*
3. Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction)*
4. Love Ain’t No Stranger*
5. Here I Go Again*
6. Slow An’ Easy*
7. Cryin’ In The Rain*
8. Keyboard Solo
9. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City*
10. Fool For Your Loving*
11. Need Your Love So Bad / Thank You Blues*
12. Slide It In*
13. Don’t Break My Heart Again*
CD 6: Early Ruff Mixes, Original Demos and Obscurities
1. All or Nothing (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
2. Hungry for Love (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
3. Spit It Out (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
4. Give Me More Time (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
5. Slow An’ Easy (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
6. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics)
7. Need Your Love So Bad (feat. Jon Lord) [Instrumental] [Early Ruff Mix with Unfinished Lyrics]
8. Slow An’ Easy (A Capella Excerpts Remix)
9. All Or Nothing (Organ & Drums Excerpts Remix)
10. Wheezy Interludes (Various Alcoholic Studio Antics, David and Mel “fighting a cold”))
11. Slow An’ Easy (Original Demo)
12. Slide It In (Original Demo)
13. Standing in the Shadow (Original Demo)
14. All or Nothing (Original Demo)
15. Spit It Out (Original Demo)
16. Guilty of Love (Original Demo)
17. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Original Demo)
18. Intro to Need Your Love So Bad from David Coverdale
19. Need Your Love So Bad (Original Demo)
20. Body Heat (Unfinished Symphpnies Original Demo)
21. The Gypsy in You (Unfinished Symphonies)
22. Lounge Lizards (Unfinished Symphonies)
23. Great Riff in the Morning (Unfinished Symphonies)
24. The River Song (Unfinished Symphonies)
25. Can’t Make a Deal With the Devil (Unfinished Symphonies)
26. Prayer for the Dying (Unfinished Symphonies)
27. Spend the Night With Me (Unfinished Symphonies)
28. So Much to Live for (Unfinished Symphonies)
29. Riff Raff Blues (Unfinished Symphonies)
30. Thank You Blues (Unfinished Symphonies)
DVD: Music Videos & Live Clips
1. Guilty of Love
2. Slow An’ Easy
3. Love Ain’t No Stranger
4. Give Me More Time (Top of the Pops)
5. Standing in the Shadow (New Promo Video)
6. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Live…In The Still of the Night)
7. Slide It In (Live at Donington 1990)
8. Gambler (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
9. Guilty of Love (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
10. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
11. Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction) [Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984]
12. Whitesnake Chronicles: DC discusses the 35th Anniversary of Slide It In
13. Guilty of Love
14. Slow An’ Easy
15. Love Ain’t No Stranger
16. Give Me More Time (Top of the Pops)
17. Standing in the Shadow (New Promo Video)
18. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Live…In The Still of the Night 5.1)
19. Slide It In (Live at Donington 1990)
20. Gambler (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
21. Guilty of Love (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
22. Love Ain’t No Stranger (Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984)
23. Reading An’ Willing (Sweet Satisfaction) [Jon Lord’s Last Whitesnake Show, Sweden, April 16th, 1984]
24. Whitesnake Chronicles: DC discusses the 35th Anniversary of Slide It In
* previously unreleased