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Into the Light: The Solo Albums is a compilation album by British hard rock band Whitesnake, compiling singer-songwriter David Coverdale's solo albums, White Snake (1977), Northwinds (1978) and Into the Light (2000). It features "revisited, remixed and remastered" forms of previously released and unreleased material from the installment of the three solo albums. The title of the compilation derives from Coverdale's third solo album. The compilation is set to be released via Rhino Records on 25 October 2024.
Background
Between 1977 and 1978, vocalist David Coverdale recorded the first of his two solo albums after the Mark IV dissolution of Deep Purple. Both were released as White Snake and Northwinds and were gone out in many complication sets, more recently The Early Years in 2003. Decades later after the temporary disbandment of Coverdale's formed band Whitesnake, he resumed his solo career as well to explore many forms of music. The resulting 2000 record came out as Into the Light, listing it as his most successful solo album commercially and critically, only that it charted in five countries.
According to Coverdale, his first two solo works, including Whitesnake material have been digitally copied and possess the ability to be restored and remastered but unfortunately cannot be remixed at that time. This was a result from the 2008 Universal Studios fire, which archived the band's material belonging to Geffen Records. Purple Records, one of the sub-divisions of EMI at that time, retained the masters to Coverdale's first two solo albums, but had been gone out of print ever since.
History and production
Into the Light: The Solo Albums featured musicians that participated from singer David Coverdale's solo albums. His first album White Snake was released on 20 February 1977 throughout Europe then 6 May in the UK, featuring then-Whitesnake guitarist, Micky Moody. As a first solo effort, Coverdale remarked the record was "a very inward-looking, reflective and low-key affair in many ways, written and recorded as it was in the aftermath of the collapse of Deep Purple". The album title would be later be derived as an inspiration of his future band, which happened after the upcoming album was released. It was followed by its successor Northwinds, released on 10 March 1978. The album was viewed in blues-based and R&B influenced rock followed as an "antithesis" of Whitesnake 1987. It was also largely viewed as nothing differentiated compared to Led Zeppelin, given that Whitesnake had been compared that group on many occasions. Decades later, Into the Light was released on 25 September 2000, with its elements featured a more stripped-down and blues-influenced sound that Coverdale "felt appropriate" in his songwriting.
Both White Snake and Northwinds were originally produced by Deep Purple's then ex-bassist, at that time, Roger Glover, while Into the Light was produced by Coverdale himself alongside Doug Bossi, Bjorn Thorsrud, John X. Volaitis and Michael McIntyre being credited as associate producers.
Coverdale's first two solo albums were remixed using cutting-edge audio separation software, allowing them to be artificially separated into their individual multi-track stems using artificial intelligence. Notable examples of this approach are "Time & Again", which separated Coverdale's voice from the original Northwinds record, allowing it to be featured in piano and string arrangement mixes that had been approached by Coverdale for decades.
Release and promotion
While the three albums were recorded entirely by Coverdale as a solo artist himself, he has since considered themselves as Whitesnake albums. He stated, "As I'm recognized as 'Mr. Whitesnake', I thought, Why not? They're all Whitesnake albums to me... we've remixed them to stand proudly alongside any Whitesnake album." 1997's Restless Heart was at first originally viewed as a solo album, but was eventually grouped as a "David Coverdale & Whitesnake" album due to EMI's contract demands, making it and Into the Light envisioned as "brother and sister albums," respectively due to their sound compared to Whitesnake's recording material.
On the morning of 16 August 2024, Coverdale unveiled the announcement of the complication on his Twitter/X page. A promotional music video from Into the Light track, "Midnight Blue" was released on the same day. Into the Light: The Solo Albums is set to be reissued via Rhino Entertainment on 25 October 2024 as a multi-disc box set, featuring remastered and remixed versions of the solo albums, as well as previously unreleased demos. The collection also features music videos alongside a 60-page booklet with photographs featuring an interview with Coverdale. The set will also be released as a double vinyl album with tracks only taken from Into the Light, marking its release to be re-issued in vinyl format for the first time.
Track listing
All tracks are written by David Coverdale, except where noted.
Disc four: Young Lad's Blues (David Coverdale's 1968 Home Demos)
No.
Title
Length
10.
"Sunny Days" (original)
11.
"Love Me In the Morning"
12.
"I Will Love You"
13.
"Moment In Time"
14.
"It Would Be Nice"
15.
"There Was a Time"
16.
"Why?"
17.
"I Still Love You"
Disc five: Into the Light (2024 Remaster)
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"She Give Me"
4:12
2.
"River Song"
7:19
3.
"Don't You Cry"
5:47
4.
"Love Is Blind"
Coverdale, Slick
5:42
5.
"Slave"
Coverdale, Slick
4:51
6.
"Cry for Love"
Coverdale, Bossi, Slick
4:52
7.
"Living on Love"
Coverdale, Bossi, Slick
6:31
8.
"Midnight Blue"
Coverdale, Slick
4:58
9.
"Too Many Tears"
Coverdale, Vandenberg
5:59
10.
"Don't Lie to Me"
Coverdale, Slick
4:43
11.
"Wherever You May Go"
3:59
Disc six: White Snake (2024 Remaster)
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"Lady"
Coverdale, Moody
3:48
2.
"Blindman"
6:01
3.
"Goldies Place"
5:03
4.
"Time On My Side"
Coverdale, Moody
4:26
5.
"Peace Lovin' Man"
4:53
6.
"Sunny Days"
3:31
7.
"Hole in the Sky"
3:23
8.
"Celebration"
Coverdale, Moody
4:11
9.
"Whitesnake"
Coverdale, Moody
4:22
Disc six: Northwinds (2024 Remaster)
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"Keep On Giving Me Love"
Coverdale, Moody
5:16
2.
"Northwinds"
6:13
3.
"Give Me Kindness"
4:34
4.
"Time & Again"
4:02
5.
"Queen of Hearts"
Coverdale, Moody
5:16
6.
"Only My Soul"
4:36
7.
"Say You Love Me"
4:21
8.
"Breakdown"
Coverdale, Moody
5:15
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the original album's liner notes, including White Snake, Northwinds and Into the Light. The re-issue complication credit liner notes are yet to be released.
