[Seven]

I wasn't around in 1990 so I'm not really sure what this is all about. Vai is one of my favourite musicians and Whitesnake is one of my favourite bands, so when I heard they were together at one point I grabbed there material staight away and I liked it, and also Vai performing older songs live. But I get a feeling of animosity about it all, it seems very negative about him leaving (I'm guessing it was Coverdale being an ass ) but can anyone tell me what happened?

For examle, on Vai's website he has descriptions about all the bands he's been in, and thorough to, but he says the following about his days in Whitesnake:

"It was what it was."

Hmm...

[jacksonplayer]

The basic story is that the album had already been written when Adrian Vandenberg injured his arm just before the recording sessions--and he was the only guitarist in the band at that point. Coverdale needed to find somebody who could step in at the very last moment and record all the guitar parts without months of preparation and rehearsal, as well as doing the tour, and so he paid Vai a shitload of money to basically be a hired gun. IIRC, the Whitesnake payments funded "Passion & Warfare" and instantly made Vai a rather wealthy individual. But there was never any question of Coverdale working creatively with Vai--he just handed the tapes to Vai and had him record the guitar parts on his own. I believe Vandenberg was recovered in time to do the tour, and it was spectacular, by every account I've read.

As to the album, Vai was clearly a poor fit for the bluesy style that Whitesnake has always had. In hindsight, Coverdale should have found someone more compatible like Doug Aldrich to be a permanent band member, rather than looking for a hired hand--but maybe the record company was getting impatient or something. But the general suckitude of "Slip of the Tongue" isn't Vai's fault; most of the songs simply aren't very good. Coverdale has since said that he was becoming very disillusioned with the business, and I suspect the "rock 'n roll lifestyle" finally caught up to him. He retired Whitesnake after that tour for quite awhile.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

The basic story is that the album had already been written when Adrian Vandenberg injured his arm just before the recording sessions--and he was the only guitarist in the band at that point. Coverdale needed to find somebody who could step in at the very last moment and record all the guitar parts without months of preparation and rehearsal, as well as doing the tour, and so he paid Vai a shitload of money to basically be a hired gun. IIRC, the Whitesnake payments funded "Passion & Warfare" and instantly made Vai a rather wealthy individual. But there was never any question of Coverdale working creatively with Vai--he just handed the tapes to Vai and had him record the guitar parts on his own. I believe Vandenberg was recovered in time to do the tour, and it was spectacular, by every account I've read.

As to the album, Vai was clearly a poor fit for the bluesy style that Whitesnake has always had. In hindsight, Coverdale should have found someone more compatible like Doug Aldrich to be a permanent band member, rather than looking for a hired hand--but maybe the record company was getting impatient or something. But the general suckitude of "Slip of the Tongue" isn't Vai's fault; most of the songs simply aren't very good. Coverdale has since said that he was becoming very disillusioned with the business, and I suspect the "rock 'n roll lifestyle" finally caught up to him. He retired Whitesnake after that tour for quite awhile.

Ahh, thanks for that. I've always wondered.

If you youtube some of the live shows, they were awesome!

[Trespass]

Originally Posted by jacksonplayer

The basic story is that the album had already been written when Adrian Vandenberg injured his arm just before the recording sessions--and he was the only guitarist in the band at that point. Coverdale needed to find somebody who could step in at the very last moment and record all the guitar parts without months of preparation and rehearsal, as well as doing the tour, and so he paid Vai a shitload of money to basically be a hired gun. IIRC, the Whitesnake payments funded "Passion & Warfare" and instantly made Vai a rather wealthy individual. But there was never any question of Coverdale working creatively with Vai--he just handed the tapes to Vai and had him record the guitar parts on his own. I believe Vandenberg was recovered in time to do the tour, and it was spectacular, by every account I've read.

As to the album, Vai was clearly a poor fit for the bluesy style that Whitesnake has always had. In hindsight, Coverdale should have found someone more compatible like Doug Aldrich to be a permanent band member, rather than looking for a hired hand--but maybe the record company was getting impatient or something. But the general suckitude of "Slip of the Tongue" isn't Vai's fault; most of the songs simply aren't very good. Coverdale has since said that he was becoming very disillusioned with the business, and I suspect the "rock 'n roll lifestyle" finally caught up to him. He retired Whitesnake after that tour for quite awhile.

How much money are we talking here?

[drjenkins]

I saw them on that tour and it was killer. Vai was the man, no doubt. Still one of my favorite players to this day.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by drjenkins

I saw them on that tour and it was killer. Vai was the man, no doubt. Still one of my favorite players to this day.

You don't happen to have any video of it? I've only got the youtube stuff, and there ain't any Vai/Whitesnake DVD's.

[jacksonplayer]

Originally Posted by Trespass

How much money are we talking here?

I believe it was in the seven figures, from what Vai has said in interviews. It was enough to allow him to set up his own recording studio, which as you probably know is far too grand to be called a "home" studio.

I'm sure Vai did well off of his DLR stint, but that was a huge chunk of change to make off of a single album and tour. It also gave him even higher public visibility than he had before, which undoubtedly helped Passion & Warfare do so well.

Heck, Vai probably made more money off of Slip of the Tongue than Coverdale did.

[Scali]

I believe the animosity was in the fact that Vai rerecorded and rewrote many parts that Vandenberg had already recorded. And ofcourse he added his signature elaborate epic solos to the songs.

I don't really consider Whitesnake 'bluesrockers' at that point though. The album that preceded SOTT was 1987, with John Sykes, and was already quite shredworthy.
What makes 1987 my favourite album of the 80s is the fact that Sykes and Coverdale are proper 70s rock heroes, who add a certain 70s vibe to the music, giving it more depth than most 80s hairmetal. The singing is more dramatic, they don't rely as much on sugary harmonies, giving it a more raw edge.. And the songs themselves are also more bombastic, more epic.
It's quite a difference with the earlier Whitesnake albums, which are too 70s and too bluesrocky/Led Zeppy for me to appreciate.

I think what Vai did to Fool For Your Loving is actually quite nice. He made it 'swing' more than the original... The solo may be a bit over-the-top, but at the time it was completely mindblowing.

[ZeroSignal]

Originally Posted by Scali

I believe the animosity was in the fact that Vai rerecorded and rewrote many parts that Vandenberg had already recorded. And ofcourse he added his signature elaborate epic solos to the songs.

I don't really consider Whitesnake 'bluesrockers' at that point though. The album that preceded SOTT was 1987, with John Sykes, and was already quite shredworthy.
What makes 1987 my favourite album of the 80s is the fact that Sykes and Coverdale are proper 70s rock heroes, who add a certain 70s vibe to the music, giving it more depth than most 80s hairmetal. The singing is more dramatic, they don't rely as much on sugary harmonies, giving it a more raw edge.. And the songs themselves are also more bombastic, more epic.
It's quite a difference with the earlier Whitesnake albums, which are too 70s and too bluesrocky/Led Zeppy for me to appreciate.

I think what Vai did to Fool For Your Loving is actually quite nice. He made it 'swing' more than the original... The solo may be a bit over-the-top, but at the time it was completely mindblowing.

Although the only song I've heard from the album was Kitten's Got Claws, I've read in the P&W tab book forward (written by Vai) that the entire Whitesnake album was recorded on a 7 -String.

[Seven]