Personnel: David Coverdale (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jimmy Page (electric & acoustic guitars, electric harmonica, dulcimer, 6-string bass); John Harris (harmonica); Lester Mendez (keyboards, percussion); Jorge Casas, Ricky Phillips (bass); Denny Carmassi (drums); Tommy Funderburk, John Sambataro (background vocals).
Recorded at Little Mountain Sound, Vancouver, British Columbia; Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida; Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Highbrow Productions, Hook City, Nevada.
After a planned collaboration with Robert Plant fell through in the early 1990s, Jimmy Page did the next best thing--he hooked up with ex-Whitesnake singer David Coverdale, who's often compared to Plant vocally, for a single album, 1993's COVERDALE/PAGE.
As you'd assume, the duo's sound is similar to the mighty Led Zeppelin--bluesy heavy metal dripping with machismo. While many of the highlights are hard rock-based ("Shake My Tree," "Waiting on You," "Pride and Joy"), there are a few slow blues numbers that are just as strong ("Take Me For a Little While," "Over Now"). Although COVERDALE/PAGE caused quite a stir with Zep/classic rock fans worldwide, the duo only played a handful of live dates together in Japan, and split up shortly thereafter when Plant finally agreed to re-join forces with Page (under the name Page/Plant).
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (4/15/93, p.62) - 3 Stars - Good - "...may not be the second coming of Led Zeppelin, but it's close enough that only the most curmudgeonly would deny the band its due....Coverdale['s] bluesy howl has never been put to better use than against Page's guitar..."
Q (5/93, p.89) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...opt[s] for the post- LED ZEPPELIN III orchestrations that made Page's group a worldwide phenomenon...this album screams classic from start to finish..."
