Slip of the Tongue

After touring with their previous multi-platinum eponymous album in August 1988, guitarist Vivian Campbell was having problems with the band due to musical differences. According to David Coverdale, Campbell's wife had a "falling out" with Tawny Kitaen, who was Coverdale's fiancé at that time, causing tensions between the two. Originally, lead and primary guitarist, Adrian Vandenberg had wanted to be the sole guitarist. This led to speculation that he did not want Campbell in the band. However, that theory was debunked by Vandenberg's assertion that he had nothing to do with Campbell's departure and confirmation of Coverdale's statements about Campbell's dismissal.^[8][9][10] Coverdale then announced that the next supporting album was going to be written by him and Vandenberg, who established a fruitful working relationship at that time.

Singer David Coverdale and guitarist Adrian Vandenberg began assembling the album Slip of the Tongue at Lake Tahoe utilizing material, including the title track, written while on tour and lyrics previously composed by Coverdale in Bora Bora. After approximately a month of writing, the band regrouped for three weeks of rehearsals.^[11] Campbell departed a short time later, in December 1988.

Adrian Vandenberg had planned to record for the album, but the worsening of an existing injury made it painful for him to play, requiring surgery.^[12] For the recording, Coverdale chose ex-Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth guitarist Steve Vai. Coverdale was unfamiliar with Vai's work with Zappa or Roth, but had seen him in the 1986 film Crossroads, in which Vai had greatly impressed him. Adrian Vandenberg revealed in several interviews that he thinks Vai's flamboyant guitar playing was somewhat inappropriate, and that a more bluesy approach would have suited the album better.^[13] Adrian Vandenberg was credited as a major co-songwriter, while Steve Vai was credited with "fulfilling all guitar responsibilities" on the album, and appeared in all the band's music videos.^[14] Vandenberg would not appear to play in any recording of Whitesnake albums, except "Here I Go Again", until his only appearance on the upcoming 1997 release, Restless Heart.

Most of the backing vocals are by Tommy Funderburk and Mr. Mister lead singer Richard Page; Coverdale's friend and former Deep Purple bandmate Glenn Hughes contributed backing vocals to three songs.^[15][16] Once again, keyboardist Don Airey, along with session musicians Claude Gaudette and David Rosenthal, was brought in to do some keyboard parts, but just like with Hughes, much of his material didn't make the final cut of the album.^[14]

Reports of the original release date were anticipated on 10 October 1989 but were moved to a month later.^[17] Slip of the Tongue was released on 7 November 1989 in the United States through Geffen Records, then was released internationally six days later through EMI. It later received a Japanese release on 18 November 1989 through CBS/Sony.

The album peaked at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart and spent 34 weeks there. It was made as a US second top-ten and the final album hit there. The album also charted at that same peak position in the UK Albums chart and ran for a consecutive 8 weeks there, re-charting for another two weeks in the weeks of 1 September 1990.^[18] It also charted at number 12 in Japan, number 18 in Canada, number 39 in the Australia, number nine in Norway, number eleven in Sweden, number 11 in Switzerland, number nine in New Zealand, and number 19 in Germany. It eventually cracked the top spot in Finland, making it the only album in the band's discography to chart at that peak position. By the end of the week on 17 October 2019, the 30th Anniversary reissue eventually re-charted in the UK consecutively at number seven on the Rock & Metal Albums Chart, number 43 on Scottish Albums, number 55 on Album Sales, and number 50 on Physical Albums.

Sales of the album were only over 4 million copies worldwide as of August 1990, only half of the previous album sold in the US (8 million copies) alone.^[19] In a commercial outlook, Slip of the Tongue was considered a commercial disappointment. Coverdale stated that within four days after its release, over 1.2 million records were sold in America. In retrospect, the album was only certified in three countries. In the United Kingdom, it was certified gold by BPI in just four days after its UK release, selling over 100,000 copies. The album achieved platinum American RIAA certification status on 17 January 1990, while it also managed to be certified gold by Japan (RIAJ) in August 1992.

Three singles were spawned from the album. "Fool for Your Loving '89" was released in October 1989 while "The Deeper the Love" and "Now You're Gone" were released in 1990. "Judgement Day" did not receive a single release, rather, it was made solely as a radio airplay. The single B-Side of the album, "Sweet Lady Luck" was released in 1990, only to be re-released in 1994 for the Greatest Hits promotion.

Slip of the Tongue received a reissue in May 2009 as a two-disc remastered version with a slightly modified running order and ten bonus tracks to commemorate its 20th anniversary through EMI and Geffen. Rhino Entertainment released a separate CD version of the 2009 reissue, after Whitesnake was signed to the Rhino catalogue for reissues in 2017.^[20] The album received another re-issue by Rhino Entertainment in October 2019, including a newly remastered version of the album as well as other recordings and videos, including a re-sequenced tracklist. "Sweet Lady Luck" received a promotional video release before the album's second reissue.^[21]

 

The Liquor & Poker world tour for the album was the biggest the band had undertaken yet, including their third appearance & second headlining of the famous Castle Donington Monsters of Rock festival on 18 August 1990. The performance was later released as Live at Donington 1990 on 20 May 2011 on Frontiers. The band embarked on the tour at Fairfax Patriot Center (later named EagleBank Arena), Fairfax, Virginia on 2 February 1990.^[22] The tour had come to an end on 26 September 1990 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, at which point Coverdale disbanded Whitesnake indefinitely for three years and took a break from the music business until late 1991 when he started to work with Jimmy Page, which resulted in the 1993 album Coverdale•Page.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[23]
Christgau's Record Guide	D[24]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10[25]
MusicHound Rock	[26]
New Musical Express	4/10[27]
Rock Hard	8/10[28]
Rolling Stone	[29]

Unlike the band's previous album, which received widespread critical acclaim, Slip of the Tongue was met with mixed reactions, with many saying the album's sound was too far from the original Whitesnake sound. Mainly, musical outlets and magazines questioned the collaboration of Coverdale and Vai, raising doubts about the band's longevity and the musical style the band was fit for.

Robert Christgau gave the album a negative review, saying: "They got lucky, and they don't intend to let go. With fast-gun-for-hire Steve Vai operating all guitars and who knows what other geegaws, they've consolidated their sound into essence of arena: all pomp, flash, male posturing, and sentimentality, this is now the Worst Band in the World. So you just move over, Journey."^[24]

Kim Neelt, writing for Rolling Stone, called the album out as "not passionate enough to evoke pleasure" and "dull" as it can be. Understanding the album's context across tracks like Now You're Gone being compared to Flashdance, she questioned the reactions by summing out the rest of nothing "heartfelt" or "a tad too radio-friendly". Furthermore, she negatively slammed Vai about fulfilling the guitar arrangements from Vandenberg responding that Vai "couldn't step into the spotlight and sparkle without leaving his shoes behind." Admitting that the album has "its moments," she ended her commentary on the record saying that it "won't leave you feeling exhilarated, and it won't leave you feeling disgusted."^[29]

David Coverdale himself has also seen the album as one of the weakest in the band's catalogue, but has since found somewhat of an appreciation for it. He summed up his feelings by saying:

For a long time, I felt the album lacked a certain Whitesnake feel in the music, but, countless people thro' the years have assured me that they enjoyed and enjoy the album, nonetheless. So, now I happily accept it as a significant part of the Whitesnake catalogue and to be honest, I enjoy it more now than I did back then. It was an album plagued with challenges and obstacles for me, personally, from many avenues, but hey...nobody said being successful is supposed to be easy!

Metal Rules ranked the album #38 on their list of the Top 50 Glam Metal Albums.^[2]

Billboard named the 2019 reissue at number 9 as one of the best reissues of that year.^[30]

Accessing the album's Coverdale revealed the opening track for Slip of the Tongue was originally titled, "Dominatrix Blues."

To speak about how the title got changed and came through its main idea for the title of the record, David Coverdale stated:

"I think the first time that Adrian and I sat down, all we did is we looked at what we felt, Whitesnake was missing, in terms of tempos and styles. Adrian was a "snake" fan and has been from the beginning, his finger on the pulse of what Whitesnake was about [...] we needed an "a hundred miles an hour" track, you know for the live show. The idea of the lyric is this very powerful woman instead of the man being, all that butch stuff that usually hard rock and heavy metal purports to be. This is the women is stronger, they fare very well on this album."

Coverdale then talks behind the meaning of Cheap an' Nasty saying:

"'Cheap an' Nasty' was a kind of marriage of Slide It In & "Slow Poke Music", a very sexy little piece of Whitesnake stuff I think, and that's one of the major tongue-in-cheek. [...] We've been coming off very strong, very positively, it's a very optimistic & positive album, even the blues is temperate (moderate) in the dark, darker side."

He then mentioned that it was Kitaen's favorite track on the album.

In retrospect of the re-recording for Fool for Your Loving, according to the 20th-anniversary liner notes of the album, Coverdale comments:

"I was mortified when I allowed myself to be talked into letting Geffen release the re-recorded version of "Fool for Your Loving", instead of "Judgement Day" as the first one out of the box to promote the album... I knew radio would be all over "Judgement Day" just from the market research we did back then... but, Kalodner, Rosenblatt, Marco Babineau, my manager and some of our radio people, all people whose opinions I trusted, came down to the Record Plant when I was finishing off the album and all confronted me with what they felt was the way to go... that it would be a mistake to go with Judgement Day... Not only I but the band were really upset about that decision... I've regretted it ever since... I have no doubt it was Kalodner's idea, thinking we could achieve the same as we'd had with the re-recorded "Here I Go Again"... Anyway...they were wrong and so was I to go along with it... Another hard lesson learned... Stick to your guns if you believe in it...It's the only way..."

David Coverdale revealed that the band did attempt to re-visit some of the older tracks in the Whitesnake discography, such as "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" (from Ready an' Willing), "We Wish You Well" (from Lovehunter), and "Burning Heart" (from Vandenberg's eponymous album). Given how the original "Fool for Your Loving" was given for, he commented:

"'Fool for Your Loving' was originally written for B. B. King when he was working with "The Crusaders." [...] You have the band cut the demo, I was sitting there listening to it again, and I said, "Oh, just a second, can you try that again and crunch the guitars a little more?" And I went, "I think we should hang on to this," and that became our first international hit."

Coverdale then expressed how he believed his performance on the original version of "Fool for Your Loving" was botched saying, "I always do my best writing songs, but then it's up to my colleagues to put the passion that the song deserves. It is a passionate song... if you listen to the original, I think the only security other than the song itself is my vocal performance... It's a very secure blues performance... but it's very bottom-light in terms of presentation and totally top-heavy, musically. There isn't the passion, the song is not given the passionate performance that it deserved, the same of "Here I Go Again" (the original 1982 version)." The same thing would apply to the past early-80s Whitesnake albums as it was written in the best that Coverdale was in that position but blatantly set lacking the passion and performance of the rest of the songs. Coverdale further said, "I honestly cannot understand how I accepted those, that particular takes, that particular performance [...] it's like overcompensating because Ian didn't play as powerfully as I know he can, maybe he had something else the track on his mind that day, you know [...] it's simply isn't good enough." He affirmed that he would plan to re-record older songs for the next upcoming Greatest Hits complication album, but neither of these came out, with only the complication under that "Greatest Hits" name that featured the tracks from the mid-80s released in 1994.

Coverdale claimed that he was satisfied with the track, Now You're Gone whisper-to-a-scream methodology part. Stating on how it was written, he said:

"That's putting myself in a situation looking if I lost this most precious woman in my life, how I would feel, because you usually blow perfect relationships by being stupid."

On the track Kitten's Got Claws, he asserted that the song was the easiest song to sing from the album. In addition, he mentioned that the song was written for Tawny, referring to her last name calling as a "kitten." Furthermore, Coverdale spoke about its meaning, saying:

"The closest I've come to what I've think to that wonderful Chuck Berry style lyric when there's a continuing story. I love the "G-String tuned to A," and Vai just plays magnificently, it's such a signature performance. I think from beginning to end, it sounds like I'm working with a dozen alley cats, even the solo is got a whining-cat-a-alike [...] I really enjoyed that."

Coverdale then talks about the meaning of Wings of the Storm, saying:

"I like the theme, it is a love song, but it's very optimistic. You've got the situation, now it's up to you to keep it together. If you check the lyrics:

On and on, the road goes on
And it'll go on forever
The time will show, if you and I
Will walk that road together
[...]
Heaven above us and hell below

It's all of these problems, it's when anybody sees what it looks to be a perfect relationship, they do their utmost to destroy it, and if you stick together on it, the world can come against you, and you'll be able to fight it off. But it's divided in conquer if you're not careful. [...] Some gentleman or some woman [...] it's nothing is gonna stop you being electrically charged by seeing somebody that you feel is attractive. But, you have to wave in one hand, what that particular exchange is gonna do for you, what it's worth, and how much do you stand to lose when your relationship in the other hand. And if you stand back and take that kind of perspective, I think fidelity will win."

Coverdale further states how The Deeper the Love was written, saying:

"It's the closest we've got to a solo R&B song. It's once again it's optimistic, it's positive, it's like look and know, I've been questionable in my past, but I've taken it all into stock and I'm glad you've stuck around, because now... I'm gonna give it my best shot, and thanks for hanging in there, I'm sorry I'm stupid at this particular time. It's gonna be the notice at the end of our love."

To explain further, Coverdale commented on the origins of the song in the 20th-anniversary edition liner notes by saying:

"'The Deeper the Love' came from a chorus sequence I'd had for some time, written, if memory serves, in my dear friend Tony Z's house, many years ago... then my little Dutch brother, Adrian, came along and put the musical icing on the cake, and gave me the verse chord sequence. I finished writing it in Tahiti [...] very early in the morning with the sun rising over the Pacific."

Coverdale stated that Judgement Day was referenced when he had back surgery in the spring of (April) 1988 due to a herniated disc that had to be removed caused by intensive stage performances he had encountered throughout the years. He was given a medication called, "Percodan" to relieve him from his post-operation. He said that he was in a "desensitizing condition" given the fact that he was physically and mentally worn out from that medication, even while the band was still on their marks headlining their supporting tour for the 1987 album.^[31][32]

Coverdale talks about the meaning of Slow Poke Music, stating:

"If you look back into David Coverdale's "Whitesnake" the very first solo album I did, you'll see "S.P. Music" on my publishing credits, which was actually "Slow Poke Music," but I had somebody who was in control of the Deep Purple company at that time who was a little too modest and thought it was too risqué, so he made it sound like it was a petroleum company. [...] It's the closest that I've come to a Hendrix style song."

To conclude the interview, Coverdale talked about the meaning of Sailing Ships, stating:

"It's a message from me to all of you, to everybody. [...] That's your ambition. That is your fantasy. It's up to you to exercise that. Everybody has so many walls them because of this ridiculous society that we live in, y'know, you must express yourself, you have to, 'cause nobody's gonna do it for you. [...] It's like a graduation of life, someone you leave school, the ocean of the song... is life, it's your life. [...] I feel exactly the way that you do, and I found my discovery is that nobody is gonna realize my fantasies or ambitions for me, that's why I'm so ruthless on myself to do that. In the fine analysis, you're on your own, but you're actually not, a lot of people won't own up that they're in the same boat, because of whatever ridiculous mental mind games they're going through."

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[15][14][33] For further DVD reissue credits, see Live at Donington 1990.

• Official site
• Slip of the Tongue at Discogs (list of releases)