David Coverdale's Voice

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sven Knuidsen, Sep 25, 2016.

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  1. Sven Knuidsen

    Sven Knuidsen New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sydney
    I actually joined this forum when I saw a discussion on Coverdale 'Why all the hatred" and then found it was closed, maybe it got too nasty who knows I didn't read every thread..
    So here's my 50cents referring in particular to Coverdale period prior to Whitesnake's big American break, so I'm talking early rockin rhythm n blues Whitesnake (eg Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Neil Murray), not forgetting the incredible rags to riches story behind a bloke selling men's trousers that within 6 months fronting one of the biggest bands of its day, playing in front of 270,000 people at Cal Jam 74.. as Jon Lord said - "David showed immense courage to be able to step into those shoes"
    Anyway for me its tone of his crooning lower register notes as well as the obvious immense power and range..
    Lets be clear David Coverdale was an astonishingly good singer in his day..
     
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  2. dbz

    dbz Bolinhead.

    Location:
    Live At Leeds (UK)
    He was a little awkward in Purple MKIII and he came off sort of shouting instead of singing (eg Live In London) but it was a learning curve for him obviously. By the time of Made In Europe a year later he was more comfortable and singing well.

    In Purple MKIV he had really hit his stride, not perfect, but great tone and delivery, but he had 2 problems here.

    1. He was competing with an out of control Glenn Hughes and fighting for stage time (spending 20 minutes back stage while Bolin/Hughes jammed through Gettin' Tighter etc)

    2. He sometimes went into a higher register where he wasn't comfortable anymore, reaching for notes he couldn't hit (eg Lady Luck/Love Child live). Also, he was pretty dire at covering the MKII songs.

    By the solo albums and early Whitesnake he had found his feet, but in concert was given to going into a higher register. When he's calmer, I enjoy him a lot (eg Need Your Love So Bad).

    Obviously he has his fans, but he can come over as a bit of a jerk during interviews, in fact there were comments only last month about his fake Mid-Atlantic accent. That, his sometime impersonations of Plant, some very dubious lyric choices and the 'hair metal' period, do seems to have tarnished his reputation with some fans.

    I don't follow him much these days, so will leave it to someone else to discuss the post 1987 voice. But, I played my wife the Budokan Deep Purple concert from 1975 recently and she's indifferent to my musical tastes, but straight away she said " wow is that Coverdale? he has a great voice" and he did cut through the cacophonous noise of Deep Purple MKIV live, so maybe he was the perfect sing for the band?
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2016
  3. Matthew Tate

    Matthew Tate Forum Resident

    Location:
    Richmond, Virginia
    coverdales voice was pretty good until the late 90's. its not terrible now but its not even close to pre 2000 shape. I saw him live a few years ago and was pleased with what a 60 year old guy who lived that rough sounded like
     
  4. Gregster

    Gregster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Hello,

    His voice has earned him over 40-years not just in the music business, but at the top of that business...Like all artists, they'll have their peaks & troughs through a tour, but I like to think he's done well for himself, & every credit would be well deserved.

    If there would be one concession, it would be with his time in DP, when he started introducing songs aka "Here's a song for ya" LOL !

    It's all good, & an ant when compared to the idiocy & antics of Glen Hughes LOL !!!

    Ciao,

    Gregster
     
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  5. Andersoncouncil

    Andersoncouncil Forum Resident

    Location:
    upstate NY
    from made in Europe: STORMBRINGER!!!!
     
  6. Dr. Funk

    Dr. Funk Vintage Dust

    Location:
    Fort Worth TX
    He definitely had some serious vocal chops. I remember the first time I heard Still Of The Night. Wow, what a voice.
     
  7. PJayBe

    PJayBe Forum Resident

    .......is better when he remembers to actually sing rather than the forced screaming he does. Always sounds good in concert until then, and then struggles thereafter.
     
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  8. Awesome vocalist! Love Deep Purple's Burn, also a fan of Whitesnake. His voice isn't that great these days, but most vsingers his age have lost a bit of vocal power.
     
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  9. jwoverho

    jwoverho Licensed Drug Dealer

    Location:
    Mobile, AL USA
    I really liked his work with DP and early Whitesnake. Not many hard rock/metal singers can maintain their voice without proper training and maintenance. I know he went through a very rough patch with his voice in the last 10-15 years.

    He didn't sound very good during the RRHOF jam session doing a line of "Ain't That a Shame," but he really wasn't warmed up either.
     
  10. j4yheindeo

    j4yheindeo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tampa, FL USA
    "Your own, your very own ... "

    :righton:
     
  11. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Why did the thread get closed?
     
  12. Although he got much better during Whitesnake's heyday, I've never understood what's so great about him. Glenn Hughes wiped the floor with him in DP (and not just because of vocal range differences). And I've always found his screaming particularly annoying in this concert:

     
  13. Mainline461

    Mainline461 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tamiami Trail
    Good voice but what was more astounding was the image transformation, from a dumpy overweight guy with thick glasses to a very serious stage presence that rivaled most front men.
     
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  14. Veech

    Veech Space In Sounds

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I like his voice enough to pretend that Coverdale/Page was the Zep album we never got.

     
  15. Nostaljack

    Nostaljack Resident R&B enthusiast

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    David's voice was astonishing! I loved his bluesy wail. I'm hardly an expert on him but the hair metal stuff was full of excellent songwriting and great singing.

    Today? His voice is simply shot. He has nothing left. Still, when he had it, he had it in immensity.

    Ed
     
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  16. dlokazip

    dlokazip Forum Transient

    Location:
    Austin, TX, USA
    First of all, I don't understand all of the criticism of his screaming. I find it one of his strong points. To each his own.

    Coverdale struggled with both vocal control and stage presence with Purple, even though he acquitted himself nicely.

    The early Whitesnake years were clearly his watershed. His voice was in its prime and he had become a masterful front man. I really like how he would throw in a few bars of "Soldier Of Fortune" at the end of either "Mistreated" or "Crying In The Rain" on those early 80's tours.

    It's weird that he seemed to have to pay his dues after the overnight fame with Purple, but he was smart enough, talented enough, and hard working enough to pay them.

    There are impressive moments on the 1987 album, Coverdale Page, and Starkers In Tokyo, but to me, nothing will equal his vocal work from Snakebite through Slide It In.
     
  17. zen

    zen Senior Member

  18. davers

    davers Forum Resident

    I saw Coverdale for the first time live during Whitesnake's 2015 tour (when he sang some of the old Purple songs), and was pretty astonished at how good he sounded. Granted, the backing vocals in the band likely masked any shortcomings, but it was a really good show. "Still Of The Night" was a showstopper!

    Overall, one of my favorite Coverdale vocals is the Whitesnake cover of "Heart Of The City".
     
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  19. Nick Drake fan

    Nick Drake fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    My only problem with Coverdale is that he too closely apes Robert Plant.
     
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  20. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Is that a visual problem?
    He sure doesn't sound like Robert Plant to me. Especially in his Purple days...and that's the era I listen to DC.
     
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  21. dbz

    dbz Bolinhead.

    Location:
    Live At Leeds (UK)
    I've always suspected that was just for Japan, aping Gillan's fun with the crowd from MIJ. He went to great lengths to say he was tired of screaming his butt off and wanted to sing in interviews in the 70's. But occasionally he did come out with a few screams to the audience, just nothing like Last Concert In Japan.
     
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  22. dbz

    dbz Bolinhead.

    Location:
    Live At Leeds (UK)
    just because a lot of old threads were, when the forum moved. There's nothing contentious or controversial in it, (apart from some of my points ;)). It's just archived. You can read it here-

    David Coverdale: Why The Hatred? ยป
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2016
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  23. Nick Drake fan

    Nick Drake fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    Being a Plant sound-alike has hounded Coverdale since the 1980's. I remember interviews back then where he'd get pissed when asked about it. And I mean listen to "In The Still Of The Night" - that's way obvious.
     
  24. DPM

    DPM Senior Member

    Location:
    Nevada, USA
    That Plant-sound-alike tag only really began when he started pushing his baritone voice up into the tenor range beginning with the 1987 album. Back in his Deep Purple days and during Whitesnake's more bluesy period he sounded nothing like Plant. In fact, he sounded much more like Paul Rodgers.
     
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  25. Cooks420

    Cooks420 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    Gregster:

    It's actually written out as:
    "EEERE'S ASONG FORYAA!!"

    :)
     
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