Whitesnake / Rafters 1978 / 1CD

The truth about the earliest WHITESNAKEs is brought back to life with “Bernie Tapes”, which was treasured by the late Bernie Marsden himself! Four works will be released at the same time on a press CD that will permanently preserve the highest quality updated sound through meticulous mastering!!
The four consecutive works released at the same time are all very early live albums that convey 1978, when WHITESNAKE had just started. It is also a hidden treasure that Barney himself personally visited our store and offered it to us. This work is the second in a series of four such works. This is a very thick audience recording of “March 21, 1978 Rafters Club Performance”. This work, along with the simultaneously released “MUSIC MACHINE 1978 (Zodiac 611)”, is a special within a special, and is actually the most important work in this quartet. In order to explain its meaning, let’s first look back at the history of the White Snake right after its start.

●1977
・December 16th-22nd: First rehearsal with 5 members
●1978
《February 13th: Brian Johnston joins》
・March 3rd – 31st: UK #1 (17 performances) ←★Here★
《Brian leaves → Pete Thorley joins》
《April 7th-13th “SNAKEBITE” production》
・April 25th – July 9th: Europe (6 performances) ← *LYCEUM 1978
《Pete leaves → Jon Lord joins》
[“TROUBLE” completed on August 12th] ・October 26th – November 23rd: UK #2 (17 performances) ← *BRIGHTON 1978

This is WHITESNAKE from 1977/1978. Three keyboard players have been replaced before “TROUBLE”, and you can enjoy all of them in this four-part series of Barney Tapes. Let’s check the members of each of the four works here.

●Brian Johnston era
・March 18th “MUSIC MACHINE 1978”
・March 21st: Manchester performance ←★This work★
●Pete Thorley era
・July 9th “LYCEUM 1978”
●John Lord era
・November 1st “BRIGHTON 1978 SOUNDBOARD”

…and it looks like this. This work and “MUSIC MACHINE 1978” are the most valuable records of the era of the first Brian Johnston. In the first place, these two books are all the records of the sound of Johnston’s era. And, the most important thing is that “this work has a sound better than “MUSIC MACHINE 1978””. In other words, it is the best masterpiece of the phantom Johnston era WHITESNAKE (no sound board left, let alone the official one).
In fact, the sound of this work is not just “MUSIC MACHINE 1978 or better”, but is so wonderful that it deserves to be called a masterpiece. “MUSIC MACHINE 1978” had a sound that had an undeniable sense of distance, but this work is completely on and direct without any sense of distance. It has the feeling of a closed room in a club, but the separate feeling of the twin guitars and chorus is so wonderful that it cannot be explained by that alone, and it really feels like the sound of a person involved.
Moreover, this work is the highest peak updated edition that brushes up the close sound. At the time of the first excavation disc “COME TASTE THE BAND (Disc 1)”, it was praised as “the best recording of early WHITESNAKE”, but this work has further adjusted the balance of each range based on band analysis. The treble has become much clearer, and the sense of separation from the mid-low range has also improved. It realizes even more sound board-like vividness.
What is depicted with such a masterpiece sound is the extremely rare “original WHITESNAKE full show”. Although the set itself is the same as the sister work “MUSIC MACHINE 1978”, I would like to repeat it here.

●White Snake (3 songs)
・Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City／Steal Away／Belgian Tom’s Hat Trick
●Others (7 songs)
・Purple: Lady Luck (★)／Mistreated／Lady Double Dealer
・Solo: Lady (★)/Breakdown (Whitesnake Mama)
・Other covers: Rock Me Baby/Going Down (★★)
*Note: Songs marked with “★” were not performed after Jon Lord joined. In particular, songs marked with “★★” are exclusive to Johnston’s era.

“Lady Double Dealer” and “Breakdown/Whitesnake Mama”, which were missing in “MUSIC MACHINE 1978”, are seamlessly and completely included. This is a magnificent full live album worthy of being called a masterpiece. It is an absolute work of the “Johnston era” where no official works or soundboards were left behind, and one of the most important pieces of Bernie tapes. A press CD that updates its highest peak. Please, everyone, don’t miss it.

★A very thick audience recording of “March 21, 1978 Rafters Club Performance” provided by the late Bernie Marsden himself. It’s completely on and direct without any sense of distance. In addition to the feeling of a closed room in a club, the separate feeling of the twin guitars and chorus is also wonderful. This is a full live album that is the best masterpiece of the original White Snake (Brian Johnston era) with no official work or soundboard remaining.