DOUG ALDRICH: DAVID COVERDALE Could Write A Song With Anybody And It Would Be A WHITESNAKE Song

Rob Laing of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with WHITESNAKE guitarist Doug Aldrich. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: It really sounds like "Forevermore" has got something for every fan of the different eras of WHITESNAKE…

Doug: "I really just wanted to find some music that was inspiring for David [Coverdale, vocals]. If we're both excited about a song, we have to let that song be what it's going to be. When you get down the road and you've got a group of songs then it starts to take shape, you can see where you are. It wasn't a conscious decision to represent the different eras of WHITESNAKE on the record but it's turned out that way."

MusicRadar.com: It seems like this album has a bluesier, more organic feel compared to the last one, "Good To Be Bad"…

Doug: "It was a little difficult once we did 'Good To Be Bad' to say, now we're going to bring it down, make it a little more bluesy and not quite as heavy. That's what I was hoping to do — make it a little more song-orientated, a little less about the shredding and the bombastic stuff."

MusicRadar.com: There are new members for this album and tour with Brian Tichy on drums and Michael Devin on bass. Was the whole lineup around for recording more with this album compared with the last one?

Doug: "David said, 'I really want this to be a band record.' He hired a house — he actually hired two houses. I have a nice little property, it's a suburban L.A. house but not a big house. This house David rented was amazing — it probably had a better view of Lake Tahoe than his own home. You could reach out and grab the lake! It was a mansion and amazing but it wasn't conducive to work. The view just made you want to go out and have a couple of beers! We'd started the basic tracks but hadn't got into the heavy guitar overdubs and singing. But we ended up moving to a new house down the hill, in the woods and with no view. I'll tell you man, it was a killer vibe in that place — we started kicking ass. Everybody was focused on the record and we'd do 16-hour days in the studio. Reb [Beach, guitar] would come to town, or Michael Devin and these guys were working for two weeks straight. But we had a lot of fun and it's definitely more of a band record."

MusicRadar.com: The general perception is that WHITESNAKE is David Coverdale, but you've helped bring about a renaissance for the band as a creative force with the last album and now "Forevermore". That's something you must feel very proud of?

Doug: "To be dead serious with you, I don't think it matters in the long run. It makes me feel good on the day we create things musically, and it makes me feel good for a minute when we're talking about it. But once that's done I don't really think about those things. I appreciate you saying that but I think the fans just want a good song and a good lyric. David's got the vocals to deliver it and he's the one that makes it or breaks it. You can have great chord progressions, great riffs, great grooves but with this type of music you've got to have a guy who can sing like David and write lyrics and songs like David. He really delivers — he makes whatever he's working on that much more special. That's why he is who he is. David could write a song with anybody and it would be a WHITESNAKE song. I feel really lucky David and I met and we are able to work together. I do feel like I can be helpful to see his vision through and do it as much as I can without an ego and an agenda. I do have an ego but I try not to."

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.