Adrian Vandenberg on Steve Vai's Playing on Whitesnake's 1989 Album, "He went berzerk," Hand Injury
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- This excerpt was taken from a full in bloom interview with guitarist Adrian Vandenberg.
Adrian talks about working with Steve Vai on Whitesnake's 1989 album, 'Slip of the Tongue,' the hand injury that prevented him from playing on the record, and his thoughts on a Whitesnake reunion.
Adrian Vandenberg on Whitesnake Outselling Motley Crue on the 1987 Girls Tour, Texxas Jam:
• Adrian Vandenberg on W...
Adrian Talks About the Whitesnake 1987 Album-Tour:
• Whitesnake 1987 Album-...
Adrian Talks Whitesnake's Slip of the Tongue Album full interview:
• Whitesnake Slip of the...
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Intro & outro taken from "The Parting" by FOOL OF FATE:
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#Whitesnake #SteveVai #VanHalen #DavidLeeRoth #VivianCampbell #TommyAldridge
Steve Vai's end solo on "Sailing Ships" is incredible.
Slip of the Tongue is one of the greatest albums of all time. It's phenomenal.
This is what makes Adrian Vandenberg one of my all time favorite guitarists. He’s absolutely down to earth and has no ego. Dude’s a fuckin’ bad ass!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
He actually did have an ego he tried to get Vivian fired
Vais playing on that album was perfect. I love every note on the album
Yes the notes were perfect. But were they the right notes? I didn't think so...
@@DMDvideo10 to me they were. The album is magic
@@jackbtlr17
But is it good magic or _bad_ magic..?
@@dududu5189 the best
I became a fan of Whitesnake because of Steve Vai. He was pretty amazing on the record. I did not care for the covers he played live in concert. But the originals from that album were spot on. And his remake of Fool for your loving was so much better than the original. But it is all about taste...
I met Adrian Vandenberg at the NAMM convention in Chicago in the late 80s, he doesn't even act like a rock star. I was actually looking at his Peavey signature guitar models that were on display and he came walking around the corner looks up and says 'HI, what you think?' I looked back up at the big lit up picture of him above the guitars, then back at him again, yep that's him 😂 was super polite, I asked for his autograph and the finish on the paper I had was glossy and the pen wouldn't write, he tries 3 or 4 times and he apologized that the pen wouldn't work. He was the nicest celebrity I have ever met. I was only 15 at the time so it was a very big deal to me. And I also remember thinking damn this guy is tall 🤣
I did a meet and greet experience with Vai a few years back and someone asked him about joining Whitesnake and Steve was incredibly complimentary about Adrian as a person and player 🙏
My friend's and I saw Adrian Vandenberg open for Ozzy in Port Huron, MI early 83. We stopped at a restaurant on the way home and who walks in, Adrian and a roadie or his guitar tech, not sure. We were young teens and we thought it was so cool to see him outside in a normal setting. We approached him and he was all smiles, just really cool about it as we were we reminiscing about his performance just hours ago. We let him have his peace and when we were leaving he waved and said, nice meeting you guys, how cool is that!?
No shit. I saw Vandenberg open for Ozzy in 83 in Biloxi Mississippi. They blew me away they were a good band. I have all there albums.
So many people have mixed feeling about Slip of The Tongue, and they always say Steve was not a good fit for WS, but I remember buying that record when it came out and being totally blown by it. To me it’s one of the best records to come out that year, and Vai’s playing is totally amazing in it. Actually it’s the only WS album I really like.
Slip is a superb album. It's not a traditionally blues/rock Whitesnake album, so not one for the purists, but in terms of that Anglo/American thing Coverdale was doing, it stands out as a superb record. I never liked Vai's solo music, but in a band he is superb. The Roth stuff is also superb.
@@simonlloyd7557 I agree! Vai is at his best when he’s playing in someone else’s band.
Bingo Estudiando!
Same here
@@simonlloyd7557 Vai's Sex and Religion is also great, but that was more of a rock band thing than Vai at maximum quirkiness. That and Devon's amazing voice are what make it my favorite Vai album. Devy was like Bono on roids.
Over the top? Slip of the tongue has such a unique sound and is an absolute KILLER of an album. My god the hours/days I’ve listened to that album. I even got to meet Steve once and I especially mentioned his work on that album, and he was like: wow, not many have mentioned my work on that album. Well for me it sounds magical. I’m all about serving the song and all that jazz, but on that album I find the whole thing beautiful.
Agreed! My favorite Whitesnake album by far. Love Vai's playing on it.
Vai did a great job on that record.
Adrian is so underrated. His stuff with Vandenberg was killer.
Adrian is a class act, seen him live a couple times and he always nails it, Adrian and Vivian Campbell were hot live when they opened for Cruë around 88' +Aldridge/Sarzo. Whitesnake absolutely blew Motley Cruë out of the water! The consensus after the show amongst the crowd was Whitesnake should have been the headliner!
People say Vai was over the top or it didn't sound like WS etc etc.. People can't compare 1989 slip of the tongue to early 80's Whitesnake or even 87's WS. The music scene in the 80's was changing so much, so fast, Slip of the Tongue w/ Vai to me was just part of WS's growth and evolution. It's a great album and it still sounds like Whitesnake because it's Dave's voice and his and Adrians songs. Was it bluesy? No, but 87 WS album wasn't as bluesy as the previous WS albums, like I said to me it seemed like part of the evolution, with 87' they were getting more rock and radio friendly obviously so for me Slip was just fine.
Whitesnake started veering towards a more arena rock-esque hard rock/heavy metal direction from 1984 onwards with Slide It In. It is an album that bridges the gap between their blues rock past and their pop metal type future. The change on Slip of the Tongue was certainly not an overnight thing.
I'm glad that Whitesnake have such diversity to their entire discography and that they took advantage of changing musical landscapes of the time. In the latter half of the 80's, especially from 1984 onwards, flashy guitar solos and metal guitars were the rage.
@@vinaymulukutla358 yep... exactly.
There are some amazing songs on Slip Of The Tongue album. I have always loved Judgement Day, Wings Of The Storm, Sailing Ships, and the title track big time.
Really awesome to hear Vandenberg talk about Vai. Two incredible guitarists. 🤘🏻
This is such a great interview. Adrian is right, once music becomes a competitive situation, it ceases to become a band/musical adventure.
yup it begets all of the competiveness but none of the ''heart''
Was and is still a great album ...Vai killed it
Vai was awesome on that album. My favorite WS album to this day.
I love Slip of The Tongue! An underrated masterpiece!
Technically it is the best Whitesnake album ever, IMHO.
Adrian Vandenberg deserves credit for his great attitude and maturity!
Another great moment on Full in Bloom! I saw that tour and was a MASSIVE Vai fan but now being older I dont really listen to that Album. You just CANNOT Touch what Sykes and Covey poo did for WS during 87’ its just PURE BLISS for us player/ writers. Much respect to EVERY lineup though! And dont forget Aldrich’s amazing work 🎶🎸
@D M awesome Comment DM!
Slip of the tongue is one of my favourite albums of all time. Dark side of the moon is another.
🎸🙋♀️Vandenberg is such a sweetheart🥰 Musically, he, Sykes & Vai are all awesome in their own style. Love them all.
This is my favorite whitesnake album. Steve killed it..
Ditto
Love Adrian but Steve made it phenomenal and the tour was amazing
Steve Vai was amazing on the record. However, it doesn’t have that classic Whitesnake sound. I do like John Sykes playing on Whitesnake better than Vai’s on Slip of the Tongue. Both great records but Whitesnake 1987 is an all time great.
Have you heard Rebs songs with Whitesnake? On Flesh and Blood
Well put. No one is saying Vai isn't great but his style is not really metal and Whitesnake was Metal.
Agreed
Absolutely 1987 blows slip of the tongue away...
I agree. While I lived Slip of the Tongue, it didn’t have the Whitesnake feel because Steve was forced to play all the parts.
So Adrian was playing and touring with a double neck hernia. Badass!
I remember when Vai was playing the guitar like a piano on the stage in one of those Whitesnake videos. It was over the top, but that's Steve. I've been a fan since Eat'em And Smile and Crossroads, but only of certain songs. He was awesome to see with Satriani on a G3 tour. But Eat'em will probably always be my favorite album he played on. Every note is just perfect. It was the first album/tape I bought as a kid. Kinda set the bar high..
Came here to say the same thing GetzGoth said. I like eat em but like skyscrapper even more
@@GetzGoth i got to see him for that tour. Incredible! Only time I've seen him live
Steve beat Ralph.
EVH was playing his guitar like a piano on the 1984 tour. Wonder where Vai got that idea? LOL
@@JokersWild70 i stood right in front of him and watched him do it for the Diver down tour in 82
That album its top notch steve had that burden on his shoulders doing all the parts leads and rythms..the sound of the guitar of that album its so clean and perfect..👌👌
I got to see Vai on that tour. He was a good compliment with Adrian. They worked very well together.
Sensationalism. Everyone always compare to one another regarding craft. We’re all good but none of us will never ever be as good as Eddie Van Halen.
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT!! :"Music is NOT a competition."
It's a language , and different "dialects" , different languages /genres etc.. - it's creation and communication.
It has been said a gazillion times and usually by people who feel they've lost the "competition". Musicians who truly don't compete wouldn't even think about the analogy...
Agreed completely but sadly you still get people in the scene who treat it like a massive fretboard sausagefest.
I watched Vai and Vandenberg during two different shows. Vandenberg was completely dusted both nights. I felt sorry for him. He was supposed to be Coverdale's big replacement for John Sykes(that guy who wrote all the killer songs on '87 lol). Vai chewed him up and spit him out every night and without effort. Only someone who got schooled like he did would make a remark about "competition" like that. lol It's like the guy with the little d#$k who says "It's not the size of the pencil, it's how you sign your name" lol Vandenberg should have bowed out of that tour and saved himself the embarrassment and his dignity. Yeah, It was that bad. It's not like Steve Vai couldn't have played all the guitar parts anyway. Me personally, I wish Coverdale would have not been so damn greedy and brought Sykes back into the fold. He wrote such a great album and Coverdale knew it was gonna be a hit. In all the shitty things I've seen band leaders do, David Coverdale did by far the shittiest thing in R&R history to Sykes. He even beat Ozzy and the Lee Kerslake/Bob Daisley royalty thing, in one move and that was really shit sub-human crap right there! Coverdale is a greedy low life all-time scumbag, for what he did to Sykes. He rode the talent of another musician making millions by using the Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne formula. Get the best out of them, take all the credit, and then screw them on the long term royalties!
@@richardcurtis2693 yah- you got a good point , there. My comment is more into reference to a player's style and "voice" . Sure, Vai's much more distinct than Vandenberg - but Adrian writes cool shit, too - IMO. Different guitar players shine in different aspects and areas in music, to me.
Adrian is a good dude met him in 92
I’ve been waiting to hear about this, thanx!
You gotta remember Vai went to the Zappa School of Music, so his attitude was in check.
I always felt bad about Adrian being shoved aside by the whole situation.
Vai was great but really had his own gig and avenue to follow.
Vandenberg has always taken the high road and kept positive about the past.
I saw the band with that lineup in Indianapolis right when that album came out. Very good concert. They had one particular tune where each player took and extended solo. Vai was excellent, but Vandenberg was a lot more "musical" in his playing. Great tone and he played with on an emotional level that was transcendent. I was very, very impressed with his playing. It was great to hear them both though and that was a great lineup!
I got to see them on this tour. It was great live.
Me too...it was an awesome show.
Ditto...Orlando Florida, It was an AMAZING Show!
John Sykes hands down 🤘
🤘❤🇨🇦
Is this love solo and still the night solo
When I heard that solo on 'Wings of the Storm' WTF was that! One of the all time great solo's....ever!
💥💯
My favorite WS album. Vai is excellent in it.
Vandenberg is absolutely right. There's no competition in music 🎶 because music is like art.
music IS art.
@@simonlloyd7557 no shit Sherlock I KNOW MUSIC IS ART! Quit correcting me you gaslighting control freak!
@@centaurus5676 absolutely and it would be also boring if everyone sound like Yngvie Malmsteem.
He has a great attitude.
Vandenberg is a class act, and looks like an absolute rock god. Let's face it...the entire Vai/Whitesnake thing was largely a marketing strategy.
i saw them at the UK Monsters of Rock Festival with Vai that year..It was a stunning show...
Excellent interview for real ..:)
everyone wants to sound just like a copy of something they've already hear and been familiar with STEVE VAI is one of the greatest innovators because he copied nobody's sound. He didn't want to be EVH or MALMSTEEN. He made is own path. This album is legendary because of it.
What about Tommy Aldridge filling in for bands over the years. Great drummer.
Tommy is extraordinary!
Loved his work with The Pat Travers Band
@@riseofthemachine2623 Boom Boom , out go the lights.
Tommy is one of the all time greats! And still kickin ass today!
I can’t believe how good he still plays. One of the greats!!
Saw this tour in Hampton Rhoads, VA and caught Tommy’s towel. Front row! Kix was the opener and For Shame was awesome live. Steve Whiteman can choke a harp; had a bandolier of harps on and was a gunslinger. Steve Vai was amazing playing the double neck heart guitar and the mirror covered one. Great memories
It is Whitesnake's best album for me.
I love SOTT. Am I alone in thinking Vai is actually buried in the mix a little? I'd like a remix!
Coverdale had 4 of the worlds best guitar players and probably still was not happy.
3? Vivian, Sykes, Vai, and Vandenberg.
@@MrOctober44 Sorry, forgot about Campbell.
Moody, Marsden, Galley. All great players:
Not counting Deep Purple are we?
I meant in this time period.
I saw them live on that tour, I went to the concert specifically to see Steve. I thought Adrian's guitar solo was much better than Steve's - Adrian really caught me off guard with his talent.
Coverdale has played with Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin , John Sykes , Vandenberg, Jimmy Page, Steve Vai , Doug Aldrich etc. I don't know of many singers who can say they've played with a more impressive bunch of guitarists.
Eric Clapton, Ozzy, BB King, etc sang on stage w/ legendary guitar players
Mickey Moody, Bernie Marsden, Mel Galley.
Graham Bonnett
David Lee Roth - Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Jason Becker, John 5, Steve Hunter, and Eddie Van Halen again.
DLR is the most impressive in my opinion. Eddie Van Halen, Vai and then Jason Becker. That's just unbelievable.
"Slip..." still remains the best Whitesnake album to date IMO. Van and Vai were both great on that album. WS could have had another guitar player on it, but if you do invite Vai to your creation, you get what you asked for.
This channel fucking rocks.
He's absolutely right. Music is subjective . I'm a guitar player and I would gladly share with a great guitar player like Steve.
Great interview..
hehe..I used to have a black Peavey Vandenberg guitar back in the day...I'd love to get my hands on that thing again..It was more 80's than big hair, spandex, roller boots, day glo and Walkmans.
I have red Vandy 😉
I didn't get the best of both worlds (i.e. guitarists) on that album, but I got one and I'm happy about most of it.
That album made me want to play some of those songs. 'Sailing ships' has always stuck with me. Producing such an album is still a dream for anyone into rock, so I ain't complainin'. Writing such good stuff also shows great talent.
Adrian is my kind of earthy guy and player but Vai could be like a musical E.T.
On a sidenote, if I were David, I'd tell Adrian he could use the master tapes and make his own version of it (at own expense) as long as it met acceptable standard and have it quietly released as a kind of extra WS product that Adrian could promote to his likings. But I have no clue if it is important to Adrian anymore. By the way I enjoyed the lesser known acoustic live duo recording Starkers in Tokyo and I still have it. So small projects can be important as well.
Loved slip of the tongue but I was always curious what vandenberg could bring.
Adrian seems like a cool guy.
Slip of the Tongue is my favorite WS album.
Vandenberg, Sykes, and Coverdale look like brothers.
Slip of the tounge masterpiece album... And the best personals in WS
Slip is WhiteSnakes best cd. I love it!
I was at 2 shows in 87..The crowd were overwhelmingly there to see CRUE..observation of live show..I seen Whitesnake open for Quiet Riot..86..the crowd were overwhelmingly rocking more with Whitesnake..Condition Critical QR tour...may have been late 85.
I saw that tour in August /87 up in the Pocono mountains outdoors at the old Pocono downs racetrack, I thought Whitesnake was every bit as good as Crue the night I saw them !
I am not certain it was Vai's playing so much as his overall tone that made that album so different. His playing is clearly more modern but in some cases that works well. A great album overall although I am interested in what it would have sounded with Vandenberg's playing.
Via kicked ass hard on slip!! Nothing he did was over the top! It was pure guitar heaviness that made a awesome record! It probably wouldn't have been the hit album it is without Via.
It's funny, you always think of Vandenberg and Campbell as the guitar players for Whitesnake in the late 80s, but neither hardly played on any of the albums during that era.
Slip of the tongue was incredible favorite w.s album guitar was🔥 he gave it the spice it needed . more is more exciting to the ear
Well, I like that Adrian sounds pretty mature about the whole situation. A lot of people can get really petty. I remember the injury because I was in H.S. at the time and WS had a string of hits. I saw them on the Slip of the Tongue tour and they were great. I think Faster Pussycat opened up (uggh). Personally, while I feel bad for Adrian, I liked the end result on Slip.
Faster Pussycat. Tried listening to them just last weekend. Had to turn it off.
If you listen to every band vai has been in from Alcatraz to whitesnake he has put his stamp on every one....there's very few players with there own sound and there's even less with there own sound and style....vai has both...you instantly know when your listening to him...he is not a true shredder as he says himself ..he is just out on his own
Even though Steve Vai was fantastic in handling all of the guitar work on this album and that it took advantage of his phenomenal skills in shred guitar, one of the biggest disappointments for me on Slip of the Tongue is the fact that Adrian never got to play a single note on the album due to his injury. At least he appears on the album in the form of songwriting.
Awesome!
Class Act . Vandenberg rules
I think Vai was epic on that album personally.
Steve vai is a musical guitar playing icon. He is there to leave his stamp.
Basically it's not a "Whitesnake" album but it's really great for what it is.
Thanks I love these
Steve Vai happening to Whitesnake was GOD &he helped Shoot Whitesnake into Super Stardom sold out Arena's and Stadium's Concerts & it was Absolutely Spectacular and Terrific 👍😁💯🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆*****
They were already there from the previous album... I bought Slip of the Tongue, gave it one listen and never heard it again...
You could just as easily lay SOTT on Vanderburg's feet too, that was the only album he recorded with WS; he was brought in after Sykes left/fired(?)) finished recording WS to make the videos (with Viv as well) and to tour.
Blue murder was bad ass
I don't think the problem with SOTT was that Vai was overplaying, it was his weak tone and weedly weeldly whammy bar abuse. Also I think the whole "Whitesnake is a blues band" thing is overstated. Their biggest album (the one everyone remembers) is practically metal and all the solos on it except Is This Love were shredded to pieces.
Thank you for bringing the sanity to the conversation 🙏
The same could be said of John Sykes on 1987, he went pretty berserk on that album - to great effect I might say. I like Adrian very much, but I don’t think Vai had anything to apologise for, he played brilliantly on SOTT - as frustrating as that must have been for Adrian having written the songs and not being able to play in them himself. SOTT is my favourite Whitesnake by far.
Listen to tygers of pan tang spellbound album and thin lizzy thunder and lightning with John Sykes . Those 2 albums ROCK!
I agree. Although Steve is a tremendous guitar player, I always thought his playing didn’t fit the more blues based Whitesnake material. I never thought he was a very good rhythm player either.
Slip Of The Tongue is excellent. And yes, Vai is over the top. Don't like it? Don't think it fits? Maybe Vandenberg should complain to Coverdale. He hired Vai and knew exactly what he wanted.
Who says he is complaining? The man gives his opinion. Coverdale wasn't too fond of Slip Of The Tongue himself afterwards. Gee... could it be that Vai grabbed his and Vandenberg's songs and decorated them like a tacky Christmas tree? Don't get me wrong: phenomenal guitar work, I love that album - also because I hear Vandenberg songwriting in them - but there is a reason why the sound of David Coverdale's Whitesnake went from Slip Of The Tongue to Restless Heart, and it is not because he loved Slip Of The Tongue so much all he wanted to do next is make albums he likes less.
@@Mrpretpakket You're wrong. Coverdale never said that. You're making shit up. Post the proof or shut the fuck up.
I really love whatever Vai did in these years,Alcatrazz,Roth,Passion and warfare but in Slip of the tongue was simply a shredder,empty playing,just what a mercenary would do,I prefer what Sykes did in 1987
Sharing
Agree with Adrian - needed to be more Whitesnakey!
For sure. I hate that over-processed sound Vai always has.
No doubt, Guitar parts on that album are great. I think if Vai didn’t use so much harmonizer it would sounded lot better
My favoritre white snake album and my favorite vai album. Slip of the tongue
So why didn’t they have Vandenberg re-record the Slip of the Tongue material for the massive re-release it got a couple of years ago?
I was fortunate to see Adrian and Steve live together in Sacramento. Steve is so boisterous compared to Adrian. It was a great show
Some people believe that if a guitar lick or riff or solo is difficult to execute , it must be good. But some of the best and most memorable ones are not particularly hard to play. I respect Vai and his resume speaks for itself but I have to admit I prefer the Whitesnake material with Bernie and Sykes and Vandenberg . Whitesnake started out as a blues rock band and to me that's what they do best. Slip of the Tongue didn't do much for me. 1987 or whatever people want to call it was a remarkable hard rock album but I think Slide It In will always be my favorite album of theirs.
As a guitar player for many years, I have always felt like gunslingers were very competitive. George, Jake, Warren, etc., who I learned from and followed closely, always seemed to one up. Ok players like me didn't have that mentality, but the Michael Jordan's of guitar players are definitely competitive. I liked Steve's stuff in WS, but I preferred Vivian/Adrian.
Vai brought WS to a new level 🤘🏽
Interviewer comment was wrong. Vai was a great fit. My favorite white snake
Steve Vai has said in interviews that back then he was a prick to people and his ego had gotten out of control. It speaks volumes about Vandenberg's class that he put up with that shit and even in this interview is not talking bad about Vai. I loved Slip of the Tongue, I thought it was a great album and Vai's rhythm playing is outstanding on that album, not just his solos
Adrian is that solid team player & diplomat you need in your squad.. Vai simply cannot write songs for Coverdale and would have been fired eventually.. Still, I enjoyed the album back then..
@@centaurus5676 Well, Frank Zappa seemed to think highly of Vai, and FZ did not suffer fools. Vai also created Passion and Warfare which is arguably one of the best guitar/instrumental albums ever crafted, so there’s that… but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He’s been hired so many times because he’s THAT good and it affords him the ability to be create music he wants to produce, even if there’s little market.
@@centaurus5676 Vai was a profitable formula for Coverdale. Adding Vai also got his fans to attend the WS tour.. I will never dispute Vai's presence. Every project he is involved in will draw some crowd. Every time he played back in the day, a new portal to some new dimension opened up.
Vai RUINED the album, there is no debate on that. Saturating it with musical flatulence. But the worst thing was Vai's annoying over processed guitar tone, which was not suited to Whitesnake.
You either love or hate Vai's over the top playing...He IS over the top...but that's what makes Slip of the Tongue stand out from the other albums...The 70's and 80's were over...the 90's were comin in...