By Monk
It was 1993. The hair metal movement had expended the last of its ‘spray and had been over-taken by grungier, dirtier vibes. One of the biggest, most iconic, most recognizable bands on the scene were put on what seemed to be an indefinite hiatus, with their lead singer deciding to explore more diverse musical directions, leaving three of the musicians who had helped propel him to the top of the arena-selling bills in somewhat of a state of limbo. No that they decided to hang about, as they did what they did best and that was continue making music… and so it was that Whitesnake members Adrian Vandenberg, Rudi Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge found themselves putting together this one-off album, now re-released to mark its 30th anniversary.
If anyone was expecting the sort of huge MTV-friendly AOR anthemics with which the charismatic Coverdale had propelled the triptych of musicians into the global spotlight via the likes of the ‘1987’ and ‘Slip Of The Tongue’ albums, then they would have been sorely disappointed, as the resulting album saw the musicians – abetted by Little Caesar vocalist Ron Young, who it could be argued as also stepping outside his comfort zone to collaborate on this one-off project – returning to their musical roots and especially progenitor Vandenberg’s love of bands such as Cream, Mountain, Free and, perhaps somewhat ironically given the circumstances of its genesis, Led Zeppelin.
Very much rooted in the sort of blues rock that also inspired the original incarnation of the band with which three-quarters of ME made their names, this is a powerful collection of songs which sounds like everyone involved just having fun, laying down a few riffs, experimenting with them, seeing what develops and aiming to please no one but themselves and, maybe, those of a like-minded mentality. I count myself among the latter (even if it did take me three decades to get in on the vibe!).
If this album was recorded today, the media would be crawling all over it as a herald of the much-vaunted NWoCR movement. And, yes it sounds fresh and vibrant enough to stand proudly alongside anything the renascent genre can produce. This may be a snapshot of a moment in time, but it also proves that not only can time standstill but snapshots live long beyond their initial creation, especially if given the proper amount of TLC in the interim. Few projects like this have stood the test of time. Manic Eden has passed that test with flying colours.
- ‘Manic Eden‘ is released tomorrow (Friday 12 April).
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