Live...in the Heart of the City is a 1980 live album by English rock band Whitesnake. Originally released as a double-vinyl album, and double-play cassette, it utilises recordings made in 1978 and 1980. The album charted at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart with Platinum certification,[7] and number 146 on the Billboard 200.[8] The Classic Rock magazine in 2011 and 2023 placed it among the best live albums ever.[9][10]
| Live...in the Heart of the City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Jeff Cummins | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 3 November 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | 23 November 1978 23 and 24 June 1980 | |||
| Venue | Hammersmith Odeon, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 80:22 | |||
| Label | Liberty/EMI (UK and Germany) Mirage/Atlantic (North America) Polydor (Japan) United Artists (Rest of the world) | |||
| Producer | Martin Birch | |||
| Whitesnake chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Live at Hammersmith cover | ||||
 1980 Japanese live LP. | ||||
| Singles from Live...in the Heart of the City | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Classic Rock |  [4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 5/10[5] |
| MusicHound Rock | [6] |
Release
editSides 1 and 2 of the vinyl are recordings made with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at the Hammersmith Odeon, during the band's 1980 World Tour.
Sides 3 and 4 are from a 1978 recording, previously released in Japan in March 1980 as Live at Hammersmith.[11]
In North America, the album was released as a single record, excluding the live material from 1978.[12]
The first UK CD version (EMI CZD 94) was a double set, issued in 1988, in what is now known as a 'fat-boy' double-CD case. Sides 1 and 2 of the 2-LP set were CD1; sides 3 and 4 were CD2.[citation needed]
The later 1994 release was a single CD version, the 1978 recording of "Come On" being dropped to match the restrictive running time of the single CD.[citation needed]
Live...in the Heart of the City has since been remastered and was released in March 2007 as a 2-CD set (in a slimline double-CD case), once again featuring all the tracks of the original album, plus a 1980 recording of "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City".[citation needed] In February 2011 it was released as a red vinyl 2-LP.[13]
The 1978 performance of Might Just Take Your Life, originally recorded by singer David Coverdale and keyboardist Jon Lord as members of Deep Purple in 1974, featured guitarist Bernie Marsden singing the middle eight part as originally sung by Glenn Hughes on the Deep Purple recording.
The sleeve art is by British artist Jeff Cummins.[citation needed]
"We were sent on some silly promotional stunt for the album that involved a circus elephant," recalled David Coverdale. "Yes, an elephant, not a snake. Lord knows why".[9]
Reception
editIn a 2023 retrospective "Album Of The Week Club review", Classic Rock gave it a 4.5/5 stars, considering it a great live album, one of band's masterpieces that has stood well the test of time.[4] The same magazine in 2011 included it on the list of "Live Albums That Changed the World",[9] and in 2023 placed it as 38th out of 50 on the list of best live albums ever.[10]
Track listing
editLive in the Heart of the City (23/24 June 1980)
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | From the album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On" | David Coverdale, Bernie Marsden | Snakebite (1978) | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Sweet Talker" | Coverdale, Marsden | Ready an' Willing (1980) | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues" | Coverdale, Marsden | Lovehunter (1979) | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Love Hunter" | Coverdale, Micky Moody, Marsden | Lovehunter | 10:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | From the album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Fool for Your Loving" | Coverdale, Moody, Marsden | Ready an' Willing | 4:58 |
| 6. | "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" | Coverdale, Moody | Ready an' Willing | 6:21 |
| 7. | "Ready an' Willing" | Coverdale, Moody, Neil Murray, Jon Lord, Ian Paice | Ready an' Willing | 4:46 |
| 8. | "Take Me with You" | Coverdale, Moody | Trouble (1978) | 6:28 |
Live at Hammersmith (23 November 1978)
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | From the album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On" | Coverdale, Marsden | Snakebite | 3:32 |
| 2. | "Might Just Take Your Life" (Deep Purple cover) | Coverdale, Ritchie Blackmore, Lord, Paice | Burn (1974) | 4:55 |
| 3. | "Lie Down" | Coverdale, Moody | Trouble | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" (Bobby Bland cover) | Michael Price, Dan Walsh | Snakebite | 6:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | From the album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Trouble" | Coverdale, Marsden | Trouble | 4:56 |
| 6. | "Mistreated" (Deep Purple cover) | Coverdale, Blackmore | Burn | 10:40 |
Single CD version
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On" | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Sweet Talker" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues" | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Love Hunter" | 10:41 |
| 5. | "Fool for Your Loving" | 4:58 |
| 6. | "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" | 6:21 |
| 7. | "Ready an' Willing" | 4:46 |
| 8. | "Might Just Take Your Life" | 5:35 |
| 9. | "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" | 6:03 |
| 10. | "Mistreated" | 10:49 |
| Total length: | 62:07 | |
Double CD version
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On" | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Sweet Talker" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues" | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Love Hunter" | 10:41 |
| 5. | "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" | 7:21 |
| 6. | "Fool for Your Loving" | 4:58 |
| 7. | "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" | 6:21 |
| 8. | "Ready an' Willing" | 4:46 |
| 9. | "Take Me with You" | 6:28 |
| Total length: | 53:29 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come On" | 3:22 |
| 2. | "Might Just Take Your Life" | 5:35 |
| 3. | "Lie Down" | 4:41 |
| 4. | "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" | 6:03 |
| 5. | "Trouble" | 4:51 |
| 6. | "Mistreated" | 10:49 |
| Total length: | 35:21 | |
- 2011 red vinyl 2-LP is 2007's edition but "Take Me with You" is on 2nd LP.[13]
Personnel
editWhitesnake
edit- David Coverdale – vocals
- Micky Moody – guitar, backing vocals
- Bernie Marsden – guitar, backing vocals, additional lead vocal on Might Just Take Your Life
- Neil Murray – bass guitar
- Ian Paice – drums on disc 1 recordings from 1980
- Dave Dowle – drums on disc 2 recordings from 1978 (not credited in the original printing)
- Jon Lord – keyboards
Production
edit- Martin Birch – producer, engineer
Charts
edit| Chart (1980-1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] | 56 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] | 53 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 5 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 146 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[18] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "BPI certifications for Whitesnake".
- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 34.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Whitesnake – Live in the Heart of the City review". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ a b ""A superb document of, and tribute to, a brilliant band in its prime": Whitesnake: Live... in the Heart of the City Album Of The Week Club review". Classic Rock. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 411. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
- ^ Graff, Gary, ed. (1996), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press, p. 728, ISBN 9780787610371
- ^ "Whitesnake – Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- ^ "Live ... In The Heart Of The City Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Live albums". Classic Rock supplement: The Live Albums That Changed The World. December 2011. p. 21.
- ^ a b Lewry, Fraser (10 September 2023). "The 50 best live albums ever". Classic Rock. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2018). The Deep Purple Family, vol 2 (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-908724-87-8.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2018). The Deep Purple Family, vol 2 (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-908724-87-8.
- ^ a b "Live: In The Heart Of The City". Whitesnake.com. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Whitesnake – Live... in the Heart of the City" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "Whitesnake Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "British album certifications – Whitesnake – Live... in the Heart of the City". British Phonographic Industry.