Live... in the Heart of the City explained

Live...in the Heart of the City
Type:Live
Artist:Whitesnake
Cover:Whitesnake-Live-in-the-Heart-of-the-City.jpg
Caption:Cover art by Jeff Cummins
Released:3 November 1980[1]
Recorded:23 November 1978
23 and 24 June 1980
Venue:Hammersmith Odeon, London
Length:80:22
Label:Liberty/EMI (UK and Germany)
Mirage/Atlantic (North America)
Polydor (Japan)
United Artists (Rest of the world)
Producer:Martin Birch
Prev Title:Ready an' Willing
Prev Year:1980
Next Title:Come an' Get It
Next Year:1981

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,[2] and number 146 on the Billboard 200.[3] The Classic Rock magazine in 2011 and 2023 placed it among the best live albums ever.

Release

Sides 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.[4]

In North America, the album was released as a single record, excluding the live material from 1978.[5]

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.

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.

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". In February 2011 it was released as a red vinyl 2-LP.[6]

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.

"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".[7]

Reception

In 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. The same magazine in 2011 included it on the list of "Live Albums That Changed the World",[7] and in 2023 placed it as 38th out of 50 on the list of best live albums ever.[8]

Track listing

Double CD version

Personnel

Whitesnake

Production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BPI certifications for Whitesnake.
  2. Web site: Whitesnake – Official Charts . . 25 April 2015 .
  3. Web site: Live ... In The Heart Of The City Billboard Albums . . . 30 April 2015 .
  4. Book: Popoff . Martin . Martin Popoff . The Deep Purple Family, vol 2 . 2nd . Wymer Publishing . 2018 . 18 . 978-1-908724-87-8.
  5. Book: Popoff . Martin . Martin Popoff . The Deep Purple Family, vol 2 . 2nd . Wymer Publishing . 2018 . 38 . 978-1-908724-87-8.
  6. Web site: Live: In The Heart Of The City . Whitesnake.com . 17 November 2023.
  7. Live albums. Classic Rock supplement: The Live Albums That Changed The World. December 2011. 21.
  8. Lewry . Fraser . The 50 best live albums ever . 10 September 2023 . . 17 November 2023.
  9. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9. ja.