Whitesnake – Box ‘O’ Snakes –
The Sunburst Tears 1978-1982 (Sunburst – EMI Records) ****

Fans of early Whitesnake rejoice! Finally someone got the great idea of celebrating the early catalogue. Before MTV and make-up, Whitesnake was a great blues based hard rock band that relied on great songs instead of image. I like all Whitesnake material but this is the music that first got me into the band. I was rockin’ out to the original version of “Fool For Your Loving” years before the slicked-up version of the band that recorded Slip Of The Tongue. This box set contains all the essential material you would need to get a soundtrack to what Whitesnake was all about in the early days. You get Trouble all the way through Saints & Sinners which also includes not only Live…In The Heart Of The City but also the harder to find Live At Hammersmith. Each record is housed in a mini LP style sleeve with even the inner sleeves reproduced for authenticity. The only reason that I’m docking a star here is that these albums were remastered with bonus tracks about 5 years ago. Some of the bonus material has been made available here but for complete-ists like me, you would have to get both versions. That small quibble aside, you do get some of the bonus material in the way of 2 additional CDs of live material. Both sets from the 1979 and 1980 Reading Rock Festivals are represented here on separate disks. Even though the set lists are not that different, you can hear the band gelling better on the 1980 show. Years of touring certainly made them a force to be reckoned with.

That material alone would make a box set great but they managed to hit the vaults and bring us a DVD with some awesome visuals. The managed to serve up all the early videos (which were mainly performance videos), many of them I have never seen. I do have a couple of them on videotape that I recorded but the quality here is pristine. In the US, we were not lucky enough to see shows like Old Grey Whistle Test or Top Of The Pops. Many of my favorite bands were regulars on those shows and Whitesnake was no different. Four songs are represented here from those shows and they were the first time I have seen these. To finish of the DVD, EMI added a show from 1980. Back in the day, they used to have cameras that filmed the show and was broadcast on the Jumbotron at arenas. This gave fans in the back a close-up view. Well, someone recorded the feed and for years it was circulated in bootleg circle. There was a rumor that more of this show existed but Whitesnake was the back-up band for Jethro Tull on this tour so what was available in bootleg form is all there is. The version on this DVD is much better than the versions that I have seen floating around so really, this is as pristine and complete as you will get.

Like most box sets, you sometimes get a few other “gifts” and here you get a 7” EP white vinyl in the way of the original Snakebite EP. This is reproduced (like the albums) just like the original version; same sleeve and artwork. You also get a poster (folded of course) of what looks like a Trouble promotional poster for the record. I don’t know too many people who would actually hang the poster up on the wall but as far as posters go, this one is printed very well on nice heavy stock paper. The last item in the box is a book that has some interviews, pictures of the band & memorabilia, and lyrics to the records.

Aside from not adding all the bonus material from the 2006-2007 remastered versions, this is the best box set I have gotten in a long while. The packaging and attention to detail is top notch. If you are new to Whitesnake and don’t have anything earlier than Slide It In, then I strongly suggest you pick this item up. It is pricey but considering all the material presented here, it is well worth the money. Now I just hope EMI gives the same treatment to the latter years.

Greg Olma