Snakes Alive Part One

Difficulty HHHHH | 10 mins tutor: Richard Barrett | Gear used: knaggs SSC, Friedman Be OD, Vox AC15 C1

When We think of British blues, perhaps it’s unsurprising that the likes of Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Jimmy Page are among the first to come to mind. But by the late 1960s, there was already another generation preparing for its turn in the spotlight. As The Yardbirds and John Mayall had called our attention to a succession of new talent in the first flush of the Blues Invasion, David Coverdale’s Whitesnake has arguably fulfilled a similar function since the mid-to-late 1970s.

By the middle of the following decade, John Sykes had ushered in a new era of much harder edged rock material, but the original inspiration of the band had been blues and soul – think of Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland’s

Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City, which they covered with great success on their 1978 EP, Snakebite. The twin Gibson Les Pauls of Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden were the engine behind the early Whitesnake material, with a driven rock sound that still clearly displayed its blues roots.

Part Two of this column will cover the more technically flamboyant style that prevailed in the 1980s, but this month’s solo (which is transcribed in full, albeit broken up into excerpts) is inspired by the melodic blues soloing from the Moody/Marsden era. I’m using the neck pickup and enough drive to give a fair sustain when combined with a healthy volume. This helps keep the clarity when playing on the lower strings, which can become mushy if you’re not careful.

There’s nothing too technically scary here, but the importance of details such as tuning of bends, when (and if) vibrato is brought in, plus those bluesy quarter-tone bends simply cannot be overstated! While this isn’t a detailed analysis of either player, it should get you thinking in the same way and give you similar results. I hope you enjoy and see you next time for Part Two.