"'Ere's 78 songs on CD, 22 on DVD and 4 on vinyl for ya!"

Alright so that opening line might not have the same succinct sexy cockney barrer boy charm as David Coverdale's legendary audience call to arms, but at least between the years of 1978 and 1982 it was pretty safe to say that Coverdale's dodgy accent was about the only thing that wasn't 100% genuine within his band.  Unlike the years that immediately followed this period eh?  And with the 9xCD's, 1xDVD and 1x7" contained within this luxurious box featuring some of the most honest music David Coverdale has ever dripped his honey soaked larynx over, his credibility as a fine songwriter during this era was also thankfully never really ever in question.

Kicking off this set with the 4 track 'Snakebite' EP (reproduced here not only on a heavyweight vinyl 7" but also via a previously only released in Japan video EP) you can almost taste the quality of the musicianship on tracks like 'Bloody Mary' and the band's timeless version of Bobby Bland's 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City', the EP proving to be the perfect transition from Coverdale's bluesy solo career with Purple Records to his soon to be all-conquering balls out career fronting Whitesnake on Sunburst.

Of the 5 studios albums that followed from 'Trouble' through to 'Saints & Sinners', each one possesses their own individual highlights, but such album cut classics as 'Ain't Gonna Cry No More', ' Take Me With You', 'Help Me Thro' The Day' and 'Wine Women An' Song' prove to this day that the band were always more than just a singles vehicle with which Coverdale could (and would) once again conquer America, and the quasi prog/funk sound of Deep Purple was long since an echo in the wind, even if his band at one time or another boasted more original ex Purple members than Deep Purple does right now.

The quality of Whitesnakes' music between 1978 - 1982 is almost faultless but quite why EMI have decided not to include these studio albums in their 2007 released expanded formats here is simply beyond my understanding as a paying punter.  That's right, what you get here folks are the bare bones versions of those classic studio albums along with the 2 official live albums (namely 1978's 'Live At Hammersmith' and 1980's 'Live. In The Heart Of The City') released during this period. 

Hardly must buy material at this stage is it? Especially if you managed to pick up the Japanese HMCD expanded editions of these albums that not only boasted one of the best remastering jobs I've ever heard, but also came in the mini LP sleeves that would otherwise be this set's only USP for diehards here in the UK.

But wait a minute it's not all doom and gloom for this 'Box 'O' Snakes' because up next we get two BBC live sets from the 1979 and 1980 Reading Festivals spread across 2 CD's, and these warts 'n' all shows really do capture the power of the band much better than those two official live albums ever did. I still grimace at the 1980 intro edit that cuts 'Come On' completely in favour of 'Sweet Talker' but that's just a minor niggle within an otherwise faultless Sunday night headline appearance at the once true home of British rock.

Also getting a big thumbs up from yours truly is the DVD that accompanies this set, which is a riveting compilation of archive stuff such as the aforementioned 'Snakebite Video EP', promo videos, TV appearances and a "collectors" quality bootleg of the band live in Washington in 1980, the latter being something that will have you reaching for the 3D glasses just in case it does make the picture quality look that little bit better (but honestly that doesn't really matter as this is primetime Whitesnake live - standing proud, ready to strike you down). 

With this DVD along with the 2 BBC CD's I was starting to feel like I'd invested my £100 wisely (A word of caution though if you are thinking of buying this - "shop around" as the prices do vary significantly across different retailers) and then I came to the defining item within this box, the coffee table book, and suddenly I was blown away.

Written with both David Coverdale and Bernie Marsden's full collaboration, this 94 page trip down memory lane is a must read for any true Whitesnake fan and really does round this set off beautifully.  Drawing strong parallels to the magnificent AC/DC 'Backtracks' book released back in 2009 this really is the cream of the 'Snake so to speak, so much so that I had the box set about 3 weeks before I also realised there was also a huge 'Trouble' album poster enclosed within the set too.

Ho hum, anyway, despite my gripes about the lack of expanded edition CD's within this collection, 'Box 'O' Snakes' is actually quite a remarkable time capsule, one that manages to capture the true spirit of Whitesnake when they were simply "the band of the people", and having a full head of hair and an ice white smile wasn't a prerequisite for becoming a band member. 

I personally never got to see Whitesnake live until their first headlining appearance at Castle Donington in 1983, but that day when David Coverdale shed a tear during 'Soldier of Fortune' you just knew it was for real.  It's such a shame we can't say the same here in 2011.

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