Review: Company of Snakes

Company of Snakes
“Here They Go Again”
(SPV)

First, who is Company of Snakes?

Company of Snakes is Whitesnake, for all intensive and extensive purposes, minus David Coverdale to which I say, fare thee fucking well. Guitarists Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden and bassist Neil Murray along with Coverdale on vox made up the first and most substantial Whitesnake line-up that lasted from 1978 to 1982 (Wow! Spanning two decades!). “Here They Go Again,” the double live release from Company of Snakes features three of the four original members, and since two of these members are the original song writing guitar players, this is more what Whitesnake was about than the Coverdale fronted incarnations post-1983 that had their massive success on MTV and radio.

To cover up the Coverdale gap, Company of Snakes got a very traditional sounding classic rock vocalist, Stefan Bergren, who fits into the spot of lead voice like an appropriate metaphor for something that fits into something else just perfect. Maybe like a lava lamp shaped butt-plug into a lava lamp contoured asshole? He fits in well, let’s just say that.

For fans of Whitesnake, this album is as indispensable as pennicillin after a night with one of the lovely ladies advertising in the back pages of the local weekly. This live album aims to please, as do those lovely ladies, except that rather than giving you syphillis, Company of Snakes gives you classics like “Come On”, “Lovehunter”, “Is This Love”, and of course, “Here I Go Again.”