Coverdale / Page Coverdale/Page CD

Personnel: David Coverdale (vocals, acoustic guitar); Jimmy Page (electric & acoustic guitars, electric harmonica, dulcimer, 6-string bass); John Harris (harmonica); Lester Mendez (keyboards, percussion); Jorge Casas, Ricky Phillips (bass); Denny Carmassi (drums); Tommy Funderburk, John Sambataro (background vocals).
Recorded at Little Mountain Sound, Vancouver, British Columbia; Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida; Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Highbrow Productions, Hook City, Nevada.
Personnel: David Coverdale (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Jimmy Page (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, dulcimer, harmonica); John Harris (harmonica); Lester Mendez (keyboards, percussion); Denny Carmassi (drums); John Sambataro, Tommy Funderburk (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: David Coverdale; Jimmy Page; Mike Fraser.
Recording information: Criteria, Miami, FL; EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England; Highbrow Productions, Hook City, NV; Little Mountain Sound, Vancouver, British Columbia, Can.
Unknown Contributor Roles: John Kalodner; Jimmy Page.
Everything about Coverdale/Page, right down to the goofy copping of the Presence artwork, is an attempt to recapture the pompous majesty of Led Zeppelin. It doesn't succeed, of course, but it does leave all of the Zep clones in the dust. Although Jimmy Page plays better here than he has since 1979's In Through the Out Door, there is a conspicuous lack of solos. If you've never liked David Coverdale, his performance will not change your opinion. Both fare better on the rockers; the power ballads tend be slightly tedious. Essentially, Coverdale/Page never quite rivals the bold experimentation of Led Zeppelin, yet at its best moments, it's a guilty pleasure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Everything about Coverdale/Page, right down to the goofy copping of the Presence artwork, is an attempt to recapture the pompous majesty of Led Zeppelin. It doesn't succeed, of course, but it does leave all of the Zep clones in the dust. Although Jimmy Page plays better here than he has since 1979's In Through the Out Door, there is a conspicuous lack of solos. If you've never liked David Coverdale, his performance will not change your opinion. Both fare better on the rockers; the power ballads tend be slightly tedious. Essentially, Coverdale/Page boils down to a guilty pleasure at its best moments ("Shake My Tree," "Pride and Joy," "Absolution Blues"), but never quite rivals the bold experimentation of Led Zeppelin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
After a planned collaboration with Robert Plant fell through in the early 1990s, Jimmy Page did the next best thing--he hooked up with ex-Whitesnake singer David Coverdale, who's often compared to Plant vocally, for a single album, 1993's COVERDALE/PAGE.
As you'd assume, the duo's sound is similar to the mighty Led Zeppelin--bluesy heavy metal dripping with machismo. While many of the highlights are hard rock-based ("Shake My Tree," "Waiting on You," "Pride and Joy"), there are a few slow blues numbers that are just as strong ("Take Me For a Little While," "Over Now"). Although COVERDALE/PAGE caused quite a stir with Zep/classic rock fans worldwide, the duo only played a handful of live dates together in Japan, and split up shortly thereafter when Plant finally agreed to re-join forces with Page (under the name Page/Plant).Rolling Stone (4/15/93, p.62) - 3 Stars - Good - "...may not be the second coming of Led Zeppelin, but it's close enough that only the most curmudgeonly would deny the band its due....Coverdale['s] bluesy howl has never been put to better use than against Page's guitar..."
Q (5/93, p.89) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...opt[s] for the post- LED ZEPPELIN III orchestrations that made Page's group a worldwide phenomenon...this album screams classic from start to finish..."