Whitesnake – Slide It In: The American Remix That Laid The Groundwork For Superstardom

September 9, 2026

The US version of the Whitesnake classic album Slide It In was released on 16 April 1984. Remixed and resequenced, it marked the band’s first outing with Geffen Records and a partnership with John Kalodner. This is the version that would lay the groundwork for superstardom. Slide It In is the first of three albums re-released by Craft Recordings on stunning vinyl on 18 September 2026.

A new deal with Geffen had been secured, and A&R man John Kalodner was to become the band’s champion. Kalodner had followed Whitesnake, loved Coverdale’s singing and secured them for Geffen in the US and Canada in late ’83.

Although he loved the rest of the band, Kalodner thought they were not as good as Coverdale. “We were entering the age of Bon Jovi, and all of the big superstars,” Kalodner said. “I thought Coverdale’s voice and songs were better than anything.”

Slide It In was recorded in Munich with guitarists Micky Moody and Mel Galley, Colin Hodgkinson on bass, and legends Cozy Powell and Jon Lord. Lord’s keyboard intro would open the album on Gambler, one of two tracks that Mel brought from a Trapeze demo that he had been working on with his brother Tom. The other demo track became Give Me More Time.

Released on 6 February 1984 in the UK, the quintet of songs that made up Side One were so awesome that it was always a challenge in deciding if I should flip the vinyl, or simply drop the needle in the space at the beginning.

Not having access to MTV, I can still remember seeing the film for the single Love Ain’t No Stranger on one of those newfangled video jukeboxes in The Lamb pub in Norwich. Totally captivating does not fully describe the impression it left on me.

Whitesnake were a band that looked great and sounded exceptional. The guitarist, looking so cool, turned out to be John Sykes, who would be pivotal in moving the band up to superstar status. Coverdale looked great, and he had a cool car and lovely-looking girlfriend too.

John Kalodner had recognised the need to upscale the lineup. He knew Coverdale could sing a hit. “The only way it was going to happen,” Kalodner said, “is that I was going to have to replace the guitar player with a guitar player who is young, vibrant and a great writer, and that was John Sykes.”

Mel Galley would sustain a hand injury, which counted him out of the refreshed lineup, but Sykes was always the way forward. Kalodner had seen him play with Thin Lizzy, and “he just stood out so much to me.”

Coverdale at that time was not embracing the idea of a guitar hero, but working with Kalodner changed this. I love the UK version of Slide It In, and still do. But the reviews were mixed.

Kalodner would have the album remixed by Keith Olsen. Kalodner wanted the sound to be a lot more intense, and with the new intense guitarist Sykes on board, a “whole bunch” of new guitar parts were done. If Sykes was a big part of the US version, so was a returning Neil Murray.

The US version had a different track order, with the title track announcing a rockier sound, rather than the blues intro of the UK version. Slow An’ Easy would follow, which hinted at the yet-to-be-written Still Of The Night.

For me, Standing In The Shadow was great at third place, and its move to close the US album always surprises. Excellent riff, and a perfect spot to join in with Coverdale’s harmonies in the middle. It has always been a favourite ‘album track’ of mine.

Slide It In has always been an album that I have revisited regularly. My original UK mix vinyl is a bit battered these days, so listening to the US mix on this impressive and impeccably pristine Craft Recordings vinyl reissue is magical.

Coverdale was growing into his role as spokesman for the unlucky in love, his new collaboration with Sykes hinted at great things in the future and for us youngsters at the time, for whom YouTube was some distant piece of unreal science fiction, the birth of Hair Metal was well and truly upon us.

Slide It In returns to vinyl in its original US 1-LP configuration, alongside the wide release on standard black vinyl and exclusive colour pressings. Released on 18 September 2026, visit i.craftrecordings.com/whitesnake-lps to pre-order.