Pre-Slide It In Whitesnake doesn't get enough attention and love?

[WildRanger]

One thing is for sure - Whitesnake didn't have a commercial breakthrough in America until the US version of Slide It In in 1984. With an album "1987"(or S/T) they turned into another hair metal band and most American fans have a view on them that way.

Are you well familiar with pre-Slide stuff and how much do you dig it?
Personally I think that Whitesnake's early bluesy/boogie hard rock stuff(with two Deep Purple guys in the band lineup) is much better than commercial hair metal-era stuff.
Two weeks ago I listened their album Live in the Heart of the City and it really rocks.
What would you say?

[Elite]

I don't think I have ever consciously heard any song by Whitesnake, so they certainly don't get any love or attention from me.

[Stadler]

I would be STUNNED if you've never heard "Here I Go Again" or "Is This Love?"

Personally, I like the "tipping point" best: Slide It In.    I have both versions (the original UK version and the remixed/re-recorded US version) and for me, while I like everything before, it's a little TOO meat and potatoes, and everything after is a little too McDonald's fast food. 

Exceptions to that:  "Restless Heart" and "Starkers in Tokyo".   That was the peak of Coverdale's voice for me. 

Coincidentially, I was just yesterday watching "Whitesnake Live!" a live video of the 2004 Tour and man is it... amusing.  First off, Coverdale must've re-recorded all his vocals; while it's synched pretty well, the vocal track just feels like it "sits" on top of everything else, and doesn't feel "real".    Second, it's a master class in "hard rock/heavy metal shape throwing".   Everyone but Reb Beach has all the stock moves down cold, and it's almost too much.  It's like one long, 15-song staged music video.   Shot:  drummer shaking hair and drumming a simple 4/4 beat like he's powering someone's respirator machine? CHECK!  Cut to:  lead singer throwing mane of hair back and spinning mike stand?  CHECK!   Cut to:  bass player screaming background vocals into said lead singer's mike, even though you can't hear him?  CHECK!  Cut to:  lead guitar player soloing like he's on the last screen of a world record for Space Invaders?  CHECK! Cut to: back to bass player with ripped stone-washed jeans and cowboy boots vamping with said drummer?  CHECK!  Cut to: Hot babe (well, actually her cleavage) jamming to "Bad Boys" like she was auditioning for a back stage pass?  CHECK!

[Kwyjibo]

I like the bluesy hard rock of the earlier days more, my favorite WS record is Ready an' Willing. It wasn't original but had more originality. 1987 isn't bad but it's so produced for the mass market, mainly the US market, that a lot of individuality gets lost in the process.

Crying in the Rain in the original has a cool guitar solo, with slide guitar parts and a clear crescendo. In the rerecording it gets literally beaten to death with uninspired shredding and completely ungroovy double bass attacks, every subtlety gets lost. I know a lot of people that like especially that part of the song, but for me it's just so bad I have to laugh every time I hear it.

I like Slip Of The Tongue better, mainly because of Vai. Restless Heart was bluesier but Coverdale sounds strained on some of the songs. And Good To Be Bad is generic as fuck, from the music, to the guitar solos, to the song titles, to the lyrics.

[Lowdz]

I was a fan from the Live In The Heart Of The City album. The early albums had some great songs but some clunkers too. Marsden and Moody were a great team and Coverdale’s voice was godly.

I prefer Saints And Sinners to Slide It In but only just.

But I like hair metal Snake too, even Slip, but after that things became very boring. Vandenberg is no Sykes, and Coverdaleks voice was gone.