Coverdale–Page


Coverdale–Page is the only studio album by Whitesnake lead vocalist David Coverdale and former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, released by Geffen Records in North America and EMI internationally, on 15 March 1993. The album was recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, Criteria Studios in Miami, Granny's House in Reno, Nevada and Abbey Road Studios, London. Recording commenced in the fall of 1991 and concluded in early 1992. It was produced by Page, Coverdale and Canadian record producer, Mike Fraser.
According to Coverdale, the traffic sign shown on the cover of the album signified "two roads joining to one road. Try to express unification or joining together."
Coverdale–Page reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, while the first single released, "Pride and Joy", although barely making a dent on the pop charts, reached the No. 1 spot on the Album Rock Tracks chart for six weeks. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of the LP, CD and Cassette in excess of 500,000 copies and eventually went Platinum. It also received the official Japanese Sony Music in-house award for sales in excess of 150,000 copies in Japan as well as the EMI in-house sales award for sales in excess of 60,000 copies in the UK.

Background

The project commenced in 1991 at the suggestion of American A&R executive John Kalodner, as both artists were signed to Geffen Records at the time in North America. The two had met at least once before, at Castle Donington's 1990 Monsters of Rock festival, which Whitesnake headlined. Aerosmith were second on the bill and Page guested on their encore, "Train Kept A-Rollin'".
Prior to the formation of the duo, Page's former Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant had been reluctant to reunite with Page. In interviews at the time, Plant expressed some derision at the guitarist's collaboration with Coverdale, referring to the project as "David Cover-version".
"David was really good to work with," Page noted. "It was very short-lived, but I enjoyed working with him, believe it or not."

Reception

Sales were respectable, especially in the UK and US, where the album went top 5. Critical reviews were also favourable, with Rolling Stone stating that "it 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 magazine went further saying, "Excellent... this album screams classic from start to finish."

Legacy

The following review from RIP magazine, "Robert Plant is going to be seriously pissed when he hears this ", and the poor reception and sales of Plant's album Fate of Nations; released around the same time, was apparently the catalyst for Page and Plant reuniting for an MTV Special, two albums and a tour.
In a March 2018 interview, on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM radio show, Coverdale revealed plans to release a remastered box set version, with the possible inclusion of four or five previously unreleased tracks, that were written and recorded for the album, but didn't make the final cut.
On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Coverdale–Page among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Track listing

Personnel

Singles

Certifications