One of the greatest hair metal songs of all time is nearly done in by one of the worst videos of all time.
David Coverdale, the leader and lead singer of Whitesnake, co-wrote almost the entire album with the lead guitarist, John Sykes, who would in turn lead the band, Blue Murder. Notice that John Sykes, nor any other member of the band is given any facial closeups during the course of the video.
In fact, other than Coverdale, the only person prominently featured is his wife (from 89 to 91, at least) Tawny Kitaen.
The full moon background, the black silhouette of Coverdale leaning back, the pointless parading of Kitaen, all make for a ridiculous video that serves as a statement of all that is hair. Even the short sequence showing the guitarist using a bow is silly. That is not real folks. I wonder how many kids went to the guitar shop looking for cello bows after seeing this.
But none of this absurdity should take away one bit from the power of this incredible Led Zeppelin-inspired tune. Close your eyes if you have to, but there is hardly a better example of 80s pop metal than Still of the Night, from the non-debut, yet eponymous album by Whitesnake. In Europe it was called 1987, named after the year of its release. (And yes, I own it.)
Enjoy. It runs over six minutes. And let me know how much you liked Here I Go Again so much better in the comments.
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