Bernie Marsden - Live at Steelhouse Festival

Hafod-y-Dafal Farm

Ebbw Vale

Wales

25th July 2021

by Robert Corich

The originator of so many early Whitesnake classics, this king of the guitar delivered a masterclass. This is exactly how these endearing and enduring songs were meant to be presented in one hour of perfect entertainment, in the sunshine, on top of a Welsh Mountain. The Steelhouse Festival is certainly one of the strangest settings for a live festival in the UK, and all the stars were aligned for a brilliant concert in the afternoon sun. Kicking off with a rocking ‘Fool For Your Loving’, this was delivered in classic old school Whitesnake fashion and it hasn’t sounded this good in nigh on forty years.

With Bernie’s classic guitar sound, Neville MacDonald delivering his almost perfect vintage ‘Coverdale’ take on vocals, and Jim Kirkpatrick’s sublime guitar throughout, it was clear this gig was going to be the perfect treat; with maybe a few tricks tucked up the sleeve. Next up was a played to perfection version of ‘Sweet Talker’ followed by ‘Ready And Willing’ and with the ensuing response it was clear the audience had given Bernie and his band their seal of approval. It also became clear we were being fed a large portion of Whitesnake’s classic ‘Ready And Willing’ album as song number four was a near perfect rendition of ‘Carry Your Load’. To top the ‘side’ off, Bernie and Jim treated everyone to ‘Blindman’, one of the best songs, in my opinion, in the Whitesnake canon. Blindman had been recorded as the last track on side one of the aforementioned album. It was also recorded by David Coverdale for his debut solo effort ‘White Snake’ in 1978, both versions are superb and this live version was certainly as good as anyone could hope for!

Next was a plug by Bernie for his latest album ‘Kings’ (of which somewhat surprisingly no songs were played). This was followed by a heartfelt tribute to Peter Green in a rocking version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’ performed in classic Marsden style. A trick and a treat for sure. On the next three songs, Bernie went back to ‘78 and performed a raunchy version of the title track for the ‘Trouble’ album followed by a stellar rendition of ‘Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues’ from 1979’s ‘Lovehunter’ album. The penultimate track of the set was a heartfelt cover of the cover that arguably became the original band’s signature tune Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City’. Originally recorded for the ‘Snakebite’ EP in 1978 and then released on the 1980 live album ‘Live…In The Heart Of The City’.

The encore was a vibrant version of ‘Here I Go Again’ from 1982’s ‘Saints And Sinners’ album. Unless the band had been given a longer set time then one could not have asked for more. A great band with great musicians and a legend leading them, playing old school Whitesnake classics, what more could anyone ask for while lazing on a Sunday afternoon?

The Band:

Bernie Marsden - guitar & vocals

Jim Kirkpatrick - guitars

Neville MacDonald - vocals

David ‘Dino’ Stephenson - drums

Mark Maybry - bass

Caroline and Alex - backing vocals

Set list:

1. Fool For Your Loving
   

2. Sweet Talker

3. Ready And Willing

4. Carry Your Load

5. Blindman
   

6. Oh Well

7. Trouble

8. Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues

9. Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City
   

10. Here I Go Again