Bernie Marsden

Jesus Christ!!! 'Ol Bernie's really packed on a few pounds!!

That looks like it was a great day of music..Thanks for sharing all the pictures; it looks like both of you had a fabulous time!

I saw some pictures of Bernie and was quite concerned about how heavy he has gotten. but you don't hear the gut when he plays now, do you?

Bernie Marsden is one of those players who may not be a household name but you can always depend on solid, melodic playing from him. What is really special about his work with Micky Moody is that the combination really spurs them on...they are greater than the sum of the parts. Like Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson or Ted Turner and Andy Powell...they brought out the best in one another.

Thanks again for sharing your day with us!!

damm it looks like you guys had a beautifull day !!!!!!!!!!!

Bernie released 2 solo albums during his days with Whitesnake; "And About Time Too" in 1979 and "Look At Me Now" in 1981. RPM Records reissued them in the mid 90's and I happened to pick them up in a music store in Indianapolis; I never knew of their existance.

"And About Time Too" was cut in celebration of getting Ian Paice into Whitesnake. Bernie had a bunch of songs that he and David Coverdale had worked on for use with Whitesnake and he worked up a few more to cut the album. Bernie has said that a lot of drummers bought the records because along with Paicey, Cozy Powell and Simon Phillips drummed on the records. Jack Bruce and Neal Murray played bass and Jon Lord and Don Airey handled the keys. Bernie has a fine pop voice for tracks like "Sad Clown" and "Love Made A Fool Of Me" as well as the darker tracks like "Still The Same". He lays down some heavy blues soloing on "Brief Encounter" and a bit of fusion fastball with "Head The Ball". A version of "You And Me" which Whitesnake did record and a pretty instrumental "Song For Fran" round out the disc.

"Look At Me Now" was cut two years later and has a more "American" sound to my ears. Bernie cuts the Temptations' "Shaky Ground" with Cozy driving the song into your kidneys. There are a few moments of silliness..."Rock City Blues" in which Pat Benatar gets a name check, but "Thunder And Lightning" and "Behind Your Dark Eyes" are driving numbers and showcase Bernie as a solid vocalist. He closes the disc with the lovely instrumental "After All the Madness" . A BBC session that he did with Messrs Murray, Airey and Phillips is included; "Bylbo's Shack gets a romping workout here.

RPM deleted the titles but Purple Records has re-released them again. Great tunes, booklets packed with pictures and info, you can't miss!

interesting stuff bill. i dont think i knew about those records. i have the moody/marsden cds. a live one and a studio. maybe 2 studios. id have to check now. i also had ( and hope i still have) the "alaska" cd. i believe that was bernie marsden as well,if i remember correctly.
peace,

"Never Turn Your Back On The Blues", a live CD with Zak Starkey on drums....a mix of covers and tunes that Bernie wrote with Whitesnake...and a cool version of Free's "The Stealer".

"Ozone Friendly" and the companion live set "The Night The Guitars Came Out To Play"...Bernie and Mickey have a ball with a mix of covers and new material....David "Duck" Dowle plays drums on the live set; he was Whitesnake's original drummer.

The Alaska titles are out there too; My friend John Williamson was in a band called Alaska and they cut a demo produced by Tim Gorman...I asked John if they were aware of Bernie's band and I don't think they were...had they gotten a record deal that might have become a sticking point!

i have all the cds you mention Bill.

i love the acoustic stuff he's done with Murray.

and of course he was the guitarist in Paice Ashton Lord too.

I remember picking up a copy of "Malice In Wonderland" back in 1992 or thereabouts; it was a Japanese import back then. If you were expecting it to sound like Deep Purple, keep walking. I remember my first impression of the horn fills on "Ghost Story" being very Zappa like. The CD grew on me quickly to the point where it became something I listened to quite often. What a fabulous sound...too bad they disbanded as quickly as they did.

Bernie Marsden was the perfect guitarist for that band too; his tasty, bluesy style was the ticket for that band's salty blend of swinging blues and jazzy horn charts. His cheerful pop tenor was a perfect foil to Tony Ashton's gruff bluesy voice. I also picked up the soundtrack to the BBC show and the Repertoire Records version of "Malice In Wonderland" with the 3 live tracks from the short UK tour. I remember reading on the DPAS site several years back that there were plans to release those live recordings but that seems to have gone unfulfilled.

I agree with all your comments about Bernie, even Chutsler's :p There's a certain resemblance between him and Johnnie Bolin...but anyway yes what a great guitarist. That kind of lazy melodic style was a perfect foil n early Whitesnake. The fact that many of those Marsden-Moody songs stood the test of time through the 1987 Big Hair era through to today shows that Whitesnake was far more than DC and his house band.

Quote from captmidnite1962

I remember picking up a copy of "Malice In Wonderland" back in 1992 or thereabouts; it was a Japanese import back then. If you were expecting it to sound like Deep Purple, keep walking. I remember my first impression of the horn fills on "Ghost Story" being very Zappa like. The CD grew on me quickly to the point where it became something I listened to quite often. What a fabulous sound...too bad they disbanded as quickly as they did.

Hi Bill,

There was a live DVD available a short while ago - a quick Google produced this on MusicStack:

http://www.musicstack.com/item/9338123/paice+ashton/live

May prove hard to find though - a little 'project' for those who feel a bit of a Sherlock Holmes coming on!!!

The Sights And Sounds program that PAL did is the DVD Ben is talking about. It also has the "Lifespan" documentary that the band did at the time with live footage and the history behind Bernie's audition for the band. the soundtrack, minus "Malice In Wonderland" was released on CD as part of the BBC archive releases.

You can order it from the DPAS store; it is PAL format and they are mulling over issuing it in NTSC.

Bill, I'm certain you know........PAL originally wanted 'Ol David Coversong to be vocalist for the group but he turned them down....PAL would have been CLAP..........

Here's a nice 2CD anthology of Bernie's stuff I recently purchased from ebay:

I listened to PAL a lot when the DVD came out. It seems like an eternity since I purchased the album on vinyl at a local record fair, but as with most of the records and CDs in my collection I can exactly remember the situation. Later I added the BBC in Concert Windsong CD and finally the remastered album with the Bonus tracks to my collection.
Tony Ashton signed the album sleeve (pictured) personally backstage at a show here in Vienna on May 16, 1995 while Pete York kept asking the caterer where the chicken was that he had been promised - which led Ashton to produce one of the loudest farts I have ever heard.

Ah, the memories...

Cheers,
Christian

I love Bernie's playing on the Whitesnake stuff! the solo on "Blindman" is super melodic, great touch!

As discussed last week end with Mikey & Penny, Bernie organises his 3rd "Party in the paddock" (charity concert) with a whole bunch of good friends of his. The event takes place on september 19th in Tyngewick near Buckingham in the UK.
We will be there as it's just the day before Glenn's gig at the Robin.
If anyone is interested, here is the link :
http://www.partyinthepaddock.co.uk

That sounds like a great time and a fine cause too. I would love to see Bernie perform; too bad he hasn't played in the States since probably the Whitesnake days. The guest list is pretty impressive; Roger daltrey, Zak Starkey, Rabbit et al.

Have a great timed and take lots of pictures.....looks like you better not lose the Cat Sitter's phone number!