Love Ain't No Stranger
| "Love Ain't No Stranger" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Guilty of Love" (US) "Slow an' Easy" (UK) | ||||
| Released | August 1984 (US)[1] January 1985 (UK)[2] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Glam metal[3] | |||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | Liberty (Europe) Geffen (North America) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Coverdale, Mel Galley | |||
| Whitesnake singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Love Ain't No Stranger" on YouTube | ||||
"Love Ain't No Stranger" is a
"Love Ain't No Stranger" is a staple of the band's live performances. Due to its popularity among fans, Whitesnake has performed the song over eight hundred times as of December 2022, making it one of the group's top five most played pieces.[4]
The song charted at number 44 on the
Recording
The song starts with keyboardist Jon Lord's keyboards with emotional vocal delivery from singer David Coverdale. The song keeps a slow tempo until the guitars and drums kick in when the song tempo drastically changes and becomes a hard driving rock song. The slow tempo "ballady" section doesn't emerge again until the very middle and very end of the song. According to the 25th Anniversary Edition booklet of Slide It In, the keyboard intro was originally written for guitars, but was eventually switched to keyboards. Also, Coverdale told in the edition's booklet that drummer Cozy Powell once told the singer that "Love Ain't No Stranger" was the best track he'd ever played drums on.
Music video
A music video was also made for the song, which depicts the band performing the song at a mock concert, with scenes of Coverdale running after an unknown woman. At the end of the video, Coverdale climbs on to a truck and hugs the woman, but as he turns around he sees that the woman has switched and that the woman he was after is standing on the ground. As the truck, along with Coverdale on it, starts to drive away Coverdale stares at the woman as she disappears into the mist.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Ain't No Stranger" | David Coverdale, Mel Galley | 4:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | " Slow An' Easy" | Coverdale, Micky Moody | 6:09 |
| 3. | "Slide It In" | Coverdale | 3:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | " Guilty of Love " | Coverdale | 3:18 |
Personnel
- percussion
- guitars(UK version)
- John Sykes – guitars (US version)
- backing vocals
- Colin Hodgkinson – bass (UK version)
- Neil Murray – bass (US version)
- drums
- Jon Lord – keyboards
Charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles ( The Official Charts Company)[8]
|
44 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock [9] | 33 |
See also
References
- ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ "Whitesnake singles".
- ^ manosg (27 December 2014). "Review: Whitesnake - Slide it In". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
"Love Ain't No Stranger" is the standout track; with its highly effective buildup and the addictive vocal line, it's probably one of the best hair/pop metal tracks of the '80s.
- ^ "Whitesnake Tour Statistics - Songs Played Total". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Whitesnake The Official Charts Company".
- ^ "Allmusic (Whitesnake charts and awards) Billboard singles".
- AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
- ^ "Whitesnake – Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Whitesnake Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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