I've previously stated that I love live CD's. Whitesnake Live... In The Heart Of The City is no exception. In fact, this is one of my all-time favorite live CD's. No, scratch that. It is one of my top 10 or so favorite CD's, period. After all I went through to get it, you'd think the experience has been dulled. Not in the least.When you say Whitesnake, what do people think? Slide It In, Whitesnake '87(The self-titled 1987 smash hit), songs like "Still Of The Night," "Cryin' In The Rain," "Here I Go Again," "Fool For Your Lovin'" and other late '80's and early '90's glam-rock radio smashes. For one thing, all of the aforementioned songs were previously recorded and released with earlier lineups in a more bluesy style that made Whitesnake popular in Europe. But since success in the U.S. was elusive, David Coverdale redid them with the lineups you may be familiar with and in a more '80ish glam rock style. Whitesnake has been around since the late '70's, when Coverdale left Deep Purple and they released some damn good blues-rock stuff WAY before Whitesnake '87. As matter of fact, the original lineup, and many following line-ups contained members of Deep Purple. The lineups for this CD are: Coverdale (vocals), Mickey Moody and Bernie Marsden (guitars), Neil Murray (bass), Jon Lord (keyboard), Cozy Powell and Ian Paice (drums). The recording was made on three dates at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, June 23 and 24, 1980 and November 23, 1978. Cozy Powell played the drums for the 1978 date (although he is not credited in the linear notes for the CD, he IS credited in the notes from the record and the tape), and Ian Paice played them for the 1980 dates. The difference in drummers in minimal anyway, I just figured I'd mention it.The songs come from the first three Whitesnake recordings, the Whitesnake EP, Come 'N Get It, and Love Hunter. Of the three, the last is an absolute MUST-HAVE for any fan of blues rock. The song selection is Phenomenal. From the opening track, "Come On," all the way out to the last track, "Mistreated" it just rocks. This is solidly played blues and rock 'n roll in it's proper environment, a live concert hall.The aforementioned "Mistreated" is an 10 minutes plus slab of pure blues improv. The studio version is completely different, and Coverdale's voice sounds WEAK in the studio compared to this song. This is old-school inspired blues, baby. Remember when you would go to a blues show and watch them improvise for a whole set? That's what this song is all about. Other highlights include the live version (of the original, not the 91 remake) of "Fool For Your Loving," "Take Me With You," my favorite Whitesnake song, and one of my favorite all-time songs, "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" and of course, the title track, "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City." Moody's guitar solo in the middle of "Love Hunter" is wild, too. I usually don't listen to the solos every time on live recordings, since I get bored, but this one I always listen to. He gets the audience clapping along, and he plays, then stops and the audience cheers, he plays a little faster and stops, the audience yells, and so on. It's not the best guitar solo I've ever heard in a musical sense, but it is in the coolness sense. If I had to pick my favorite song of the disc, I'd have to say it's "Ain't No Love.." It's a slow blues tune that rises and falls in tempo and tone, very sad, yet extremely eloquent. Coverdale has the audience in the palm of his hand, letting them sing the chorus and chanting, it's unbelievably strong. I believe it's a cover, but I am not familiar with the original.Coverdale's vocals sound great throughout and the production is incredible, especially considering when the recording was made. This is pre-digital, all analogue tape. It is one of the best-produced live albums I have EVER heard. The sound is absolutely crystal.The sound is great, the production awesome and the song selection is top-notch. I rate this disc as a MUST-HAVE for anyone even remotely interested in blues and/or blues-rock. If you don't like Whitesnake, pick this up and you probably will.