Into The Light is the latest release by legendary vocalist David Coverdale. And I will go out on a limb and say that this may very well be the best album of his illustrious career. It's a bold statement considering the fact that Coverdale has achieved platinum status with both Deep Purple and Whitesnake. And by no means am I attempting to undermine that, but musically as a whole, Into The Light is just flat-out brilliant.

Into The Light is an album that will immediately touch you, and will grow and grow upon each listen. The songs will float in your head and you will find yourself singing them at any given moment. This is an album that you will be listening to 10, even 20 years from now. Why? The answer to that comes from Coverdale's very own soul as the album is it's mirror. It is seldom that you find music that truly expresses sheer emotion but Into The Light manages that and more.

In addition to that, this album totally rocks as it's hooks and grooves manage to catch you from beginning to end. There isn't a bad song on this CD — not one filler track. Into The Light flows together very well, as Coverdale takes you many places, you can go from the bluesy feel of "River Song" to the groovy hooks of "She Give Me" to the sheer emotion of "Don't You Cry" to the raw heaviness of "Slave" and the catchy melody of "Cry For Love".

Coverdale's voice is in fine form for this album, he sounds as good as he ever did, and even better sometimes. His bluesy, soulful low and mid-range vocals are only complemented by the trademark screams that sound like they come straight out of Slide It In. Besides showcasing David Coverdale - the singer, this album also showcases David Coverdale - songwriter and producer. It's truly incredible to hear the production of this album and imagine that he recorded most of it in his own home.

Worthy of mention are the performances of guitarist Earl Slick (David Bowie) whose riffing and soloing totally blew me away, drummer Denny Carmassi (Heart/Whitesnake/Coverdale-Page) who was solid and steady, bassist Marco Mendoza (Blue Murder/Sykes/Ted Nugent/Thin Lizzy), and Coverdale's little boy Jasper who plays a mean shaker!

Featuring David Coverdale at his best, Into The Light is a strong candidate for 2000 album of the year. It's a crime if you don't own this album so RUN, don't walk, to the nearest record store (or just click the link below) and score yourself a copy of this gem. It'll make for countless hours of good listening. Hell, buy a few copies and distribute them to your loved ones, TRUST ME, they'll appreciate it.

Shred Pick - "Don't You Cry" (5:47)

Reviewed by Henry Bocanegra

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