Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 4, 2023

If you're a "chart action" geek like some who shall remain nameless (okay, it's me), you may find some interest in comparing the histories of Deep Purple and Whitesnake. While it's arguable that Deep Purple remains the more revered band of the two to this day, a brief review of both charting albums and especially singles would seem to suggest that Whitesnake might be the more "successful" of the pair of bands, at least when judged by this obviously questionable metric. Somewhat surprisingly in this data set, though, is the fact that the "David Coverdale" years of Deep Purple were not especially fruitful in terms of big hits, even if Coverdale's debut album, Burn, was a Top 10 hit in both the UK and US, easily certified Gold, even if it didn't produce any huge single smashes. This retrospective from Rhino includes a Blu- ray disc with some admittedly questionable video quality in some of its archival offerings, but the overall package should certainly be of interest to fans of Coverdale and the band. The "movie" score above is therefore for this entire package, while the video and audio scores refer to the Blu-ray disc.

In terms of chart action, the original release of Good to Be Bad arrived in 2008, where it made it to the Top 10 in the UK but ultimately didn't make as much headway on this side of the pond, peaking at 62. None of the singles from the original album charted anywhere that I've been able to discern. This handsomely packaged set includes two 2023 "updates" of the original album on separate CDs, along with two more CDs devoted to even more remixes and varying versions. Below are the full contents of each disc, with the Blu-ray disc also featuring resolutions and timings:

CD1: 2023 Remix

01. Best Years
02. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
03. Lay Down Your Love
04. All I Want All I Need
05. Call On Me
06. All For Love
07. Good To Be Bad
08. Summer Rain
09. If You Want Me
10. Got What You Need
11. Dog
12. All I Want Is You
13. A Fool In Love
14. Ready to Rock
15. 'Til The End Of Time

CD2: 2023 Remaster

01. Best Years
02. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
03. Lay Down Your Love
04. If You Want Me
05. All I Want All I Need
06. Call On Me
07. Ready To Rock
08. Summer Rain
09. Good To Be Bad
10. All For Love
11. All I Want Is You
12. Got What You Need
13. A Fool In Love
14. Dog
15. 'Til The End Of Time

CD3: Alternative Remixes and Versions

01. Lay Down Your Love**
02. Call On Me**
03. All For Love**
04. Good To Be Bad**
05. If You Want Me** (with Hook City Horns)
06. Got What You Need*
07. A Fool In Love**
08. Dog*
09. All I Want Is You*
10. Ready To Rock*
11. If You Want Me*
12. All For Love (Doug Aldrich Alternate Solo)*
13. Summer Rain (Unzipped)

*Tommy Aldridge: Drums **Hook City Harlots

CD4: Evolutions

01. Best Years
02. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
03. Lay Down Your Love
04. If You Want Me
05. All I Want All I Need
06. Call On Me
07. Ready To Rock
08. Summer Rain
09. Good To Be Bad
10. All For Love
11. All I Want Is You
12. Got What You Need
13. A Fool In Love
14. Dog
15. 'Til The End Of Time

Disc 5: Blu-ray

Music Videos (HD; 38:16) feature DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0:

Ready To Rock (Promo Video)
Lay Down Your Love (Promo Video)
Best Years (Purplesnake Video)
Can You Hear The Wind Blow (Purplesnake Video)
Call On Me (Purplesnake Video)
All I Want Is You (Purplesnake Video)
All For Love (Purplesnake Video)
Got What You Need (Purplesnake Video)

Four-Play Live Highlights from the 2008 European Tour (HD; 25:49) feature either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0:

Best Years
Can You Hear The Wind Blow
Lay Down Your Love
A Fool in Love

Cutting Room NY Acoustic Performances 2008

Eddie Trunk Interview (HD; 37:11) also includes nice "unplugged" performances of:

Can You Hear The Wind Blow
All I Want All I Need
Lay Down Your Love

Slideshow (HD; 5:54) plays to Summer Rain (Unzipped).

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Rhino Music with AVC encoded 1080i transfers in 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 at various times. Those of you who regularly read my music related reviews may have come across some of my writing about erstwhile Eagle Rock Entertainment (now Mercury Studios) so-called "SD Blu-rays" of an actual glut of Rolling Stones material, and I'd like the video presentations of both the Music Video and Four-Play Live parts of this disc in that same general category. There's no real technical information imparted anywhere in this set that I could find, but these sure look like upscales to me, and video quality is fairly ragged, as can pretty easily be seen in screenshots 2, 5, and 6 through 9. The news is much better with regard to the Cutting Room NY joint interview - performance on this disc, as can be seen in screenshots 1, 3 and 4. This is what I'd term "true HD" in appearance, with appealing detail levels and a nicely suffused palette. I'm splitting the difference in terms of the overall score above. I'd rate Music Videos and Four-Play Live material as being in the 2.0 to 2.5 range, while the Cutting Room NY piece is 4.0 material.

Note: The bottom of the box helpfully features all three region codes, so those not in Region A should be safe buying this, if interested.

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad features mostly DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 audio, though the Four-Play Live concert sequences offer a rather nicely rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in addition to a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 option. All of the stereo tracks provide excellent fidelity and a nicely fulsome low end which helps propel some of the more percussive moments. The surround track nicely prioritizes the band over the screaming audience, which can be a bit more forward in the stereo mix. Coverdale's expressive vocals in the live performances can occasionally get slightly buried by the onslaught of the band's "support". Backups and the rhythm section are all extremely energetically presented. The interview and "unplugged" performances offer secure fidelity all the way.

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As I've so often mentioned in releases of this kind which combine a Blu-ray disc with either DVDs or CDs related to some music superstar, many will probably consider the Blu-ray disc as a supplement. I've detailed the entire contents, disc wise, above, but as I also mentioned, this is a very handsomely packaged release that is contained in a box that is approximately 8" high by 6" wide by 2 1/2" deep. The box contains all of the discs above (each in their own jacket and with mylar sleeves), as well as a nice 60 page hardbount book with great interviews, photos and memorabilia. There's also a reproduction of the 2009 World Tour book and a folded poster.

Whitesnake: Still Good to Be Bad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

David Coverdale is such an appealing presence that even when he's in quasi-huckster mode, as he kind of comically is in the interview included on the Blu-ray disc (see screenshot 1), he's affable and enjoyable. The CDs in this set offer some real enticements in my opinion, including some interesting remixes but perhaps even more so with regard to some of what might be called nascent material offered. The Blu-ray disc has some pretty ragged looking video in the live concert material, but the interview and unplugged performances are much better. Audio is fine and the supplements (whatever you may deem those to be) are excellent. Recommended.