Interview with ex-Whitesnake guitarist, singer and composer Bernie Marsden
With ‘Shine’ Bernie Marsden – ex-guitarist and composer of among others Whitesnake – recently released a brand new studio album as a solo artist on Provogue Records. That’s good news for all of the fans. Together with longtime friend and successful producer Rob Cass, Marsden recorded this great new album at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. Bernie Marsden is a bus guy anyway. At a rough guesstimate Marsden’s name appears on a hundred albums since the early seventies.
Shortly after the release of his new album ‘Shine’ I had a talk with this friendly and versatile singer, guitarist and composer in which I ask him some questions about the making of this new album.
You recorded ‘Shine’ together with producer Rob Cass. I know your friendship goes way back and mr. Cass was the singer in your band Alaska for a brief period back in the 1980’s. But is this the first time he produced one of your albums?
“Yes it is. But we know eachother for a long time. Actually, completely out of the blue really, Rob Cass send me an email. That was in the end of 2012. In this email he asked me if we could meet up and have lunch together. With this he wanted to thank me for an airline ticket that I bought for him about twenty years ago. Anyway, he wanted to meet up again and get together. And I said oke, where do you wanna meet? Where do you live nowadays? And Rob said, well let’s meet up at the home of my production company at the Abbey Road Studios in London. So I said, alright brilliant. I wanna make a new record. So let’s meet up.”
When did this meeting take place?
“We met up at the Abbey Road Studios in the end of 2012. And we started the recordings for ‘Shine’ in Februari 2013. And we finished it in October 2013. So to me it’s already ten months old.””
With ‘Shine’ you recorded a new studio-album after 15 years. How come it took so long? Where you too busy with other projects?
“Well, this is my first studio-album in fiftheen years that I did for a record company. With Green And Blues I recorded the last album for a record company in 1994. But in between I did record for myself. By the way, at the same time Gary Moore’s album Blues for Greeny came out whith basically the same material. So we both had a good laugh about it.”
“Recording at the famous Abbey Road Studios is great of course”
Was it at this meeting at Abbey Road Studios that you decided to make a new Bernie Marsden’s studio-album?
‘Well, it all came together actually. The new record company I’m on nowadays, Mascot Label Group/ Provogue Records, had some ideas for a new album for which I was pleased and honoured. And at the same time I had this meeting with Rob Cass at his studio at Abbey Road. I knew about his great works as a producer. I knew he has a nice modern approach on producing records with a great sound. And obviously we knew eachother for a long time. So it was more or less on mutual agreement that Rob Cass and I decided to make a new album together and record it at his studio on Abbey Road. Which is great of course, recording at the famous Abbey Road Studios.”
Did you start writing songs after you two agreed to make a new album together? Or did you already have a lot of material?
“I had quit some material already, but I added some songs to put on the new album. When I knew that I was gonna make a new album I started to write songs especially for the new album”
Are there strictly new songs on the album?
“I had about four or five songs that I kept in a drawer over the past ten years. But, yeah, a lot of songs are new. I think about 60 percent is new. Shine and Wedding Day are new songs. And You Better Run and Hoxie Rollin’ Time are new. And Linin’ Track is new to me. But Bad Blood and Ladyfriend as well. Alright, that makes it even 70 or 80 percent I guess. The song Kinda Wish She Would is somehow new. This is a song I did with another band about ten years ago. I changed it a little and back than it was called Kinda Wish You Would.”
“I wrote Trouble years ago together with David Coverdale”
Did you write all of the songs on ‘Shine’ yourself?
“Yeah, accept Trouble. That one I co-written quit some years ago with David Coverdale. And of course Dragonfly is a Fleetwood Mac song written by Jeff Cohen.”
Of which songs on ‘Shine’ are you particularly proud of?
“Well, definetly Walk Away, to me that’s a real piece of American rock. And of course Trouble, because of the great performance by David Coverdale. And I’m very happy with Dragonfly, the Fleetwood Mac cover. But I’m also proud of Bad Blood and Kinda Wish She Would. And surely Lady Friend is a pretty cool song. Well, you know they’re all special to me. It’s like to decide on what’s your favourite child.”
“When I was young I always listened to the Beatles album Revolver
It really had a big influence on me over the years”
I know you’re extremely happy to record your new album at the Abbey Road Studios. The fact that The Beatles recorded your favourite Beatles-album Revolver at the Abbey Road Studios is one of the reasons. I’m curious: why is this your most favourite Beatles-album? And not one of their other masterpieces?
“Well, you’re right of course, in a way they’re all masterpieces. But when I was young I always use to listen to this album. I’m talking about the days that you really had to put on a record on your record player. Quit unlike nowadays. Revolver was the record that I always put on and listen to from start to finish over and over again. It really had a big influence on me over the years. To me Revolver is a classical Beatles albums with a lot of dreamy songs. Unlike the first two albums. This was before Sergeant Pepper’s, the album everybody talks about obviously. Because it’s a masterpiece too of course. To me it seems the Beatles are really relaxed on Revolver, without any stress or pressure. It’s like they’re just having a great time. Man, I love the guitar in Taxman and the harmony in I’m Only Sleeping.”
Was this your first time working at the Abbey Road Studios?
“No, I worked over there quit a bit already back in the 70’s. But this was the first time that I finished a complete project form start to finish at the Abbey Road Studios.”
“I’m fortunate to have so many friends that are fine musicians”
On ‘Shine’ a lot of your musical buddies contributed, like David Coverdale, Joe Bonamassa, Ian Paice, Don Airy and many others. For this you almost excuse yourself. Were they willing to participate right away?
“Haha, that’s a nice phrase you’re using. But yeah, I’ve got a very good black book, I may say. I’m fortunate to have so many friends that are fine musicians. So that’s a nice position to be in. They’re among the best of the world. They’re all great. And all of them were willing to participate on the album right away. So that’s a nice position to be in”
Are there any musicians other than formentioned David Coverdale, Joe Bonamassa and Ian Paice and Don Airy of Deep Purple that I should mention?
“Well, obviously everybody come up with the names you mentioned, but there’s also John Gordon, Ian Jennings and Jimmy Copley who’ve worked with Jeff Beck and Mark Feltham of Nine Below Zero. And Simon Webb who’s a classical musician actually. And there’s Cherry Lee Mewis and many others.”
Are you gonna do a promotion tour for this new album?
“Yeah, I’m gonna do a few shows in England in October and November.”
Are you coming to Holland as well?
“I would like to, but no I’m not.”
“I few years ago I played in Holland at a Rory Gallagher festival
Together with Jan Akkerman and some other musicians”
When was the last time you played in Holland?
“I think that must have been about ten years ago with Company of Snakes. We stayed in Holland for three days and played in some cool rock & roll towns back than. I really would like to play in Holland again, like in the Paradiso. That’s a long time ago and would be nice. But hold on, I played at a Rory Gallagher festival with Jan Akkerman and some other musicians, that was about three years ago.”
Are you currently working on other projects?
“As a matter of fact I go to Russia next year to do a concert in a park in September with a Russian artist who’s name I can’t remember right now. After that I go to India to record an album with an Indian singer who wants to put some European flavour to his music. And I go to Mumbai as well to contribute on a Bollywood movie. Than I go back to England to do some guitar clinics and a UK tour. So I’m quit busy.”
Is there anything you wanna let your Dutch fans know?
“Well, I’m very pleased to be with a Dutch record company now. They’re all good and quit young, I must say. Through them I understand that times are different nowadays, with all the social media like Facebook and Twitter I mean. Before nine months I had no knowledge about this what so ever. Furthermore I look forward to play in Holland again. I always get a good feeling with the audience. The people in Holland really understand the blues as well.”
Text: Rick Warner
