Lovehunter

Untitled

Lovehunter is the third album by the British band Whitesnake, released in 1979.

Cover art

Lovehunter's lurid cover art featuring a naked white female straddling a large snake was created by famed fantasy artist Chris Achilleos. Reportedly the controversial cover proved troublesome for Achilleos who subsequently refused to do album covers for many years.[1] Achilleos' original Lovehunter artwork was stolen in the 1980s and has yet to be recovered.[2]

A similar idea had been used two years prior for the cover of Jon Lord's Sarabande album, recorded in 1975 and released in 1976. The cover shows the drawing of an ourobouros (snake biting its own tail), on which three naked women ride. The woman at 120º (clockwise) from the top stands in a position evocative of the woman on the Love Hunter cover. The original Jon Lord sleeve design was designed by Kosh, and the illustration made by Mike Bryan. Jon Lord was in Whitesnake at the time of Lovehunter.

The album cover was later used as inspiration for the fictional group Spinal Tap's album Smell the Glove.

Track listing

1. "Long Way From Home" (David Coverdale) – 4:56
2. "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues" (Bernie Marsden, Coverdale) – 4:24
3. "Help Me Thro' The Day" (Leon Russell) – 4:39
4. "Medicine Man" (Coverdale) – 3:59
5. "You 'N' Me" (Marsden, Coverdale) – 3:30
6. "Mean Business" (Marsden, Coverdale, Jon Lord, Micky Moody) – 3:48
7. "Love Hunter" (Marsden, Coverdale, Moody) – 5:39
8. "Outlaw" (Marsden, Coverdale, Lord) – 4:03
9. "Rock 'N' Roll Women" (Coverdale, Moody) – 4:45
10. "We Wish You Well" (Coverdale) – 1:34

Lovehunter was remastered and reissued in 2006 with several bonus tracks:

11. #"Belgian Tom's Hatrick" (Moody) – 3:40
12. #"Love To Keep You Warm" (Coverdale) – 3:30
13. #"Ain't No Love In The Heart of The City" (Michael Price, Dan Walsh) – 4:54
14. #"Trouble" (Coverdale, Marsden) – 4:30

• Tracks 11–14 are from Andy Peebles BBC Radio 1 Sessions recorded March 29th 1979.

Credits

• David Coverdale – vocals
• Micky Moody – guitars
• Bernie Marsden – guitars
• Jon Lord – keyboards
• Neil Murray – bass
• Dave Dowle – drums
• Martin Birch (producer and engineer)
• Chris Achilleos (LP Artwork)