Live... in the Heart of the City

Live...in the Heart of the City is a 1980 live album by English rock band Whitesnake. Originally released as a double-vinyl album, and double-play cassette, it utilises recordings made in 1978 and 1980. The album charted at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart with Platinum certification, and number 146 on the Billboard 200. The Classic Rock magazine in 2011 and 2023 placed it among the best live albums ever.

Release

Sides 1 and 2 of the vinyl are recordings made with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at the Hammersmith Odeon, during the band's 1980 World Tour. Sides 3 and 4 are from a 1978 recording, previously released in Japan in March 1980 as Live at Hammersmith. In North America, the album was released as a single record, excluding the live material from 1978. The first UK CD version (EMI CZD 94) was a double set, issued in 1988, in what is now known as a 'fat-boy' double-CD case. Sides 1 and 2 of the 2-LP set were CD1; sides 3 and 4 were CD2. The later 1994 release was a single CD version, the 1978 recording of "Come On" being dropped to match the restrictive running time of the single CD. Live...in the Heart of the City has since been remastered and was released in March 2007 as a 2-CD set (in a slimline double-CD case), once again featuring all the tracks of the original album, plus a 1980 recording of "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City". In February 2011 it was released as a red vinyl 2-LP. The 1978 performance of Might Just Take Your Life, originally recorded by singer David Coverdale and keyboardist Jon Lord as members of Deep Purple in 1974, featured guitarist Bernie Marsden singing the middle eight part as originally sung by Glenn Hughes on the Deep Purple recording. The sleeve art is by British artist Jeff Cummins. "We were sent on some silly promotional stunt for the album that involved a circus elephant," recalled David Coverdale. "Yes, an elephant, not a snake. Lord knows why".

Reception

In a 2023 retrospective "Album Of The Week Club review", Classic Rock gave it a 4.5/5 stars, considering it a great live album, one of band's masterpieces that has stood well the test of time. The same magazine in 2011 included it on the list of "Live Albums That Changed the World", and in 2023 placed it as 38th out of 50 on the list of best live albums ever.

Track listing