Slip of the Tongue is the eighth studio album by the British hard rock band Whitesnake, released on 7 November 1989 in the US by Geffen Records and 13 November 1989 in the UK by EMI. The album peaked at number 10 on both the UK Album Chart and US Billboard 200. Three singles were released from the album: "Fool for Your Loving '89", "The Deeper the Love" and "Now You're Gone". All the singles hit the US Mainstream Rock Tracks Top 40, two of which, "The Deeper the Love" and "Fool for Your Loving" cracked the Top 5. Slip of the Tongue has sold over one million copies in the US, reaching platinum status. It was the final studio album to be released through Geffen as they were dropped from the label after the Greatest Hits tour by the end of 1994.
"Fool for Your Loving" originally appeared on the album Ready an' Willing, but it was re-recorded for this album.
Background
After touring with their previous multi-platinum eponymous album in August 1988, guitarist Vivian Campbell was having problems with the band due to musical differences. David Coverdale then added that Campbell's wife had a "falling out" with Tawny Kitaen, who was Coverdale's fiance at that time, causing tensions between the two. Originally, lead and primary guitarist, Adrian Vandenberg wanted to be the sole guitarist and personally did not want Campbell in the band. However, this was to be debunked as Vandenberg asserted that he had nothing to do with Campbell's departure but confirmed Coverdale's statements about Campbell's dismissal. Coverdale then announced that the next supporting album was going to be written by him and Vandenberg, who established a fruitful working relationship at that time.
Songwriting and production
The writing process for a new Whitesnake album started at Lake Tahoe with singer David Coverdale and guitarist Adrian Vandenberg. Some material, including the title track, had already been written while on tour and some lyrics were finished by Coverdale in Bora Bora. After approximately a month of writing, the band regrouped for three weeks of rehearsals. Campbell shortly later departed on December 1988.
Adrian Vandenberg had planned to record for the album, but the worsening of an existing injury made it painful for him to play, requiring surgery. For the recording, Coverdale chose ex-Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth guitarist Steve Vai. Coverdale was unfamiliar with Vai's work with Zappa or Roth, but had seen him in the 1986 film Crossroads, in which Vai had greatly impressed him. Adrian Vandenberg revealed in several interviews that he thinks Vai's flamboyant guitar playing was somewhat inappropriate, and that a more bluesy approach would have suited the album better. Adrian Vandenberg was credited as a major co-songwriter, while Steve Vai was credited with "fulfilling all guitar responsibilities" on the album, and appeared in all the band's music videos. In this case, Vandenberg would not appear to play in any recording Whitesnake albums until he finally appeared on the next upcoming 1997 release, Restless Heart.
Most of the backing vocals are by Tommy Funderburk and Mr. Mister lead singer Richard Page; Coverdale's friend and former Deep Purple bandmate Glenn Hughes contributed backing vocals to three songs. Once again, keyboardist Don Airey, along with session musicians Claude Gaudette and David Rosenthal, was brought in to do some keyboard parts, but just like with Hughes, much of his material didn't make the final cut of the album.
Release and promotion
Slip of the Tongue was released on 7 November 1989 in the United States by Geffen Records, then released worldwide (particularly in Europe) six days later by EMI. It was later received a Japanese release on 18 November 1989 by CBS/Sony. The original album spawned three singles. "Fool for Your Loving '89" was released in October 1989 while "The Deeper the Love" and "Now You're Gone" were released in 1990. "Judgement Day" did not receive a single release, rather, it was made solely as a radio airplay. The single B-Side of the album, "Sweet Lady Luck" was released in 1990, only to be re-released in 1994 for the Greatest Hits promotion.