Blue Murder

Blue Murder is the record on which John Sykes pushed his own musicality forward not just as a guitarist but as a frontman. It's the first shot fired in April 1989 by a man who had co-written Whitesnake's 1987 only to be fired before its release, teaming up with Carmine Appice (drums) and Tony Franklin (bass). Ray Gillen was initially in the frame and Cozy Powell's name came up too, but in the end Geffen's John Kalodner pushed Sykes to sing it himself. The band name comes from a British idiom, reportedly Franklin's suggestion. Thick riffs, long-breathed solos and a sturdy rhythm section from the other two give the songs real weight. Extended developments and blues-inflected phrasing add shading to '80s-style hard rock. The sonic picture Bob Rock built at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver is imposing, and “Jelly Roll” became a minor US hit. The Egyptian-flavored epic “Valley of the Kings” is still talked about. It reached No. 69 in the US, and they toured America and Japan. A record that doesn't stop at showing off technique but balances a trio's push with the strength of the singing.