Bernie Marsden: Working Man Review
In the months before his death in August at age 72, the prolific Bernie Marsden was hard at work putting together what will sadly now be a posthumous release. Out November 24 through Conquest Music, rock album Working Man features 12 new songs written by the Whitesnake co-founder, who had viewed this project as an opportunity to create new material following a trio of cover albums. An additional 10 new tracks are included on a bonus disc.
Working Man is proof that Marsden had a lot left to say at the end of his life-spanning career. The music is fun to listen to—at times it’s upbeat and reminiscent of Marsden’s hitmaking days with Whitesnake, and in other moments it’s gentle and thought-provoking. The album feels well-balanced as contemplative tracks like “Longtime” and “You Know” even out the surging rhythms in “Being Famous” and “Bad Reputation.” The album also includes two instrumental tracks—“Steelhouse Mountain” and “The Pearl”— to close out Side A and Side B on vinyl.
Working Man begins with its first single, “Being Famous,” a track that reflects in a kind of repulsion-tinged fascination on the realities of rockstar fame: “Check in the hotel, look at your room / The luxury is obscene / It’s good enough for a queen.” Marsden warns over thumping rhythms that fame “ain’t all that it seems” and urges those who grasp it to “always remember: Do not lose your mind.”
Marsen’s lyrics take a reflective tone on the next two songs, “Midtown” and “Longtime.” “Midtown” begins slowly with a strummed guitar chord leading directly into a broken piano chord for its introduction. The song’s pace picks up as Marsden begins singing of memories past before deciding in the chorus that it’s time to move on and “get out of Midtown,” a declaration underlined by a short but strong guitar solo. The pace slows for “Longtime,” the album’s first tender love ballad, before picking up again for “Invisible,” a track packed with Whitesnake hit single vibes, and the ruminating but determined “Son I’ve Never Known.”
The first side of the album closes with “Steelhouse Mountain,” a purely instrumental track that sounds like it could be a companion to Led Zeppelin’s “Black Mountain Side.” The second half of the album launches with “Working Man,” a sonically upbeat song that confronts the economic struggles of a man striving to provide for his family during tough times. Sandwiched between the title track and the vocal harmonies that fill “Savannah,” the pleading “Valentine’s Day” is perhaps the album’s least memorable song but is soon followed by the sassy “Bad Reputation,” a groove-heavy song that gets a fun boost from its backing vocalists.
Before the album ends on its final instrumental track “The Pearl,” Working Man serves up a final ballad in “You Know.” The song is delicate and sincere, a counter in some ways to the kinds of hit singles that made the Marsden of Whitesnake famous but that ring true in his solo work. It’s a beautiful way to end the album, a track that’s likely to get a lot of repeat listens from those familiar with his later work. Working Man arrives as a pretty fantastic collection of new material—and a great final gift for Marsden fans who miss him.
The Review: 8/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Being Famous
– Midtown
– Steelhouse Mountain
– You Know
The Big Hit
– Being Famous
