BraveWords caught up with a jet-lagged BERNIE MARSDEN for an update on his long-awaited, star-studded Shine solo album, along with other happenings in the WHITESNAKE legend’s life of the blues.

“Well, I took pretty much all of last year to do the record,” begins Marsden. “I mean, I wasn’t in there every day. But I’d do a couple days, then I’d leave it for a few days and do another couple days; you know, that kind of thing. But I did it at Abbey Road. So that was rather special. You know, it’s a bit like, you go up a few notches when you’re in there.”

As for the style of the album, Bernie figures... “There’s quite a bit of Ready An’ Willing in there. And you know, we’ve got David (Coverdale) singing on it, which is fantastic. You know, and getting him involved was really, really good for me. That felt really... I don’t know, what’s the word? It felt right. To do that track. To say, ‘Mate, do you want to sing on this?’ ‘Yeah, of course.’ So it was great. We didn’t have to ring up managers and stuff in order to do this. It was just two guys talking together. He did it and it was great. And then JOE BONAMASSA got involved... well, Joe was involved really from the beginning, and it was through him that I got to meet these people from his record label. I’ve been playing with Joe off and on for about two years, invited out to his gigs and stuff and then finally the guys came out and said, ‘Hey, we’d like you to make an album for us.’ And it was great. And I said, ‘Well, I’ll make an album for you but I want Joe to play on a track’ (laughs). Joe’s great; he’s a really good guy but you know about him anyway.”

“I’ll probably go out in the autumn with it,” notes Bernie, re: tour plans. “I was in New York on the weekend. That’s why I was kind of tired yesterday. But I played with the Allman Brothers last Friday. Yeah, (laughs). That was at the Beacon. That’s the kind of thing I’ve been doing, you know, with Joe and playing with other people, just kind of put myself around as a solo act a bit, you know? Getting involved in that kind level of people. Which is fantastic. It’s really good, because I’m a fairly unknown quantity in New York, especially. So it was great; when I came out I was amazed at the reception I got. It was really, really positive and very good. It’s just one of those special nights. I guess it’ll be on YouTube somewhere in a few days.”

Finally on the news front, Bernie shows up on JACK BRUCE’s new solo album, Bruce having guested on one of Bernie’s back in the low ‘80s.

“Yeah, I’m on two tracks on that. In fact Jack has just been on the BBC, on the radio, this afternoon here. Saying some very nice things about me. He’s a very nice guy, Jack Bruce. He said, ‘It’s taken me 30 years, but I’ve returned the favour.’ Plus he said, ‘Bernie is the best blues guitar player that no-one knows (laughs).”

Look for Shine to be issued on Mascot Records in about three months.