The original "bluesy" WS was a very different band- thus my referral to 1987 as a "Coverdale/ Sykes" album as opposed to a WS album. I get your song by song breakdown, but for me (and I think for Coverdale too based on his comments) the sound and vibe of the 1987 collaboration pointed toward huge future potential that ultimately was squandered.

For my personal taste I wish he had gone back to that bluesy style- but once the 1987 $ started rolling in, the die was cast and the original WS all but forgotten.

As much as I admire Doug Aldrich, I wasn't nearly as sold on those 2 WS albums as you are. They came off as an attempt to go back and try to recreate the Coverdale/ Sykes sound and vibe, even down to Doug's tone and solos... and it's good, but it's not Coverdale/ Sykes.