How did Coverdale get such a top lineup anyway?

[Bono Nettencourt]

Well that's the point of the thread... whatever '87 was wasn't what they were after once Sykes was fired, it was all about flash and marketing.

[Love_Industry]

Vivian is a strange one. He was great on those first two Dio albums, but just flamed out after that. Doesn't even sound like the same player. Viv and Vai were strange choices because neither could come close to the thick Les Paul sound that Sykes had and really gave the band their sound on that album.

Vai was the top name at the time after his two albums and tours with Roth. So getting him made sense commercially and also artistically for SOTT as Vandenberg's guitar playing was too generic.

Viv... I guess Cov needed a young guy who could play fast in the band to give a more youthful profile to the band of 35-40 year old poodle rockers.

[DangerZone]

I remember reading in some magazine back in the day where Coverdale said he was starting fresh in LA and sat down with his manager (probably Kalodner) and they wrote out a list of his dream band.
Then he went about making it happen

[Bono Nettencourt]

Vivian is a strange one. He was great on those first two Dio albums, but just flamed out after that. Doesn't even sound like the same player. Viv and Vai were strange choices because neither could come close to the thick Les Paul sound that Sykes had and really gave the band their sound on that album.

Vai was the top name at the time after his two albums and tours with Roth. So getting him made sense commercially and also artistically for SOTT as Vandenberg's guitar playing was too generic.

That album was in deep trouble. Kalodner got out the checkbook and recruited Vai to be its savior.