DAVID COVERDALE'S WHITESNAKE— Snakebite (United Artist?)::Dave never got the acclaim that his Purple predecessor Ian Gillan did but this LP slithers right past Ian's solo excesses. It's neither painful nor poisonous as the title suggests, just solid English stomp, not unlike Crawler. M.D.

JOHN McLAUGHLIN—Johnny McLaughlin, Electric Guitarist (Columbia)::Stripped of the weighty pretensions of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the esoteric and monotonously acoustic virtuosity of Shakti, McLaughlin emerges as one bad burnin' mother of a guitar player. Using various small group combinations (with people like Carlos Santana, Chick Corea, Tony Williams, etc.), Johnny runs down moods ranging from undiluted funk thru electric bebop thru introspective ballad. It's as if all the awkward and boring and disjointed elements of fusion music had jelled into one dynamite package, balance replacing excess, substance replacing flash. I haven't cared much for anything McLaughlin's done during the past eight years, but this one's a winner.^ R.C.W.