David Coverdale says a few months on the road with the newly reconfigured Whitesnake lineup convinced him not to retire.

"In essence, it's re-energized me," Coverdale tells Metropolis Radio. "I still write new music. We'll be recording some new music next year. But it's just revitalized me. Re-renergized, that's all I can say. So, any ideas that I had six months ago of retiring – I was totally honest when I was making interviews, that I thought, you know, 'This is probably it.' But I had an incredibly good time on this U.S. tour with my musicians. It was incredible."

Former Night Ranger guitarist Joel Hoekstra joined Coverdale, Reb Beach, Michael Devin, Tommy Aldridge and Michele Luppi for the first time in Whitesnake last May. They're touring in support of the band's 12 studio effort, The Purple Album – a tribute to Coverdale's nearly three-year stint with Deep Purple in the mid '70s. The project reworks key tracks from a period that saw the Mark III and IV editions release Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band.

"The songs don't feel old when we perform them," Coverdale enthuses. "Yesterday, I was listening to some of the live recordings from the U.S. tour, and they're f–ing amazing. This band is great. They play Whitesnake music, of course, fantastic – but they play Deep Purple music fantastic. It's definitely even more so than on the record. It's very powerful and you can tell the musicians are enjoying themselves, and you can see it and you can hear it. And hopefully you can feel it, too."

The Purple Album arrived at a fortuitous time in Coverdale's career, too. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple was announced last week.

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