After completing the Liquor & Poker World Tour in September 1990, vocalist David Coverdale decided to put his band Whitesnake on indefinite hold, wanting to take a break from the music industry.

[7] The two were later joined by drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Ricky Phillips to flesh out the songs; these rehearsals lasted for several months.

[11][12] Coverdale and Page made their first public appearance together in May 1991, when they joined Poison onstage in Reno for a rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" (1971).

[15] Aside from Coverdale and Page, the album features performances from Carmassi, Phillips, keyboardist Lester Mendez and backing vocalist Johnne Sambataro, among others.

Lyrically, Coverdale described the song as a "reflective piece", inspired by personal tragedies both he and Page had gone though in their lives.

[12] In 2020, Page stated in an Instagram post that the orchestrations on "Take Me for a Little While" were done by Clare Fischer, despite his lack of credit in the liner notes.

[12] "Absolution Blues" was the first song Coverdale and Page wrote together,[7] while the lyrics to "Whisper a Prayer for the Dying" deal with the Gulf War.

At least four songs remain officially unreleased from the Coverdale–Page sessions,[21] including one titled "Saccharine" and an alternative mix of "Shake My Tree".

The highest-charting singles were "Pride and Joy" and "Shake My Tree", which reached numbers one and three, respectively, on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart.

[36][37] While "Pride and Joy" reportedly did well on MTV (also being featured on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head[38]), "Take Me for a Little While" received minimal airplay according to Coverdale, as the video was apparently deemed too gothic by the channel.

[6] Carmassi was retained from the recording sessions, while bassist Guy Pratt and keyboardist Brett Tuggle were brought on board as new members.

Due to the popularity of grunge, promoters were allegedly "skeptical of [Coverdale and Page's] pulling power in a poor market for traditional heavy rock".

[41][42] This was seconded by Pratt, who stated: "It was originally meant to be an American and European tour, but it was booked as arenas and the ticket sales just weren't there.

"[43] Conversely, Coverdale stated: "The whole arrangement for the Coverdale–Page project was to go directly to the theatres, to the stage, and nothing, not even a whisper, came from Jimmy's manager when the album was released.

"[39] Coverdale blamed Page's manager for the lack of touring, who was allegedly unenthusiastic about the project and wouldn't commit to live dates.

[43] Japanese dates for December 1993 were still tentatively booked, and according to Coverdale, it wasn't until he brought the matter directly to Page that the latter agreed to do the shows.

Rolling Stone's J. D. Considine stated: "Coverdale–Page may not be the second coming of Led Zeppelin, but it's close enough that only the most curmudgeonly would deny the band its due."

[53] Katharine Truman, for the Los Angeles Times, noted that while "not as bombastic as Whitesnake nor as excitingly diverse as Zeppelin, Coverdale–Page is nonetheless a rock-solid effort".

[55] Critic Robert Christgau rated Coverdale–Page a "Dud",[58] which his website describes as a "bad record whose details rarely merit further thought".

[50] The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot also called the album "pointless" and a "Led Zeppelin rehash beneath Page and beyond singer David Coverdale".

Tom Moon, for The Philadelphia Inquirer, described Coverdale as a "raspy, bad-boy Robert Plant wannabe", who "lacks a shred individuality".

[54] Robert Philpot of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin felt that "sometimes [Coverdale's] screams eerily recall Plant", while other times he ends up sounding hoarse.

[60] L. Kent Wolgamott of the Lincoln Journal Star felt similarly, stating that the record "sounds like a good album from Whitesnake", but "Led Zeppelin it certainly is not".

Music journalist Mick Wall declared Coverdale–Page "one of the best albums of both [Coverdale and Page's] respective careers",[61] while AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine concluded his review by stating: "Coverdale–Page boils down to a guilty pleasure at its best moments, but never quite rivals the bold experimentation of Led Zeppelin.

"[48] Neil Jeffries, in a piece for Classic Rock, ranked Coverdale–Page thirteenth in Coverdale's overall studio discography, concluding that the singer sounds "unsure whether to impersonate Robert Plant or be himself".

"[66] Even before collaborating with Page, Coverdale had been accused of copying Plant, who had reportedly referred to him in interviews as "David Cover-version",[67] among other taunts.

"[8] VH1's Greg Prato put forth the idea that the whole Coverdale–Page project was just a way for Page to spite Plant, who had been reluctant to reunite Led Zeppelin.

Having procured the rights to the record from Universal, Coverdale told SiriusXM's Eddie Trunk that the reissue will potentially feature remastered and remixed versions of Coverdale–Page, four unreleased tracks, live material, as well as other bonus content.