So...I'm a massive Vandenburg fan. Have all his stuff from original solo albums, Manic Eden, Moonkings (which I like the music here alot) and his new stuff.
However Adrian's playing changed post Whitesnake. Was it due to the hand injury he suffered during the recording of Slip or just a direction he was naturally heading in? Adrian now claims he's a blues fanatic but his first three solo albums were about as far away from the blues as you could get with his euro, staccato classical leanings. In some ways a more "composed" version of Schenker.
The first 3 Vandenburg solo albums from the 80's, especially the debut and Heading for a Storm are in my opinion a must listen for guitarists. The playing is brilliant on those albums. As for Whitesnake's Slip...it would have been nice to hear Adrians playing on the songs he wrote as opposed to Vai who IMO just went overboard then again, who know's it may have been worse.
That said, from a solo standpoint I never felt Adrian was a good fit for Whitesnake. Again, he likes to tout the blues in his playing and "back then", there just was nothing bluesy about his playing.
For me, modern day Adrian in terms of soloing, there's just something missing and it's probably a combo of the injury changing his style and he probably doesn't sit around practicing all the time anymore. Can't recommend the first three solo albums enough though, you may not like the vocals or even the tunes but the solos, damn they were on point.
As for the guitars, best thing Peavey had done up to that point. And why I never purchased one I'll never know. Those guitars were well made and sounded good unfortunately most models have the funky Kahlers on them. The new ones, I ain't paying what they're asking and not sure why they are asking that much other than nostalgia.