WHITESNAKE

WHITESNAKE
READY AN' WILLING (1980)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

This classic album was recorded seven years before Whitesnake broke through in America, having changed their sound from hard, bluesy rock n' roll to big-haired pop metal, so the version of "Fool For Your Loving" that kicks off "Ready An' Willing" is the original gritty rocker, not the slick, keyboard-laden and slightly evil one from the 1989 MTV video.
Back in 1980 original Whitesnake guitarists Bernie Marsden and Mick Moody played big, bluesy guitar riffs and short, sparse solos, Coverdale didn't yet bleach his hair, and the music was raw and powerful, more Deep Purple than poodle-pop.
"Ready an' Willing" goes from highlight to highlight:
"Fool For Your Loving", the hard-rocking "Sweet Talker", the superbly groovy "Ready An' Willing", the dirty, swaggering blues-rock of "Love Man", and the ballads "Carry Your Load", the Zeppelin-like "Blindman" and the acoustic "Ain't Gonna Cry No More". And one of the band's unknown gems is also here, the funky, piano-driven R&B of "Black And Blue" which can only be found on this album.
It's not great art, sure, but it's really great fun, and there is certainly no need to program anything out here. To me "Ready An' Willing" is Whitesnake's strongest studio album by far, and it's also the last one with the original line-up of Moody, Marsden, Murray, and former Purple members Lord and Paice intact. Never again did the Snake make an album of such consistently entertaining songs.

1. Fool For Your Loving
2. Sweet Talker
3. Ready An' Willing
4. Carry Your Load
5. Blindman
6. Ain't Gonna Cry No More
7. Love Man
8. Black And Blue
9. She's A Woman
Bonus Tracks
10. Love For Sale
11. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Live)
12. Mistreated (Live)
13. Love Hunter (Live)
14. Breakdown (Live)