Review: Whitesnake - Ready an' Willing (1980)

Yessir, I pulled this one off my record shelf and spun it this evening. Below is a crappy review, my heart wasn't in it as much as it usually is due to the disappointment I felt upon completing my listening session. You know, when you go to a new restaurant, try their burger, and it's okay, but not something you'd eat again, yet you still finish it? Yeah that's Ready an' Willing.

In 1980, Whitesnake was essentially still just a blues-rock band and didn't really exhibit a lot of the heavy metal flash that began primarily with tracks from their 1982 album Saints n' Sinners, an album I have already reviewed. And while Saints n' Sinners was a blues rock/blues metal tour de force in a lot of ways, Ready an' Willing is a disappointment. The guitars are mixed down a surprising amount, in favor of a bass-heavy feel. Adding to the problem, impressive guitar solos are rare, and the songwriting seems labored...definitely not the best collaboration of the Micky Moody/Coverdale era of the band. Several of the tracks are plodding 12-bar blues-inspired numbers that pay homage to Coverdale's influences, but not in an interesting or innovative way. The title track, with its interesting chord progression and catchy chorus is about the only standout from the album, and even then, I'm on the fence about putting it on my mp3 player.

I love blues-rock and I love Whitesnake, but I'll be the first to admit this is not how you go about making a blues-inspired rock album. All the greats of the genre have figured out ways to integrate the essence of the blues while maintaining innovation and adapting to a pop sound. Whitesnake did this fantastically on Saints n' Sinners, Slide It In, and their self-titled 1987 album, all of which followed this release. That's why it was so disheartening to listen to this record....it was like waiting for a Tyson return to glory or a good new Metallica release - doomed for failure, with one's hopes crushed underfoot like so many grapes.

But, lest you think I'm suddenly down on one of the great bands of blues-metal, I will say that 1980 also saw the release of Live: In the Heart of the City, a double live LP consisting of late 70's Whitesnake concert material recorded live. This was a tremendous album (that I highly recommend you check out) and showed that the initial Moody/Coverdale/Lord etc. incarnation of the band really had what it took to put out some great music, but ultimately Coverdale's unpredictable nature led to the dissolution of this lineup in favor of the Slide it In lineup. The change did them good, however, with the addition of guitar genius John Sykes, whom I can't say enough about.

I realize this review sucks, but I just listened to the whole album all the way through and felt the need to write one out at the end of it. And if you gave enough of a smidgen of a shit to make it this far through an album review of a record that came out 30 years ago... you don't mind. I guarantee it.