Ready an' Willing in Bloomington, MN

Despite benefiting from the expert assistance of legendary producer
Martin Birch
(
Black Sabbath
,
Deep Purple
, later
Iron Maiden
)
Whitesnake
's early studio albums all tended to sound unexplainably flat. Their fourth effort, 1980's
Ready an' Willing
, was no exception, but it did make up for this somewhat with solid songwriting. In fact,
David Coverdale
and company were growing increasingly more consistent and self-assured with each record, and this album's first half shows great progress over the previous year's hit-and-miss
Lovehunter
. Opener
"Fool for Your Lovin'"
was their best single yet, as well as their highest charting; with its clever combination of hit-savvy chorus and authentic bluesy resignation, it set the template for subsequent triumphs, and the fact that
Coverdale
re-recorded it (in disappointing
pop-metal
fashion) over a decade later for 1989's
Slip of the Tongue
is a testament to its staying power. Further highlights include the live favorite
"Sweet Talker"
(given extra bite by
Micky Moody
's expert slide guitar), the groove monster of a title track, and a set of memorable
ballads
in
"Blindman"
and
"Ain't Gonna Cry No More."
The same laurels can't be awarded to the album's closing trio of songs, all of which evince the tired and formulaic
blues-rock
that had dominated previous releases. But this didn't stop
from qualifying as
's finest hour thus far, with ever-greater glory waiting just over the horizon. [The 2006 reissue includes five bonus cuts.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia