Whitesnake – Ready An’ Willing (FR)

To me, this is the best album Whitesnake ever did. Narrowly beating out “Lovehunter” and “Trouble”, this undoubtedly boosted the strongest lineup now that former Deep Purple skinsman Ian Paice joined thus giving the band the pedigree of having half of it’s members being former Deep Purple alumni. As I’ve said before, this band was a well-kept secret here in the States. None of the albums charted very high (if at all) and their touring here was limited. This however was not the case in Europe where they were headliners and had singles on the charts. It was also this period that David Coverdale would return to after landing the American record deal to cannibalize his work to turn them into hair-band anthems. THIS is the real Whitesnake. This was a band and kicking off this record is the real version of “Fool For Your Loving”, rich with Jon Lord’s keys and the intertwined guitars of Mickey Moody and Bernie Marsden. “Carry Your Load” also showcased Paice’s impressive percussion skills on the fadeout and “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” has got to be the best Whitesnake song that nobody ever heard, mixing in acoustic guitars that eventually build to a metallic climax as the drums come crashing down. Killer stuff. I go into more detail on their other albums but I feel that the true unsung hero of this band was bassist Neil Murray who has such a unique style of playing that it’s hard to put it into words. He never just lays on the root, he uses an almost counterpoint on his lines at times but the bottom never drops out. He fills the space so well that you don’t really notice it but when you focus on his playing you can really hear the nuance and skill of his playing. The bonus cuts are also worth it; a live version of the Deep Purple classic “Mistreated” and their punishing cover of “Ain’t No Love In The Heart of the City” as well as the unreleased studio track “Love For Sale” gives you so much for your money. Forget all of what MTV told you about this band. If you love bluesy classic rock then this is truly a great record. Get it.

by Jacob