Customer Reviews
Whitesnake's finest - By: Docendo Discimus, 13 Sep 2008 
This classic album was recorded seven years before Whitesnake broke throughin 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 & slightly evil one from the 1989 MTV video.
Backin 1980 original Whitesnake guitarists Bernie Marsden & Mick Moody played big, bluesy guitar riffs & short, sparse solos, Coverdale didn't yet bleach his hair, & the music was raw & powerful, more Deep Purple than pop metal & poodle-rock.
Indeed, "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", & the ballads "Carry Your Load", the slightly Zeppelin-like "Blindman" & 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, & there is certainly no need to program anything out here. To me "Ready An' Willing" is Whitesnake's strongest studio album by far, & it's also the last one with the original line-up of Moody, Marsden, Murray, & former Purple members Lord & Paice intact. Never again did the Snake make an album of such consistently entertaining songs.
Essential Snake - By: metalmaz, 16 Jul 2008 Many people only became familiar with Whitesnake with the big hair, pouting lips & guitarists with long Dutch surnames.
With Ready And Willing you can hear how confident David Coverdale had become. The rhythm section was hugely improved with the addition of former Deep Purple bandmate drummer Iain Paice. Purple keyboardist Jon Lord was alreadyin the line up.
There are some of Whitesnake's finest songs on this album:- Fool For Your Loving, Read And Willing, Carry Your Load & the brilliant Blindman.
Perhaps not quite up there with the follow up album; Come And Get It, but I still have to give this 5 stars.
Great music - poor remaster - By: R. Hartley, 18 Mar 2008 
Don't get me wrong - this album is a great place to start listening to Whitesnake - just DON'T buy the 2007 remasters if you value the top range of your hearing! I have compared the tracks back to back with the 25th Anniversary versions (2003/2004) & the new remasters sound AWFUL! Far too brightin the mix & downright painful. I am not alone here - reviews on the DP website back me up.
Really looking forward to these CD's but feel really let down by poor remastering
Their Bluesiest Best - By: Old Timer, 29 Nov 2007 This was the very 1st 'snake album I heard, & it's still my favourite. I remember hearing the lead off track "Fool For Your Loving" when it hit the chartsin 1980, & my big sister telling me- "wait till you hear this singer- he just makes it sound so easy". These words have incredibly stuck with me for many years as that's exactly what David Coverdale does on this record. I think this album contains his best ever vocalsin terms of depth, feeling & emotion, & to be frank, DC could wipe the floor with any other rock singers aroundin 1980. The band were augmented by the addition of Ian Paice on drums & for the 1st time on record, sound like the finished article. Those who only know WS as the big-haired AOR outfit they becamein the late 80's will find this music a revelation. It certainly has much more integrity than anything recorded from 1984 onwards. If you like blues rock music with passionate vocals, it doesn;t get much better than this.
