Ready an' Willing

Ready an' Willing is an important early work on which WHITESNAKE bound the depth of blues rock to a hard push, centered on David Coverdale’s soulful singing. The guitars of Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden, Jon Lord’s keyboards, and the drums of ex–Deep Purple Ian Paice give the songs a thick breath. While conveying skilled playing, the vocals and groove are always at the center. The sharply hooked “Fool for Your Loving” became a signature song played for years afterward, and the leisurely heat of the title track shows the band’s two sides well. Songs like “Sweet Talker,” “Love Man” and “Black and Blue” naturally bind blues-inflected vocal sway to a thick ensemble. With the contrast between forceful passages and slightly restrained, vocal-focused ones giving the work a deep breath, it is a full early-WHITESNAKE record — a firm work inheriting the British blues-rock tradition.