"Ready for Love" is a song written by

Mick Ralphs Michael Geoffrey Ralphs (born 31 March 1944, Herefordshire) is an English musician, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Career Ralphs began his career as a teenager, playing with b ...

that was first released by his band

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fail ...

on their 1972 album ''

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...

''. After Ralphs left Mott the Hoople to join

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

, a revamped version of the song was released on his new band's 1974 debut album, ''

''. Although not released as a single, the Bad Company version became a popular radio song, and has appeared on many of Bad Company's

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

and

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

Mott the Hoople version

Mott the Hoople recorded "Ready for Love" on their 1972 album ''All the Young Dudes''. On the album "Ready for Love" segues into another Ralphs' composition, the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

"After Lights".

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Dave Thompson described "After Lights" as "a virtuoso afterglow, and...one of Ralphs' most tasteful displays ever." Ralphs sang the lead vocal on the Mott the Hoople version of the song, but he was unhappy with it and had wanted Ian Hunter to sing the lead vocal, but the song was outside of Hunter's range. Ralphs desire for a stronger lead singer to perform this song helped lead to the formation of Bad Company, as he felt

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

' would be able to perform the song to his liking. Thompson feels that Ralphs' vocal performance ironically makes the Mott the Hoople version preferable to the Bad Company version, stating that "the fact that the vocals are so uncertain adds a weight to the lyric which Rodgers' self-assured bellow was just a little too blasé to capture." In his contemporary review of ''All the Young Dudes'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic Bud Scoppa regarded "Ready for Love" as being "the best alphs hasever done." Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine referred to "Ready for Love"/"After Lights" as a "highlight" of ''All the Young Dudes''. ''The Dispatch'' critic Dink Lorance called "Ready for Love"/"After Lights" his favorite track on the album. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' critic Richard Cromelin described "Ready to Love" as "a sledgehammer rocker that tends to grow on you." ''Pitchfork'' critic Joe Tangari said that Mott the Hoople's version "pales in comparison" to the Bad Company version. A live version of "Ready for Love"/"After Lights" was included on Mott the Hoople's 2000 live album ''Greatest Hits Live''. ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'' critic Gil de Rubio called this version "poignant."

Bad Company version

'' critic Bud Scoppa said that Bad Company's version of "Ready for Love" "has the measured, somber gait of a

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

song in the verses, with explosions of accumulated tension in the choruses. In 1975 (after Bad Company's second album '' Straight Shooter'' had been released), music critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

considered "Ready for Love" to be Bad Company's best song.

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

referred to it as a "quintessential classic rock staple." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Matt Wardlaw rated it as Bad Company's 6th best song, saying that the Bad Company version is a touch more moody than the original, which has an extra bit of swagger." Wardlaw also praised

' lead vocals, saying that they "walk with the shackles of a man who has been denied what he wants for way too long." ''Classic Rock'' critic Malcolm Dome rated it as Bad Company's 7th best song, saying that it "has the atmosphere of someone trying to convince his lover that things are changing for the better" and also praised the song's "simplicity and acuity." "Ready for Love" later appeared on several of Bad Company's compilation albums, including ''

10 from 6 ''10 from 6'' (also known as ''10/6'') is a compilation album released by English supergroup Bad Company in December 1985 on Atlantic Records label. All the songs on the album were previously released on Swan Song Records, a record label beg ...

'' in 1985, ''

The Original Bad Company Anthology ''The 'Original' Bad Co. Anthology'' (also ''The 'Original' Bad Company Anthology'') is a compilation album released by Bad Company in 1999 on Elektra Records. In addition to the band's classic hits, it also features four new songs ― the f ...

'' in 1999 and '' Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy: The Very Best of Bad Company'' in 2015. It also appeared on

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s such as '' What You Hear Is What You Get: The Best of Bad Company'' in 1993, '' In Concert: Merchants of Cool'' in 2002, ''

Live in Albuquerque 1976 ''Live in Albuquerque 1976'' is a live album by the English hard rock band Bad Company featuring all four original members. The recordings were made by Mick Ralphs, who regularly taped the group's shows in the 1970s, so the band could use t ...

'', released in 2006, ''

Hard Rock Live The Hard Rock Live is an indoor amphitheater at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The theater opened on October 25, 2019, as part of a $1.5 billion property-wide expans ...

'' in 2010, '' Live at Wembley'' in 2010 and ''

Live in Concert 1977 & 1979 ''Live in Concert 1977 & 1979'' is a double live album by the English hard rock band Bad Company, released on CD and as an mp3 download in 2016. It is an archival album with recordings taken from two concerts from their tours in 1977 and 1979. ...

'', released in 2016. Bad Company re-recorded the song for their 1996 album '' Stories Told & Untold'' with Robert Hart singing lead vocals in place of Rodgers.

References

{{authority control 1972 songs Songs written by Mick Ralphs Mott the Hoople songs Bad Company songs Song recordings produced by David Bowie