''Ready or Not'' is the debut solo studio album by American rock singer-songwriter

Lou Gramm Lou Gramm (born Louis Andrew Grammatico; 2 May 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Foreigner from 1977 to 1990 and 1992 to 2003 during which time the band had numerous successful albu ...

, released in February 1987 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Production

Eight of the ten songs, which comprise ''Ready Or Not'', were written by Gramm in partnership with former

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

bandmate

Bruce Turgon Bruce Turgon (born April 25, 1952) is an American bass guitarist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. Bruce has played in several bands throughout his career including: Foreigner, The Lou Gramm Band, Shadow King, Steve Stevens, Warr ...

. The album was recorded in 1986 at Bear Tracks Recording in

Suffern Suffern is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suf ...

, New York and The Hit Factory Recording in New York City. It was produced by Gramm and Pat Moran, who is known as an engineer on recordings by such performers as

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

Reception

''Ready Or Not'' was a commercial success, reaching number 27 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It generated two hit songs. The lead-off single, "

Midnight Blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight or full-spectrum light, but can appear black under ...

", peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and climbed to the top of the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. It has been Gramm's only song to have charted in the United Kingdom. The second single from the album was the title song, which reached number 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 7 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The album has enjoyed critical acclaim. Bret Adams has given ''Ready or Not'' a retrospective rating of four-and-a-half stars out of five on

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 ...

. He has described it as "rich with melody and snap".

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, percussion * Philip Ashley – keyboards, programming *

– keyboards, rhythm guitars, bass, lead guitar (on "Lover Come Back") *

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

– lead guitar * Ben Gramm – drums

Additional musicians

* Richard Grammatico – lead guitar (on "If I Don't Have You"), additional guitar (on "Time") * Don Mancuso – additional guitar (on "Chain of Love") * Eddie Martinez – additional guitar (on " Ready or Not", "Midnight Blue" and "Chain of Love") * Stanley Sheldon – bass (on "

" and "If I Don't Have You") *

Mark Rivera Mark Rivera (born May 24, 1953) is an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, musical director and corporate entertainment provider who is mostly known for his work with Billy Joel. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor and b ...

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

(on "Lover Come Back"),

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

, backing vocals * Crispin Cioe –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

, tenor saxophone * Ben Grammatico Sr. – lead

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Ben Grammatico Jr. – trumpet * Sherryl Marshall – backing vocals * Cookie Watkins – backing vocals

Production

* Lou Gramm – producer * Pat Moran – producer, engineer *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Timothy White – cover photography * Bob Defrin – art direction, design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control Lou Gramm albums 1987 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Pat Moran