Customer Reviews

Ready Or Not

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was always a big Foreigner fan back in the late 70's and early 80's, so when Lou Gramm came out with his solo effort Ready or Not in 1987, I was all over it. It was one of my most played albums of the 80's. Fifteen years later, I got the CD after not having listened to the album for at least a decade, and rediscovered why I played it so often.

If you are (or ever were) into Foreigner, you'll like Ready or Not. Songs like "Ready or Not", "Time", and "Midnight Blue" are great Rock tunes that sound just as good today as they did in the late 80's. And with the ever recognizable vocals of Lou Gramm, you sometimes forget that you're not listening to Foreigner. The second song on the CD, "Heartache", has the same exact sound that is typical of the second songs on the first 3 Foreigner albums ("Cold As Ice" - FOREIGNER, "Blue Morning, Blue Day" - DOUBLE VISION, "Love On The Telephone - HEAD GAMES). The rocker "She's Got To Know" is a semi clone of the Foreigner song "Headnocker".

I didn't listen to the second side of the album as much as the first side when it was new, but now I've found that my favorite song on the album is 8th track "Until I Make You Mind". It has a timeless sound that cannot be pegged as an 80's style song.

So if you're into Foreigner, you won't be disappointed with this Lou's RON. If I were to rank this CD along with the Foreigner albums, it would be:

1. HEAD GAMES
2. DOUBLE VISION
3. 4
4. LOU GRAMM - READY OR NOT
5. FOREIGNER

"I used to follow, yeah that's true. But my following days are over. Now I just have to follow through."

This album measures up to the Foreigner albums of the 1980s. I classify Foreigner tracks from this era into three categories: out-and-out rockers, uptempo melodic anthems, and beautiful ballads. This solo effort includes all three--and all of high quality.

The title track is an absolutely fantastic leadoff rocker that shows Lou's vocals at their searing, rocking best. "Heartache" is a melodic anthem gem along the lines of Foreigner's hits "That Was Yesterday" and "Say You Will"--which were from the Foreigner albums released right before and right after this solo one. "Midnight Blue" is of course the one song off the album that is still remembered by more than a few--and to this day it is a fantastic, unique song that showcases Lou's vocals perfectly. Other highlight tracks include the heart-rending ballad "If I Don't Have You", the rocking "She's Got To Know", and the uptempo and at the same time pretty "Until I Make You Mine."

Not that the unmentioned tracks are also anything but great. This is an excellent album from beginning to end. Strongly recommended for Foreigner fans and fans of melodic rock. Lou's follow-up solo effort "Long Hard Look" (includes the great hit "Just Between You and Me"), while now out of print, is also strongly recommended. This one, however, is the more rocking effort of the two.

Back in 1981, Foreigner released their best album in"4". Their late 1984 follow up. "Agent Provocateur", was an overly slick, keyboard laden affair that pracitcally had forsaken their hard rock roots, which in turn alienated a good portion of their core audience, including this reviewer. Flash forward to 1987, two and a half years since Agent Provocateur's release, Foreigner lead vocalist Lou Gramm comes through for the Foreigner core fan base with his first solo effort, "Ready or Not" . With most of the track co-written by bass player Bruce Turgon, who himself would later join Foreigner in 1995; the songs are well-composed and accessible. Nils Lofgren (of Grin and also Bruce Springsteen fame) supplies most of the lead guitar work.

The result was very pleasing; Lou Gramm goes back to the straight-up rock roots that Foreigner nearly abandoned. Gramm wastes no time by straightening things out immediately by leading off with the most aggressive track on the album, the title track. He defiantly came ready and so were the true Foreigner fans. The tempo continues with another good track, "Heartache".

Things get musically better with the album's most commercially successful and accessible track "Midnight Blue". This energetic, straight up pop-rock track is a definite breath of musical fresh air. This was also Gramm's first solo single to ever be released, which turned out to be a top five hit for him, peaking at #5 in 1987. Also it hit #1 on Billboard Album Rock Tracks Chart, a notable feat in the era of Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses and U2. "Time" is another quality rocker which keeps things musically up to speed.

Much further into the CD Gramm still does not let up with two other hard-rocking tracks, "She's Got to Know" and "Arrow Through Your Heart".

If you are a Foreigner fan, this Ready Or Not is just as essential to have in your collection as Foreigner's "4" or any of their classic albums from the 70's. After listening to it, you will then know who the real rocker in Foreigner was. And by the mid-1980's it wasn't Mick Jones.

READY OR NOT, Lou Gramm's first solo album, is better than anything Foreigner released after AGENT PROVOCATEUR. He seems at ease working with his father, brothers, and other relatives on this album, which proves that if you obey the commandment "Honor thy Father and thy Mother", you will be rewarded. He did here, and the result was an album that beats Foreigner's INSIDE INFORMATION and UNUSUAL HEAT by a country mile. He equalled this one on much of LONG HARD LOOK, but this was his last totally consistent album until Foreigner's indie release MR. MOONLIGHT.

OKAY, SO I'VE BEEN A FOREIGNER FAN SINCE I WAS 14. I'M NOW 35. BUT LOU PROVED ON R.O.N. THAT HE KNOWS HOW TO JAM AND LOVES TO DO IT. I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS COOL THAT HE USED FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND AN OLD BAND MEMBER (BRUCE TURGON) FROM "BLACK SHEEP" DAYS TO JAM WITH. THE TITLE TRACK IS EXCELLENT AND THERE IS NOT A BAD SONG ON THE DISC! LOU'S VOICE IS PRIMO WHICH IS WHY I EMBRACED FOREIGNER TO BEGIN WITH. HIS PIPES ARE PERFECT FOR ROCK & ROLL. NOBODY'S DONE IT BETTER

As has been the case in so many bands, Lou Gramm went off and did a "solo" album. The surprise was finding I liked it BETTER than half of the FOREIGNER albums out there! After being somewhat disappointed by the band 3 albums in a row prior to this, Gramm must have found his inspiration, because most of the songs here could have helped improve those albums in my opinion. "Ready Or Not", "Heartache", "Midnight Blue" (this one got a lot of radio play in my area), "Time" (one of Gramm's best-ever songs!), "Arrow Thru Your Heart" and "Chain Of Love" are all dynamic, emotion-charged standouts. Gramm's 2nd solo album LONG HARD LOOK (like Mick Jones' self-titled solo album) is out-of-print, but this is the only one to stand up in quality next to the genuine FOREIGNER material.

The great Lou Gramm and Freddie Mercury will always be the top 2 rock vocalists on my personal all-time favorite list (edge to Freddie though as a monster Queen fan). When you talk about individuals who can singlehandedly carry a band and are easily distinguished, Lou Gramm should go down as one of the all time greats. This is a phenomenal solo effort that I actually did not pick up on until many years after release. I guess I was just frustrated with all the nonsense that Foreigner went through and that Mick Jones and Lou could never find a way to keep themselves together. In my mind, Mick always thought he was more important than he actually was.

This is a great collection of cuts that still holds up well (although the production does now sound a bit dated). Lou, in his prime, would not see too many rival that amazing voice. This release sure brings back those great late 80's college years and am glad that Lou Gramm was a part of those memories for me.

"Here I come, ready or not," sings Lou Gramm at the beginning of his 1987 solo album, "Ready Or Not," and it's an excellent solo debut for Foreigner's lead singer (although Lou's solo career would be short-lived: he recorded a second solo album that went nowhere, and promptly returned to the Foreigner fold for 1995's "Mr. Moonlight"). Gramm doesn't stray from the hard-rocking Foreigner formula on "Ready Or Not," but that's fine with me 'cause these songs totally rock. Standouts include the Top Ten hit "Midnight Blue," the title song, "If I Don't Have You," "Arrow Thru Your Heart," and "Lover Come Back." Lou's voice is in top form, and, as I've already said, the songs rock. If you're a big Foreigner fan, then you've just GOT to get Lou Gramm's "Ready Or Not"!

this is a great first album by a legendary singer he was awesome in foreigner now he shines on his own but without mick jones powerful guitar u kinda feel in slushy aor land. its a good album midnight in blue is the radio single most played and top-knotch vocals by lou. really its his second album that sounded better. but the critics say this album is his best. and i can say there right . if you like journey- trial by fire album youll love this!

I have to say, this was not one of my favorite projects from Lou, but it is strong in it's way & demonstrates his ability to head out on his own. It is not like Foreigner material, so if you're hung up on his sound when he was with them, I wouldn't recommend Ready Or Not for your collection. Ready Or Not, the title cut, was an excellent way to begin the album, as it's strong & I think it encourages someone with an open mind to what Lou was intending to listen further. However, I don't think any of the other cuts are quite as strong in terms of rockin' out. A couple of my favorites on here are Midnight Blue, of course, (I think I would still say that even if it hadn't been released & been semi successful for him), Time, which is actually kind of reminiscent of when the rockers used to have a story to tell in their songs, & She's Got To Know. She's Got To Know started me thinking about how you can not like an arrangement of a song, but still totally dig the message it delivers. I think he sounds kind of corny on that song, & I don't think the arrangement really flows well, is kind of cheesy, but the message is a good one. I found I was thinking that both men & women should probably have a listen to those lyrics & perhaps they would have a little something to come out of it thinking about if they chose to. Anyway, the musicianship was a bit raw, which has already been said somewhere, even by Lou I think. I noticed he likes a lot of revirb on his slow, sad tunes. The voice is good on here. There is variation from living in his upper range to mid range. People know him for his voice much of the time & you know, that's good, but these things do change over time. This album is from when he could still pull that range out of himself, but if you live in the age of Foreigner, as I said, this does not compare, as it shouldn't, as it is Lou gone solo & solo, to me, means he has the right to be himself. I say nice work & don't regret that I added Ready Or Not to my collection.