Ready or Not is the solo debut studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Lou Gramm, released on January 29, 1987, through Atlantic.

Production Eight of the ten songs, which comprise Ready or Not, were written by Gramm in partnership with former Black Sheep bandmate Bruce Turgon.

The album was recorded in November 1986 at Bear Tracks Recording in Suffern, 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 and Robert Plant.

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", peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to the top of the Mainstream 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 Hot 100 and number 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

The album has enjoyed critical acclaim. Bret Adams of AllMusic described it as "rich with melody and snap".

Track listing

Personnel Lou Gramm – vocals, percussion Philip Ashley – keyboards, programming Bruce Turgon – bass guitar, rhythm guitar , lead guitar Nils Lofgren – lead guitar Ben Gramm – drums

Additional musicians Richard Grammatico – lead guitar , additional guitar Don Mancuso – additional guitar Eddie Martinez – additional guitar Stanley Sheldon – bass guitar Mark Rivera – soprano saxophone , tenor saxophone, backing vocals Crispin Cioe – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone Ben Grammatico Sr. – lead trumpet Ben Grammatico Jr. – trumpet Sherryl Marshall – backing vocals Cookie Watkins – backing vocals

Production Lou Gramm – producer Pat Moran – producer, engineer Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). Timothy White – cover photography Bob Defrin – art direction, design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1987) Peak positionAustralian Albums (Kent Music Report)34

Year-end charts Chart (1987) Peak positionUS Billboard 20099

Certifications

References