Ready or Not

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 charts.

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

Personnel

Lou Gramm – vocals, percussion

Philip Ashley – keyboards, programming

Bruce Turgon – bass guitar, rhythm guitar (track 2), lead guitar (track 10)

Nils Lofgren – 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 (tracks 1, 2 and "Chain of Love")

Stanley Sheldon – bass guitar (track 2 and "If I Don't Have You")

Mark Rivera – soprano saxophone (track 10), 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