We're Ready

"We're Ready" is a song by American rock band Boston written by founder, lead guitarist and primary songwriter Tom Scholz. It was first released on the band's third studio album Third Stage (1986).

"We're Ready"
Single by Boston
from the album Third Stage
B-side"The Launch"
ReleasedNovember 1986[1]
Recorded1981 at Hideaway Studios
GenreHard rock
Length3:58
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Tom Scholz
Producer(s)Tom Scholz
Boston singles chronology
"Amanda"
(1986)		 "We're Ready"
(1986)		 "Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)"
(1987)
Audio
"We're Ready" on YouTube

It was released in late November 1986 as the second single from the album, following up on the #1 hit "Amanda." "We're Ready" itself was their last Top 10 hit, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached #2 on the Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[2][3] Billboard also named it as the #24 "Top Rock Track" for 1987, one position ahead of another song from Third Stage, "Cool the Engines."[4] It also reached #12 on the Cashbox chart.[5] In Canada, it reached the Top 25 in RPM magazine's Top Singles chart.[6][7]

Lyrics and music

Described by New York Times critic Jon Pareles as a "rock ballad," "We're Ready" was written as early as 1981, earlier than the other songs on Third Stage except "Amanda."[8][9] The song begins softly, with acoustic guitars and lead singer Brad Delp sounding like a choir boy, but the song develops into a hard rocker.[10] The song ends with the sound of church bells, which are played by Scholz on electric guitar.[9]

Critical reception

Allmusic critic Vik Iyengar retrospectively claimed that "We're Ready" is one of the songs on which Third Stage "works on all cylinders" and "sounds great."[11] Billboard said that "the band's fluid and forceful style remains a hard rock staple."[12] Cash Box praised the "layered guitars, spatial background vocals and Brad Delp’s stratospheric tenor" and the song's abundance of hooks.[13] Critic Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that it is a "radio favorite" and one of the "highlights from Third Stage, and described it as "a slightly harder rocker [than "Amanda"] with an exhilarating vocal hook."[14] Daily Press contributor Billy Warden states that the song "introduces the band's whomp to children's choir-styled vocal harmonies, making for good, catchy pop fun."[15] Lakeland Ledger critic Phillip Booth praises the impact of the dual lead guitar work on the song by Scholz and Gary Pihl.[16] Peter B. King of The Pittsburgh Press calls "We're Ready" Third Stage's best tune and praises the song as "a classic example of the invigorating, rocking but melodic music that is Boston's forte."[17] Melissa Ruggieri of the Sun-Sentinel described it as one of Boston's "classic tunes."[18] Jerry Spangler of The Deseret News regards "We're Ready" as one of the best songs in Boston's rock 'n' roll style.[19]

"We're Ready" later appeared on a number of multi-artist compilation albums, such as Time-Life's Sounds of the Eighties: 1987 and Madacy's Best of the 80's.[20][21] It was also covered on the tribute album Smokin': A Bluegrass Tribute to Boston.[22] However, despite its success "We're Ready" was omitted from Boston's 1997 Greatest Hits album, for which the San Antonio Express criticized the package.[23]

Charts
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] 25
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[26] 2

References
  1. "Boston singles".
  2. "Boston Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  3. "Boston Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  4. "Top Rock Tracks". Billboard Magazine. December 26, 1987. p. 16. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  5. Downey, P., Albert, G. & Hoffmann, F.W. (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. University of Michigan. p. 34. ISBN 1563083167.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. February 14, 1987. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  7. "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. February 21, 1987. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  8. Pareles, J. (July 4, 2012). "Rock: Boston in Concert at Byrne Arena". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  9. "Third Stage". bandboston.com. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  10. Austin, Eleni P. (November 14, 1986). "'Third Stage' Just a Repeat of First and Second Stages". Desert Sun. p. F4. Retrieved 2019-10-16 – via newspapers.com.
  11. Iyengar, V. "Third Stage". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  12. "Reviews". Billboard. December 6, 1986. p. 69. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  13. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. December 13, 1986. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  14. Madden, M. (January 16, 1987). "Boston's 'Third Stage' Worth the Wait". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  15. Warden, Billy (September 4, 1987). "Leader of Band Making Noise Again". Daily Press. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved 2019-10-16 – via newspapers.com.
  16. Booth, P. (October 2, 1987). "Boston Proves a Point". Lakeland Ledger. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  17. King, P.B. (September 12, 1987). "Boston Comes Alive at Arena". The Pittsburgh Press. p. B9. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  18. Ruggieri, Melissa (July 3, 1995). "Boston Needs More Than a Feeling to Rekindle Old Hits". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  19. Spangler, J. (October 31, 1986). "Former Musical Kings Attempt to Climb Back to the Top". The Deseret News. p. 8W. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  20. Kellman, A. "Sounds of the Eighties: 1987". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  21. Phares, H. "Best of the 80's [Madacy 2004]". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  22. "Smokin': A Bluegrass Tribute to Boston". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  23. "Don't Shoot! Give 'Greatest Hits' a Chance". San Antonio Express. August 1, 1997. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  24. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0775." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  25. "Boston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  26. "Boston Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
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