Bad Company/Bad Company 1st album 1974 some beautiful vocals from Mr rodgers

[ZEPPELIN4EVER]

I dont often reach for the typical classic rock stuff but this album is well worth a listen despite hearing a couple tracks a few too many times in the seventies,

The album has a couple members from the group Free most impotantly it included one of the best vocalists of all time Mr Paul Rodgers;

With Mick Ralphs on Guitar and Boz Berell on bass they created a masterpiece that was never topped by them but several later attempts came close.

With mel collins on sax and engineered by Tom Nevison and being on the Swan song label it meant that the production was going to be top notch and it sure was.

Incuding the crowd favorites, Cant get enough and the title track, 'Bad company' there is Ready for love, and Movin On and Rock Steady all classic vintage tunes from this groups initial effort.

i even like the look of the cool black album cover with just the name of the band in big white letters.

Finally I have to say that I love love love the last song on this album "SEAGULL" which to me is one of the most beautiful acoustic guitar and vocals from Mr Rodgers I ever heard almost brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.

I put this on after a long time of not hearing it and fell in love with the album all over again......played it twice today!!!!!

[PeterG]

Bad Company has been a favourite for many many years, especially the first album. I prefer them to Free in fact.

[arabicadabra]

Can't Get Enough is inextricably linked to the sight of Christopher Walken dancing with Tia Carrere now....

[Vic2012]

I only have the first Bad Co. album and Fire And Water from Free. I agree that Paul Rodgers is one of the great voices of rock. Both albums are great. I need to get a few more albums by both bands. I had the pleasure of seeing Paul live around 2002 or 03. He did all Free and Bad Co. songs.

[moecurlythanu]

Very good album, but I like Straight Shooter better.

[Vic2012]

^Is that their second album?

[The Dark Elf]

The Bad Company album was a solid, middle-of-the-road release that did what it did in a very straight forward manner. No pretensions, no superfluous riffs or noodling about. It was the very exemplar of AOR rock. Very tight. You could put coal up the band's asses and make diamonds it was so tight.

And yes, "Seagull" is an excellent song.

[grego]

Bad Company's first 4 albums are good, despite of some throwaway songs on them. I like Free better. But live albums of Bad Company are just great. From 2002 to 2011 they released some of their finest live albums.

[bill g]

Oh, THAT Mr. Rodgers. The thread title led me to believe Fred (It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood) Rogers would be singing...

[spacefreak]

"Seagull" is for me the best song Bad Company ever wrote.

By the way, their first 4 albums are essential i.m.o. Then, meh...

[BravadoNJ]

Paul Rodgers is one of the greatest front man........

[Dave (in MA)]

Oh, THAT Mr. Rodgers. The thread title led me to believe Fred (It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood) Rogers would be singing...

[Guitarplyrjvb]

Bad Company's first 4 albums are good, despite of some throwaway songs on them. I like Free better. But live albums of Bad Company are just great. From 2002 to 2011 they released some of their finest live albums.

I was just on a Bad Co. binge with their "Swan Song Years" comp and watching "Bad Company: The Official Authorized 40th Anniversary Documentary" on Amazon Prime Video. A lot of their music is great meat and potatoes rock with sublime singing. Boz Burrell, I think, is a very underrated bassist. He's really innovative within a rock context.

That said, amongst the gems, theres a lot of gravel, especially after the first two records. "Desolation Angels" was a strong, resuscitatative record and I like Electric Land on "Rough Diamonds" but you really have to sift through a lot of their material to get to the good stuff. Lonely for Your Love is a blatent rewrite of Can't Get Enough. A lot of their music is strikingly unoriginal but I find myself liking a fair amount of it, anyway!

[JJ88]

In a sense, Bad Company were a forerunner of AOR bands like Foreigner, Journey etc. The rawer edges of Free were sanded down considerably; the overall package was much more slick and polished. However there is still that voice. I think their 70s stuff holds up well enough, actually- can't comment on much beyond that. 'Silver Blue And Gold' is a lesser-known favourite of mine by them.

[Sputnik]

I've always been a fan of Bad Company, but man did I get burned out on them on classic rock radio. Finally last year, after decades of not listening to the radio, I actually re-bought four of the first five BC albums. I skipped their fourth album, Burnin' Sky, which aside from the opening track I've never cared for. But all the others I think are quite solid.

You have to give it up for that debut. Like Boston's debut it practically defined classic 70s rock of a particular style and just about every song is a classic (and yes, I too love Seagull, but its not my favorite BC acoustic song). Straight Shooter and Run with the Pack are also quite good. My personal favorite album, though, is their fifth album Desolation Angels. Aside from the title track, there's Crazy Circles, which is my favorite BC acoustic song, Gone, Gone, Gone, Evil Wind, and lots of other gems.

Sadly, Desolation Angels was really it for these guys. Yeah, they had that 80s incarnation, but that didn't really sound like Bad Company to me. They've never bettered, or really even equaled these four albums, but I don't think you can do a lot better than these for music in this particular style. I certainly enjoy them when I spin them.

Bill

[SteveSly]

Agree, very good stuff, and Rogers is one of the all time best vocalists. I have seen Bad Company several times, but it was always with other vocalists. (Brian Howe twice and Robert Hart once). I did see Rogers with The Firm and his voice was very good.

[Trane]

Funny enough that Mr Boz Burrell may still resent His Frippness' attitudes, but at least he gave him a second musical life, transforming himself from a singer into a bassist and find his only well-paying job in music (he would've never gotten a job in BC as a singer)

Bad Company has been a favourite for many many years, especially the first album. I prefer them to Free in fact.

TBH, there are all too many fillers on all of their albums to my tastes, but yeah, the debut is miles above the rest. The only BC I still own (I think) is the debut, whereas I own four Free albums (Sobs, second, Live and the last one, without Kossof). I must still have a Bad Co XL-IIS compilation from the first four albums lying around somewhere.

Welcome back, BTW!! (oops, old thread )

I only have the first Bad Co. album and Fire And Water from Free. I agree that Paul Rodgers is one of the great voices of rock. Both albums are great. I need to get a few more albums by both bands. I had the pleasure of seeing Paul live around 2002 or 03. He did all Free and Bad Co. songs.

I'd be carefull in investing more into BC (you can go freely with Free, though), because you already own their best album by a mile... The rest can only disappoint you if you're looking or expecting at even quality in their next ones. Personally Desolation Angel is where they completely lost me, but most of the damage was done before that. That said, my fave track (along with the eponymous) from them is from SS (Feel Like Making Love).

To be very honest, I've come to loathe both Allright Now and Can't Get Enough some three (almost four) decades ago, and I'm stll zapping away as soon as I hear them on the radio.

By the way, their first 4 albums are essential i.m.o. Then, meh...

Mmmmhhh!!!!... If I never spin another BC album in my life, I'm fine. (essential in my j-life, never/no more, but essential in the BC sonics, I'll agree)
To an extent, I could apply that to Free, except maybe the Live album, though I'd probably be interested in laying an ear on both BBC sessions releases.

In a sense, Bad Company were a forerunner of AOR bands like Foreigner, Journey etc. The rawer edges of Free were sanded down considerably; the overall package was much more slick and polished.

Yup, I've always felt they were the first AOR around - well at least since I've become aware of the AOR term, anyways.
(Journey only becoming AOR with Next or their next one - the one with Perry screeching around)

[Adm.Kirk]

Funny, Burning Sky has always been my favorite Bad Company album. No one else really seems to like it.

Bill

[Sputnik]

Funny, Burning Sky has always been my favorite Bad Company album. No one else really seems to like it.

Bill

Love the title track, but for me it really drops off after that. I'll give it another sample, maybe it will click.

Bill

[Koreabruce]

I've always been a fan of Bad Company, but man did I get burned out on them on classic rock radio. Finally last year, after decades of not listening to the radio, I actually re-bought four of the first five BC albums. I skipped their fourth album, Burnin' Sky, which aside from the opening track I've never cared for. But all the others I think are quite solid.

You have to give it up for that debut. Like Boston's debut it practically defined classic 70s rock of a particular style and just about every song is a classic (and yes, I too love Seagull, but its not my favorite BC acoustic song). Straight Shooter and Run with the Pack are also quite good. My personal favorite album, though, is their fifth album Desolation Angels. Aside from the title track, there's Crazy Circles, which is my favorite BC acoustic song, Gone, Gone, Gone, Evil Wind, and lots of other gems.

Sadly, Desolation Angels was really it for these guys. Yeah, they had that 80s incarnation, but that didn't really sound like Bad Company to me. They've never bettered, or really even equaled these four albums, but I don't think you can do a lot better than these for music in this particular style. I certainly enjoy them when I spin them.

Bill

This is exactly how I rate the Bad Company albums that are worthwhile. The first two especially are no-brainers, but I have a special place in my heart for Run with the Pack, which I don't hear many people talking about much. Live for the Music, Simple Man, Silver, Blue, and Gold, Fade Away... great tunes there! Burning Sky I always thought was a big miss save for the title track and Heartbeat. Desolation Angels was a true return to form after that, and it's still a stone-cold classic for me. I was a senior in high school then, so DA is indelibly stamped into my psyche. Not a bad track to be found. It was all downhill after that, though, I'm afraid.

[moecurlythanu]

Straight Shooter is their best album.

I saw them in 1979 on the Desolation Angels tour, which was quite enjoyable.

[Halmyre]

Straight Shooter is their best album.

I saw them in 1979 on the Desolation Angels tour, which was quite enjoyable.

Me too, at the Glasgow Apollo, although their set was inexcusably short - only about an hour.

[SteveSly]

Anyone here a fan of the Brian Howe era of Bad Company? They had some pretty big hits and I think several of the albums are really good. "Holy Water" and "Dangerous Age" were both on constant rotation in my car when they came out.

[moecurlythanu]

Anyone here a fan of the Brian Howe era of Bad Company?

Only mildly, Steve. I recall liking some of the radio fare, but I didn't buy any of the albums or attend any tour gigs.

[Vic2012]

Thanks to this thread I've been listening to Straight Shooter, and Run With The Pack. I only have the first album in my collection but I've got YouTube to fill in the gaps.

NP; Deal With The Preacher
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