Bad Company

Performer: Bad Company
Producer: Bad Company; Terry Thomas; Bad Company
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: THE ORIGINAL BAD CO. ANTHOLOGY includes several previously unreleased tracks including four tracks recorded in 1998. Bad Company: Paul Rodgers (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Mick Ralphs (guitar); Boz Burrell (bass); Simon Kirke (drums). Engineers include: Robin Black, Ron Nevison, Chris Kimsey. Recorded between November 1973 and November 1998. Includes liner notes by John McDermott. Digitally remastered by Steve Croxford, Jack "Jacko" Adams, and Walter Coehlo (Masterpiece Mastering, London, England). Bad Company: Boz Burrell (bass instrument); Mick Ralphs, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke. Personnel: Paul Rodgers (vocals, guitar, accordion, piano); Sunny Leslie, Sue Glover (vocals); Mick Ralphs (guitar, keyboards); Mel Collins (saxophone); Simon Kirke (drums); Sonny (background vocals). Additional personnel: Sue & Sunny (background vocals); Mel Collins. Audio Mixer: Ron Nevison. Recording information: Headley Grange, Hampshire, England (11/1973). Photographer: Hipgnosis [Design Group]. 1974's BAD COMPANY laid the groundwork for much of the mainstream hard rock that would dominate FM radio and album sales in the 1970s and '80s. In contrast to the expansive canvases of psychedelic music and the virtuoso excesses of prog rock, Bad Company's debut stripped the blues-rock model down to its essentials, playing muscular, amped-up power chords over driving 4/4 beats. Though the singing of vocalist Paul Rodgers (who had previously been in the blues-based band Free) has a rather flat affect, it is powerful and distinctive, meshing perfectly with the bluesy riffs of guitarist Mick Ralphs. The tightly structured songs are cut from similar cloth, but the exuberant "Can't Get Enough," the snarling "Bad Company," and moody, spectral "Ready For Love" provide enough variety to keep things interesting. The gentle "Seagull," though uncharacteristically introspective for the band, is one of Rodgers/Ralphs's finest compositions. Subsequent Bad Company albums would rework the same basic themes, but BAD COMPANY, the group's opening salvo, was their defining work. It remains a classic of straightforward, blues-based rock. Bad Company's formation in 1973 signaled the arrival of a blues-rock supergroup. Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke came from Free, guitarist Mick Ralphs was Ian Hunter's foil in Mott The Hoople and Boz Burrell had done time with King Crimson. ANTHOLOGY collects many of their well-known hits/classic rock staples ("Can't Get Enough," "Shooting Star," "Rock And Roll Fantasy") on two discs alongside four new tracks recorded in 1998. Bad Company was the first signing to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label. Songs such as "Bad Company" and "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" benefited from his Paul Rodger's rich, bluesy vocal delivery. Much of the band's material reflected a fascination with the Old West, particularly numbers such as "Deal With The Preacher" and "Whiskey Bottle." Other, overlooked numbers include "Silver, Blue And Gold" and "Oh Atlanta" (a favorite of Alison Krauss, who's been known to do it in concert). The newly recorded material finds the band returning to their blues-rock roots as they prepare to saddle up for the new millennium.

Entertainment Weekly (4/9/99, p.77) - "While never on a part with '70s contemporaries Led Zep or Lynyrd Skynyrd, these British medium-hard rockers made stern, lean headbanging rock..." - Rating: B Q (1/95, pp.265-268) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "Sparse, unadorned and tuneful...alternates between good-natured...and soulful ballads....The title tracks became the blueprint for Bon Jovi's career..." Q (5/99, pp.122-123) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Can't Get Enough of Your Love and Shooting Star reamin staples of mature drivetime radio and the band's chunky boogie, iced by Paul Rodger's lascivious holler, may still appeal to fanciers of The Black Crowes or Reef..."

With key members hailing from such storied bands as Mott the Hoople and Free, Bad Company had its hard-rock credentials very much in order from the get-go. On the strength of Paul Rodgers's throaty vocals and Mick Ralphs's simple but memorable power-chord riffs, they became one of the most successful acts of the 1970s.

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