What does it sound like?:
When Bad Company rose from the ashes of Free in the early seventies, they seemed a band made in heaven for lovers of classic British blues-rock. Paul Rodgers voice was in its prime, and their first two albums, Bad Company and Straight Shooter, still hold their own today, over forty years later. The band somehow seemed to get distracted though by the lucrative US market and rather lost their focus, and for me the next two releases were of nowhere near the same standard, often resorting to run of the mill, plodding songs that really went nowhere and amounted to nothing. At least Run With The Pack (remember that silver embossed cover anyone) had the title track to redeem it a little, but Burning Sky had very little to offer, sounding totally devoid of inspiration. Indeed, when the band released their first best of set, 10 from 6, tellingly not a single track from that album featured. After a lengthy, by those days, hiatus they returned with 1979’s Desolation Angels, replete with obligatory Hipgnosis cover art. This was something of a return to form, although it still had more than its fair share of filler to be brutally honest. The final recording by this line up appeared in 1982, by which time the band members had pretty much terminally fallen out with each other, not helped by their manager Peter Grant losing interest in the music business after the death of John Bonham, and this is reflected in the very average throwaway songs that make up the vast majority of the record. A sad way for the band to bow out really, very much with a whimper rather than a bang. To sum up then, two good albums, two not bad efforts and two poor ones. All in all, a band that never realised their full potential, promising so much more than they ultimately delivered.
What does it all *mean*?
The first four albums were reissued a few years ago as deluxe 2cd versions, but those bonus tracks have been discarded for this set, which comprises straight reissues of the original albums.
Of course, this wasn’t the end for the band – a few years later they regenerated themselves with Brian Howe, and then Robert Hart, replacing Rodgers on vocals, and went on to have another run of successful albums, particularly in their prime US target market, before the inevitable reunion tour ensued.
Goes well with…
Hot nights in City Halls.
Release Date:
Out now
Might suit people who like…
Hard rock/blues.
Nice summary.
Never a big fan. They made shedloads of money, especially in the US where their focus was. Those first two albums are better than ‘good’ I think but not by much.
Me neither . Loved Free, loved Paul Rodgers’ voice and quite partial to a large slab of bombastic lumpen British blues rock as detractors might have described it, but don’t own a single record.
Maybe that Best of Bargey referred to might be the go…or just hit popular tracks on Spotify and buy something else.
I read that as you referring to a ‘Best of Bargey’ – which sounded like an implausible release 😀
Implausible? Why with Bargey that’s a new release every couple of days. His output puts Van to shame.
I think of them as the band Status Quo could have been if they’d practiced more and had a better singer.
But there’s at least two or three very fine rockers on the first two albums, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love” is a cracking song by any standards.
Me thinks you don’t kno Quo. Bit patronising.
But amusing nonetheless.
I saw them on their first tour, where they sold out many venues on reputation alone, as at that time they hadn’t even released a single, never mind an album. I saw them at Liverpool Stadium.
It was a great gig and all the best stuff was already written. Both Deal With The Preacher and Feel Like Makin’ Love featured in their set as well as all the first album.
Straight Shooter was only half a decent album. Despite the pre-publicity I thought the much vaunted Shooting Star pretty poor fare. The re-recorded Anna, Good Lovin’ Gone Bad and Wild Fire Woman were OK, but the rest was forgettable, as was everything after.
But that’s just me.
Clearly nowhere near as good as Mott the Hoople or Free- from whence the main players came. But I bought ‘Straight Shooter’ as a kid and still like it.
Didn’t like anything else they did though.
Thanks Barge for the prescient review. I loved Rodgers voice, my big brother had Free and BC albums and they left lasting impressions on me. Free Live is the one I still spin, can anyone else name a live vinyl triumph recorded at least partially in Croydon?
I have a theory that U2 regarded Bad Company as a test run for their American invasion. Exhibit A: the inner gatefold sleeve photo of one BC album showing the band sprawled in a hotel room while a Disney cartoon plays on the TV. It’s not too many steps (ok, a fair few) from this to Rattle and Hum and – via the cartoon – to Achtung Baby (ok, to my mind anyway). According to my theory, mixing up with BC in U2’s planning was the Clash’s example of near religious motivation and belief as well as a the salutary lesson they provided in how to totally screw it up and combust in flaming contradictions – not to mention the use of video screens if anyone here saw the Combat Rock tour (…you can straight shooter me down in flames on this).
Rodgers near aimlessness since, including the lacklustre Firm plus his peculiar turn with Queen, is one of rocks great shames.
a live vinyl triumph recorded at least partially in Croydon?
Delaney & Bonnie and Friends with Eric Clapton
Thanks for the correction – I will check that one out. There must be live vinyl triumphs (an endearing phrase from sounds hack Geoff Barton, probably his only one) from Croydon.
Come to think of it one of my favourite of Val Wilmer’s photos (which I can’t find on google at this moment) is of Muddy Waters playing cards back stage at the Fairfield Halls.
The live side of Family’s album Anyway was also recorded at Fairfield Halls.
My very first gig was at Fairfield Hall, Croydon with Genesis, Lindisfarne and Van Der Graaf Generator – in that order! Not recorded, alas. I also saw Bowie there twice in 73 and a near 4 hour Fairport Convention masterclass in 1974. Some of that appears on Fairport Live.
However, most of the best shows I saw in Croydon were over the road at the Greyhound on a Sunday night – Bowie, Roxy, Focus, Stray, Doctor Feelgood and, erm, the Edgar Broughton Band. TBH I didn’t see much of Edgar as I was snogging my first girlfriend at the back of the hall for the entire show. Ah, happy days!
I think Amon Duul II’s Live In London LP was recorded at the Greyhound IIRC. Also, most of Mott The Hoople’s support set to Free the same night as Free Live has come out on various releases and box sets. Must have been one hell of a show.
We saw Lindisfarne on Friday as part of the Margate Festival. So good that I’d go to see them again on their own.
Aaaah – The Greyhound, Croydon. Sunday nights. Completed my transition from RSCM to ‘rawk’ in that hallowed space. Like you I saw those who went on to become giants and those who were eternally suited to those more intimate venues.
And nobody mentioned the king of d-lop d-lop drumming, Simon Kirke, who makes the first album still lo listenable, you know, as in: “an’ they call it…..(d’lop d’lop drang) baaaaaad ccomany”
In my personal ratings system, Kirke vies with Ian Paice as best drummer I’ve heard. Just thought I’d share that.
Ian Paice and Brian Downey (ex- Thin Lizzy). Boy, those lads can swing.
Bugger. Simon Kirke is one of the three best drummers I’ve heard.
I never got Bad Company, any more than I got Free or Paul Rodgers.
And I like Foghat.
Their fans (cue sweeping generalisation) always struck me as double-denim social conservatives who would go on about “real music” as they dismissed anything with technique and intelligence, glamour and art, or the whiff of tuneful ethnicity. POSSIBLY, Foghat fans are similar. I see ver ‘Hat as dumb blues boogie that does not take itself seriously, whereas Bad Company and Free seemed to think sincerity was a good thing in rock, rather than the reverse.
OOAA.
There are very many other opinions about Free. In all my years I have never heard anyone voice that one.
Also I don’t understand in the least what you mean when your statement is reversed to rock was a good thing in sincerity.
In fact I don’t really understand what point you’re making stating that Free thought sincerity was a good thing in rock.
I saw them live. They rocked like nobody’s business. Any sincerity was an added bonus.
I think popular music is at it’s worst when it can’t appreciate it’s own ridiculousness. I would reverse sincerity with arch artifice, which may well use the blues rock idiom for entertainment and effect, and some of which is great. Sincerity, in my book, is closely aligned to the shibboleth which is “authenticity”. I think Richard Hamilton’s description of pop art: “”popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business” works for popular music too. I have no doubt that Free and Bad Co. were entertaining if you like that sort of thing. What I dispute is their authority. Maybe I got sick of my big brother’s friends being snide about Bowie and Roxy Music whilst they were shaking the dandruff off their greatcoats.
You wrote a whole book about this?
can’t wait to read it
Spot on review. Loved the first two albums, bits of the third, lost interest. Wish I’d seen them live.
Just out of curiosity, how many good albums would they (or anyone) have to produce for you to think of them as having realised their full potential?
Three.
I may have to hand in my Afterword membership after this statement, but I prefer Bad Company to Free.
Those first 2 albums are brilliant stuff, but as you say ever diminishing returns from there on.
However, this set gives me the chance to frugally replace the vinyl copies.
I can hear it now – Mrs D: “What? You’ve bought something else. And you already own it. Again!”
(I daren’t tell her how many copies of Never Mind The Bollocks I really own)
You are not alone. I’d also take Bad Co over Mott any day.
(Spits out coffee)… er…no one in Bad Company could ever write as well as Ian Hunter. Even Ralpher would admit that. And has. BC were a decent ‘blues-rock’ band (probably the last) operating within pretty well-trodden boundaries and doing it well.
But they were no Mott the Hoople…
(Wipes mouth. And table…)
Dit and indeed oh.
Great debut album.
Greatest hits for me after that.
Quite. And the debut sounds great! (from a hi fi perspective). I still play my original (vinyl) copy from time to time and in every respect my copy has worn extremely well.