Bad Company – Bad Company (1974/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88.2kHz | Time – 00:34:54 minutes | 705 MB | Genre: Rock
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | © Swan Song Records
Recorded: Headley Grange, Hampshire, UK, November 1973.
Bad Company was an instant hit worldwide. Their 1974 self-titled debut went platinum five times over and featured the smash hits, “Can’t Get Enough,” (a Number One single) and “Movin’ On” along with electrifying rock anthems like “Ready For Love,” “Rock Steady” and the title track.
Bad Company is the debut studio album by British hard rock supergroup Bad Company. The album was recorded at Headley Grange with Ronnie Lane’s Mobile Studio in November 1973, and the first release of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records.
The album reached the top of the US Billboard 200. Since then, the album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA, and became the 46th best selling album of the 1970s. The album spent 25 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, entering at No. 10 and reaching its highest position of No. 3 in the second week. Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 40 among the “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time”.
The singles “Can’t Get Enough” and “Movin’ On” peaked at No. 5 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. “Rock Steady”, “Bad Company” and “Ready for Love” (the last originally recorded by guitarist Mick Ralphs during his tenure with Mott the Hoople on All the Young Dudes) are also “classic rock” radio staples. In 2006 a limited edition CD of 24K gold was released. A previous remaster was released in 1994.
Bad Company’s 1974 self-titled release stands as one of the most important and accomplished debut hard rock albums from the ’70s. Though hardly visionary, it was one of the most successful steps in the continuing evolution of rock & roll, riding on the coattails of achievement from artists like the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. From the simple electric guitar lick on “Can’t Get Enough” to the haunting bassline in “Bad Company” and the fast beats of “Movin’ On,” Bad Company exemplified raw rock & roll at its best. Erupting out of an experimental period created by the likes of Pink Floyd, Bad Company signified a return to more primal, stripped-down rock & roll. Even while labelmates Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy and IV featured highly acclaimed, colorful album artwork, Bad Company’s austere black and white record cover stood out in stark contrast. Six years later, AC/DC used the same idea on their smash Back in Black. Throughout the 35-minute album, Paul Rodgers’ mesmerizing and gritty vocals hardly vary in tonal quality, offering a perfect complement to Mick Ralphs’ blues-based guitar work. Several songs include three-chord verses offset by unembellished, distorted choruses, filled rich with Rodgers’ cries. Bad Company is an essential addition to the rock & roll library; clearly influential to ’70s and ’80s hard rock bands like Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Boston. -Gautam Baksi
Tracklist:
1 Can’t Get Enough 4:10
2 Rock Steady 3:46
3 Ready For Love 5:00
4 Don’t Let Me Down 4:18
5 Bad Company 4:50
6 The Way I Choose 5:05
7 Movin’ On 3:20
8 Seagull 4:06
Personnel:
Paul Rodgers – vocals, rhythm guitar on “Can’t Get Enough”, piano on “Bad Company” and “Don’t Let Me Down”, all instruments on “Seagull”
Mick Ralphs- guitar, keyboards on “Ready for Love”
Simon Kirke – drums
Boz Burrell – bass
Additional:
Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie – Backing vocals on “Don’t Let Me Down”.
Mel Collins – saxophones
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