Bad Company (album)
| Bad Company | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Bad Company | ||||
| Released | 26 June 1974 | |||
| Recorded | November 1973 | |||
| Studio | Headley Grange, East Hampshire, England[1] | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 34:45 | |||
| Label |
Island (UK) Swan Song (US) | |||
| Producer | Bad Company | |||
| Bad Company chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Bad Company | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Rolling Stone | favourable[3] |
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,[1] and it was the first album released on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label.[4]
Reception and legacy
The album reached the top of the US Billboard 200.[5] Since then, the album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA, and became the 46th best selling album of the 1970s.[6] 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.[7] Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 40 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[8] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
The singles "Can't Get Enough" and "Movin' On" peaked at No. 5 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.[10] "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.
Versions
In 2006 an audiophile mastered 24K gold CD was released by Audio Fidelity. A previous remaster was released in 1994.
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Can't Get Enough" | Mick Ralphs | 4:17 |
| 2. | "Rock Steady" | Paul Rodgers | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Ready for Love" (Mott the Hoople cover) | Ralphs | 5:03 |
| 4. | "Don't Let Me Down" | Rodgers, Ralphs | 4:22 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 5. | "Bad Company" | Rodgers, Simon Kirke | 4:51 |
| 6. | "The Way I Choose" | Rodgers | 5:06 |
| 7. | "Movin' On" | Ralphs | 3:24 |
| 8. | "Seagull" | Rodgers, Ralphs | 4:04 |
| 2015 Reissue Disc two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Can't Get Enough (Take 8)" | Ralphs | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Little Miss Fortune (Demo Reel 1)" | Rodgers, Ralphs | 3:58 |
| 3. | "The Way I Choose (Demo Reel 1)" | Ralphs | 6:39 |
| 4. | "Bad Company (Session Reel 2)" | Rodgers, Kirke | 4:40 |
| 5. | "The Way I Choose (Version 1 Inc. False Start)" | Ralphs | 7:16 |
| 6. | "Easy on My Soul (Long Version)" | Rodgers | 6:15 |
| 7. | "Bad Company (Session Reel 8)" | Rodgers, Kirke | 5:33 |
| 8. | "Studio Chat / Dialogue" | 0:23 | |
| 9. | "Superstar Woman (Long Version)" | Rodgers | 6:11 |
| 10. | "Can't Get Enough (Single Edit)" | Ralphs | 3:30 |
| 11. | "Little Miss Fortune (B-Side of "Can't Get Enough")" | Rodgers, Ralphs | 3:51 |
| 12. | "Easy on My Soul (B-Side of "Movin' On")" | Rodgers | 4:41 |
| 13. | "Can't Get Enough (Hammond Version)" | Ralphs | 4:23 |
Personnel
Per sleeve notes[1]
- Paul Rodgers – vocals, rhythm (1) and acoustic (8) guitars, piano (4, 5), tambourine (8)
- Mick Ralphs– lead guitar (all but 8), keyboards (3)
- Boz Burrell – bass (all but 8)
- Simon Kirke – drums (all but 8)
Additional personnel
Per sleeve notes[1]
- Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie – backing vocals (4)
- Mel Collins – saxophones
- Ron Fawcus – tape operator
- Hipgnosis – sleeve design, photography
- Ron Nevison – engineer, mixing
- Steve Hoffman – mastering
- Barry Diament – mastering
- Beverly Taddei – production co-ordination
- Bob Wynne – art direction
Charts
- Album
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM)[11] | 7 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[12] | 17 |
| UK (The Official Charts Company)[13] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200[5] | 1 |
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[14] | 27 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "Can't Get Enough" | Pop Singles | 5 |
| 1975 | "Movin' On" | Pop Singles | 19 |
| Preceded by Fulfillingness' First Finale by Stevie Wonder |
Billboard 200 number-one album 28 September – 4 October 1974 |
Succeeded by Endless Summer by The Beach Boys |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Bad Company (Vinyl sleeve). Bad Company. Island Records. 1974. back cover.
- ↑ Baksi, Gautam. Album review Bad Company at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ↑ Scoppa, Bud. "Album review Bad Company". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ↑ Reiff, Corbin (7 May 2014). "The History of Swan Song Records". ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- 1 2 "Bad Company – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- ↑ "Bad Company RIAA certification". www.riaa.com.
- ↑ "UK chart history – Bad Company Bad Company". www.chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ↑ Johnson, Howard (21 January 1989). "Bad Company 'Bad Company'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
- ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- ↑ "Bad Company – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Bad Company – Bad Co". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ "1974-06-22 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts. 22 June 1974. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Bad Company – Bad Co". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
External links
- Bad Company (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
- Queen + Paul Rodgers cover of "Can't Get Enough" (live, official video) on YouTube
- Lyrics of covers by Queen + Paul Rodgers at Queen official website: "Can't Get Enough" (from Return of the Champions), "Seagull", "Bad Company" (from Live in Ukraine)