The first DVD is a live concert of vocalist Paul Rodgers called Live in Glasgow. As I watched this concert, I’m reminded once again of how truly great Rodgers is as a Rock vocalist. To fans of the Classic Rock genre, this is not any kind of earth shattering revelation. To get my past my lengthy intro, I want to talk about Bad Company, the band, the album and (in my opinion) the greatness of that “other legendary band” on the Swan Song record label 40 years after their debut.
Bad Company was one of the biggest “supergroups” of the 70’s. The group was formed from the ashes of the British blues band Free with vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke along with guitarist Mick Ralphs of Mott the Hoople and bassist Boz Burell of King Crimson. The band was formed in 1973 and would release their debut album in 1974. Years later, I would find out from the liner notes of the Deep Purple album Burn that Purple guitarist Richie Blackmore had originally wanted to Paul Rodgers to replace Ian Gillan after he left Purple. I still wonder and have that exciting “what if” equation in my head if one of my favorite vocalists would have teamed up with one of my favorite bands.
Bad Company appeared on my own personal radar in my pre-adolescent years as I started to discover a lot of the great rock bands of the 70’s. For years, the only Bad Co song I knew was the ode to the famed lifestyle of Rock and Roll Fantasy. From an early age, I had desired to be a musician or rock star standing on stage and performing. This song struck a nerve with me at a young age. For years, the only Bad Co album I owned was the Rough Diamonds album. This was to be the final album featuring the original lineup as the band fell apart after the death of John Bonham, the disbanding of Led Zeppelin and the dissolving of the Swan Song record label.
I hadn’t paid much attention to Bad Company as the 80’s progressed. I picked up an album by a group featuring drummer Simon Kirke called Wildlife in 1983. I have a blog in progress on that one. It was a one-off project that I really enjoyed. In 1984, Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page formed an alliance with Bad Co vocalist Paul Rodgers in a band known as The Firm. At the time, I was expecting something “heavy” considering Zep and Page’s reputation for being a Hard Rock icon. I realized later that “heavy” was all in the eyes and ears of the listener and the more I listened to The Firm, the more I grew to love it…..still do.
Fast forward to my college years(yet again) and my years of employment in the hallowed aisles (and record bins) of Dustys Records. Many of my memories are always filled with the music and friendships associated with those formative years. This memory features my misfit brother (from another mother) Bob G. When Bob started working at Dustys, one of the first CD’s he purchased was the Bad Company compilation 10 from 6 (10 songs from 6 albums) At the time, I think I had expanded the number of songs I knew from Rn’R Fantasy to include Can’t Get Enough and Feel Like Makin’ Love. But, Bob had a personal affinity to the track simply titled Bad Company. Bob loved to stand in the aisle, play air guitar and sing along to this song. He absolutely loved this song. His enthusiasm for this song was absolutely palpable and contagious. It wouldn’t take long before I would take notice and become a huge fan myself. I would even venture to say that my love for Bad Co grew as my friendship with Bob progressed as well. I still smile as I listen to Bad Company and think of the memories of Bob’s infectious enthusiasm.
While the late 80’s were rolling along, Bad Company had regrouped (in a sense) and recorded with vocalist Brian Howe. I had heard Brian Howe on Ted Nugent’s 1984 Penetrator album. He’s not a bad vocalist. But, I was never a big fan of his style. His clean vocal style just didn’t seem to fit the gritty style of Ted Nugent and later with Bad Company. After watching the VH1 Behind the Music episode, Atlantic Records basically wanted to call this union of Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs and Brian Howe “Bad Company”. By the way, bassist Boz Burrell lasted only one album with this lineup. The band had chart success with albums like Dangerous Age and Holy Water. But, for me and (I’m guessing) many other fans, this wasn’t Bad Company. It was kind of a watered down, diluted and radio friendly version. I know some people that enjoyed this version. They even released a live album with Brian Howe. I’ve even been told by my niece that it’s one of her favorites. But, I’m talking about the legendary group featuring the one and only Paul Rodgers. So, let’s move on.
Fast forward to the 90’s and by now Paul Rodgers was definitely on my list of artists that I wanted more from. In 1993, he released an all-star Blues album called Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters. This featured a host of guest guitarists like Gary Moore, Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, Brian May, David Gilmour and Buddy Guy! I was living and working in Omaha at the Crossroads Mall as the manager of Tape World. Two of the guys on my staff were big guitar and classic rock fans. So, we would listen to this album daily. The backing band on this album was drummer Jason Bonham and the bassist and guitarist from his band Bonham. So, I had been a big fan of Jason and his drumming. So, I loved the heavy handed Zeppelin-esque treatment of these Blues standards. It was quite the contrast for the Mall atmosphere we worked in. We loved it anyway.
In 1999, I remember picking up a copy of Guitar World magazine for yet another article on Stevie Ray Vaughan. It’s amazing how these guitar magazines always seem to come up with yet another “lost” interview with a deceased guitarist like Hendrix, Randy Rhoads or SRV. Well, the issue had an article about how the original lineup of Bad Company was reuniting to record some new tracks for a new greatest hits package and a possible tour. I was so elated about this reunion. I wanted to tell all of my music loving friends about it. I may have even called Bob to tell him if he hadn’t heard already. VH1 even had the subject of the band as part of their Behind the Music series. After the debut of that initial episode, they aired a new concert of the reunited band. They even had Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington come out on second guitar for Rock and Roll Fantasy. I was so excited about this. I set the VCR and recorded both the episode and the concert. I made a VHS copy for Bob and sent it to him. I knew that Bob was such a big fan of the band that he’d appreciate it.
Rock and Roll Fantasy
He’s not flashy! He isn’t loud and bombastic like my favorites John Bonham or Carmine Appice. But, the more I got into playing the song or the groove, the more I began to appreciate his style. Around 1998, he toured with and did a session of VH1’s Storytellers with Ringo Starr. I watched the episode and there was something tight and grooving about Simon’s playing. It wasn’t flashy and then seeing him play double drums with Ringo made it seem so mesmerizing to me. He plays his parts that are simplistic yet so signature to the song he’s playing…and he sings pretty damn good too.
Simon Kirke drumming and singing!
As a drummer and a singer, I was drawn towards Simon and Paul. But, after I watched the VH1 Behind the Music episode, I began to respect both Mick and Boz as musicians as well. It would be after years of listening to bassists that I began to appreciate Boz and his playing. He is one of many bassists that are so good that they make the rest of the band sound unbelievably good that you forget how good they are. I would place Boz in the same class of a player as Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie and Deep Purple’s Roger Glover. These are all players that do their job so well and have stepped out of t
he spotlight of guitarists and vocalists and create fantastic pieces of musical genius that contributes to a wider scope of the composition. They make the music breathe by what they play (or don’t play). Boz Burrell started off as a vocalist and then began playing bass with Robert Fripp’s band King Crimson. When he had the chance to audition for Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke, he was more than ready to get away from King Crimson and what he would call “public school rock”. He would play the usual standard basses. But, he was also a fan of the fretless bass and (like many) a fan of jazz bassist Charles Mingus. Unfortunately, Boz Burrell was a casualty of the excesses of Rock n’ Roll and passed away in 2006. Mick Ralphs is another member that goes unnoticed. Ralphs was the principal songwriter for the British band Mott the Hoople.
In America (or at least myself) they’re known for the song All the Young Dudes written by David Bowie. Ironically, Ralphs had already grown tired of life in Mott. He had written some songs for singer Ian Hunter that didn’t fit his singing style and eventually would be something that fit Paul Rodgers style perfectly. Mick Ralphs often gets overshadowed as a guitarist and songwriter. Paul Rodgers is usually the member of Bad Company that most people remember. But, it was Ralphs who co-wrote many of the great Bad Co songs with Rodgers. He wrote the riffs for Can’t Get Enough and Feel Like Makin’ Love among many others.
The debut album was released in June of 1974. So, 2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the debut. When I was researching this band and the Bad Company catalog, I was reminded of the classic album releases of the 70’s. This was a time when bands would release albums once or twice a year and the albums would range from 35 to 45 minutes in length. From 1970-1973, Black Sabbath released their first five albums. Deep Purple released 6 albums from 1970-1974 and that was between both the Mark II lineup(Ian Gillan and Roger Glover) and the Mark III lineup(David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes). Queen released Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack and Night at the Opera all between March 1974 and the end of the following year. Bad Company managed to release their debut self-titled album, Straight Shooter and Run With the Pack all within a 2 year period as well. This was a rich time for some of my favorite bands and albums.
When I originally started looking at the songs on the self-titled debut, I found that all but 2 of the songs are on the Original Bad Company Anthology set. That’s pretty impressive that these songs hold up over time. I also found out that this album was recorded at Headley Grange which is the same old mansion where Led Zeppelin recorded their iconic fourth album. If you’ve seen the documentary This Might Get Loud, Jimmy Page takes a walk through this historic spot and highlights how magical the sound was in this place.
Jimmy Page revisits Headley Grange.
Obviously, When I started writing this entry, I thought of my friend Bob and his love of Bad Company. So, I sent him a note that I was writing this. His response to the music of Bad Company and the vocals of Paul Rodgers were succinctly put into his own words as only Bob could put it.
“Paul Rodgers for me is the voice I always wanted. His voice seemed soo smooth and almost effortless like he could get out of bed and start singing and sound like that. For me, the instrument that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck and gives me goosebumps is an amazing voice. In ‘Bad Company’ (the song) he only has to say "company always on the run" and I get goosebumps. Do you have any idea how many times I have listened to that damn song and I still get goosebumps? His voice fits right in that pocket where it belongs. Soft quiet piano...soft quiet vocal. Make your voice an instrument. Make it fit in the pocket. Later in the song he says "that's why they call me" and brings his voice up and brings it loud as if to say to the band...time to kick it in the ass. His voice goes up with the guitar and down with the guitar. His voice is quiet with the piano. His voice says match it and make it work. Don't overpower it.”When I first started writing this, I had realized that it was the 40th Anniversary of this band and their debut album. I wanted to take in all that I could about this band. Interestingly enough, the UK magazine known as “Classic Rock” magazine published a commemorative issue celebrating the 40th anniversary.
Along with the magazine, there is a DVD documentary of the band. I found a copy at the bookstore and bought it. To say I’ve been on a steady diet of Bad Company music would be a major understatement. I’ve watched the DVD countless times and watched as the surviving members talk about the “good ole days” and reminisce about their experiences and road stories.
great commemorative magazine and DVD set.
The band has reunited in the last few years with former Heart guitarist Howard Leese on second guitar as well as Paul Rodgers’ bassist Lynn Sorensen. They’ve released two live DVD’s and CD sets in 2010(Bad Company Hard Rock Live) and 2011(Bad Company Live at Wembley). The band sounds great and of course the vocals of Paul Rodgers sound absolutely top-notch. In the summer of 2014, they are touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd on a 40th Anniversary tour(for both bands).
“Bad Company…..Til the day I die!”
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