Record Reviews

BAD COMPANY ~ BAD COMPANY (DELUXE EDITION) RHINO 081227955540 (Barcode: 081227955540) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1973 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the debut eponymous album by the seminal British Blues-Rock / Rock supergroup Bad CompanyFind albums by this artist. Formed in 1973 by two former members of the legendary FreeFind albums by this artist, vocalist Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist and drummer Simon KirkeFind albums by this artist, who were joined by ex-Mott The HoopleFind albums by this artist guitarist Mick RalphsFind albums by this artist and ex-King CrimsonFind albums by this artist bassist Boz BurrellFind albums by this artist. The original lineup of the band managed to last for a whole decade, during which they recorded six studio albums. The original album included eight original songs, three by Ralphs, two by Rodgers, two by Rodgers and Ralphs and one by Rodgers and Kirke. This remastered edition adds a second CD full of bonus material (13 tracks), nine of which are previously unreleased, which include outtakes, alternate versions and B-sides, including studio chatter as well as intelligent and interesting booklet full of relevant information. Bad Company were beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the all time best British Rock bands, which embodied the process of the development of the British Rock music, which has taken place during the 1960s and included the Blues Revival, the birth of Blues-Rock and Hard-Rock. The band was less Blues oriented than its ancestor bands, especially Free of course, but the basic Blues structures were still very much in place, especially so on the first two albums by the band. Rodgers, who is the best white Blues vocalist that ever walked the face of the earth, sings Blues regardless of the specific environment he´s in at any specific moment. Whenever he opens his mouth, the Blues pours out, regardless if he means it or not, and this is of course his most important asset paired with his Godly voice. Bad Company allowed him to explore his talents as a singer and songwriter in a more comfortable environment than the turmoil surrounding Free during its troubled existence. The combined forces of the four musicians that were Bad Company proved to be an ideal amalgam of talents and abilities, turning them into a well oiled and highly intelligent music machine that was simply perfect and unstoppable. There in not even one slack track on this entire album, including the CD with the bonuses. Rock perfection incarnate! In retrospect this album joins the ranks of those essential classic albums, which will be standing on the pedestal of Rock´s achievements for as long as Rock itself will exist as a living musical form. Since they don´t make music like that any more, there is no danger of this music being replaced or forgotten any time soon, at least not as long as those who have been lucky to enjoy the bad company in real life.

Updated: 29/01/2019Posted: 20/01/2017

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend

BAD COMPANY ~ LIVE 1977 & 1979 RHINO 081227952334 (Barcode: 081227952334) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1977 - 1979 Released: 2016 This is an archival live album by the seminal British Rock supergroup Bad CompanyFind albums by this artist. Formed in 1973 by two former members of the legendary FreeFind albums by this artist, vocalist Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist and drummer Simon KirkeFind albums by this artist, who were joined by ex-Mott The HoopleFind albums by this artist guitarist Mick RalphsFind albums by this artist and ex-King CrimsonFind albums by this artist bassist Boz BurrellFind albums by this artist. The original lineup of the band managed to last for a whole decade, during which they recorded six studio albums, but not even one live album, which was highly unusual at the time. This album tries, albeit almost forty years later, to remedy the situation and presents two live shows by the band at its peak form, with the two recordings separated by almost two years, each presenting mostly songs from the albums released at the time, i.e. the first show with songs from "Burnin` SkyFind albums with this title", their fourth album released in 1977 and the second show with songs from "Desolation AngelsFind albums with this title", their fifth album released in 1979. Bad Company was a formidable live act, as these recordings show, which explains the enormous popularity they enjoyed at the time. They are also a living proof that the basic Rock formula of vocals, lead and bass guitars and drums are completely enough to create vital and extraordinary music, without electronics and other artificial trickery. Rogers, as usual, is simply beyond comparison to any other vocalist at the time and in truth to this very day. The band did not change their musical formula for the entire duration of their existence, which was based on great tunes, often soaked with Blues sensitivity, performed with great skill and total involvement, but eschewing unnecessary pyrotechnics. In many respects this album is a frozen memory of Rock´s last great moments, as the music was about to turn sour soon after with mindless Pop taking over and Rock disappearing as the musical pulse of the generations. Bad Company managed to survive Punk and New Wave, but they did run out of steam soon after and their sixth album, the last featuring the original lineup, was released when the band practically did not exist any more. This album pays tribute to the three instrumentalists in the band, who prove their great skills on these live recordings. Ralphs is obviously a superb guitarist, who was able to play great solos and support the flow of the music by supplying incredible riffs. Kirke is a great drummer, probably one of the very few top Blues-Rock drummers, who always exhibited brilliant sensitivity and technique. Burrell, who is sadly no longer with us, was a dazzling bassist and his work always provides the cement which kept the music together. Since nobody plays great Rock today as Bad Company did at the time, perhaps this album could serve as a source of inspiration to some young musicians to learn how it´s done…In the meantime we have this to remember what Rock was all about once.

Updated: 20/01/2017Posted: 20/01/2017

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

BAD COMPANY ~ ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES RHINO 081227959241 (Barcode: 081227959241) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 1974 - 1979 Released: 2014 This Box Set collects the first five albums recorded by the British Rock supergroup Bad CompanyFind albums by this artist and released between 1974 and 1979. The group was formed soon after the brilliant FreeFind albums by this artist fell apart and included Free vocalist Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist and drummer Simon KirkeFind albums by this artist as well as Mott The HoopleFind albums by this artist guitarist Mick RalphsFind albums by this artist and King CrimsonFind albums by this artist bassist Boz BurrellFind albums by this artist. This lineup recorded all these five albums. Musically Bad Company was initially a direct continuation of where Free left off, i.e. moving gradually away from Blues and Blues-Rock into straightforward Rock with just a tinge of Blues, which was still present mainly due to Rogers´ incredible voice, which sounds Bluesy whatever he sings. The first two albums are absolute classic and the rest slowly loosen the magic, but in retrospect are way better that anything recorded today. Personally anything that has Paul Rodgers singing on it is fine with me, as he is definitely one of my absolute top vocal favorites, not only because of his superb and unique voice but more importantly due to his wonderful musicality, feel and groove, especially for the Blues but also in the Rock idiom. Alongside Humble PieFind albums by this artist and Spooky ToothFind albums by this artist, Free and Bad Company were the very core of British Blues-Rock, which was absolutely unbeatable by anything else on this planet. Those bands flourished for a brief period of time between late 1960s and mid-1970s, leaving an unsurpassed heritage, which still is a beacon of excellence decades later. For fans of that genre, this Box Set is an absolute must! Side Note The "Original Album SeriesFind albums with this title" by Warner Bros.Find albums on this label, the "Original Album ClassicsFind albums with this title" by SonyFind albums on this label, the "5 Original AlbumsFind albums with this title" by UniversalFind albums on this label, the Box Sets by RhinoFind albums on this label and other similar releases are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases has been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard for the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires as to treat our Cultural Legacy with respect and loyalty. The Box Sets produced under these monikers have no discographical information whatsoever about the lineups, musician names, composers, lyricists, dates and places of recording, original release data and even basic copyright data (the last is strictly illegal BTW). Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, they are often edited and information (which would be in most cases too small to be readable) is removed. Most importantly these Box Sets don't include any booklet offering a historical background and perspective about the Artists and the Music, which are extremely important and vital to the preservation of our Culture and passing the knowledge to the next generations. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap. Considering the fact how many times this music has been sold over and over again by the labels, this is a crying shame!

Updated: 05/04/2024Posted:

CD 5 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend

BAD COMPANY ~ STRAIGHT SHOOTER (DELUXE EDITION) RHINO 081227955533 (Barcode: 081227955533) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1974 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the second album by the seminal British Blues-Rock / Rock supergroup Bad CompanyFind albums by this artist. Formed in 1973 by two former members of the legendary FreeFind albums by this artist, vocalist Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist and drummer Simon KirkeFind albums by this artist, who were joined by ex-Mott The HoopleFind albums by this artist guitarist Mick RalphsFind albums by this artist and ex-King CrimsonFind albums by this artist bassist Boz BurrellFind albums by this artist. The original lineup of the band managed to last for a whole decade, during which they recorded six studio albums. The original album included eight original songs, one by Ralphs, two by Rodgers, two by Kirke, and three by Rodgers and Ralphs. This remastered edition adds a second CD full of bonus material (14 tracks), thirteen of which are previously unreleased, which include outtakes, alternate versions and B-sides, including studio chatter as well as intelligent and interesting booklet full of relevant information. Bad Company were beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the all time best British Rock bands, which embodied the process of the development of the British Rock music, which has taken place during the 1960s and included the Blues Revival, the birth of Blues-Rock and Hard-Rock. The band was less Blues oriented than its ancestor bands, especially Free of course, but the basic Blues structures were still very much in place, especially so on the first two albums by the band. Rodgers, who is the best white Blues vocalist that ever walked the face of the earth, sings Blues regardless of the specific environment he´s in at any specific moment. Whenever he opens his mouth, the Blues pours out, regardless if he means it or not, and this is of course his most important asset paired with his Godly voice. Bad Company allowed him to explore his talents as a singer and songwriter in a more comfortable environment than the turmoil surrounding Free during its troubled existence. The combined forces of the four musicians that were Bad Company proved to be an ideal amalgam of talents and abilities, turning them into a well oiled and highly intelligent music machine that was simply perfect and unstoppable. There in not even one slack track on this entire album, including the CD with the bonuses. Rock perfection incarnate! In retrospect this album joins the ranks of those essential classic albums, which will be standing on the pedestal of Rock´s achievements for as long as Rock itself will exist as a living musical form. Since they don´t make music like that any more, there is no danger of this music being replaced or forgotten any time soon, at least not as long as those who have been lucky to enjoy the bad company in real life.

Updated: 29/01/2019Posted: 20/01/2017

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend

HUMBLE PIE ~ I NEED A STAR IN MY LIFE CLEOPATRA 03172 (Barcode: 889466317224) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1974 - 1976 Released: 2020 This is a reissue / remaster of the “lost” album by one of the greatest British Rock groups of all time, Humble PieFind albums by this artist. This album was rejected by the group’s record label A&MFind albums on this label, but they continued to record for many months, until the group fell apart and the music remained shelved, while they released their swan song album “Street RatsFind albums with this title” in the meantime. The album presents twenty tracks, most being originals written by the group members. In addition to the regular group members: vocalist / guitarist Steve MarriottFind albums by this artist, bassist Greg RidleyFind albums by this artist, guitarist Clem ClempsonFind albums by this artist, drummer Jerry ShirleyFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Tim HinkleyFind albums by this artist, they invited a plethora of guests to take part in this project, including such luminaries like bassist Boz BurrellFind albums by this artist, drummer Ian WallaceFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Mel CollinsFind albums by this artist, guitarist B. J. ColeFind albums by this artist and others. These tracks surfaced in 1990s as “Scrubbers Sessions”, both on bootlegs and eventually on Eagle Records, but are not available anymore and this new reissue offers a good sound quality and nice packaging. Overall, this is a great document, both of the era and one of the greatest British Rock groups ever, which definitely is worth being remembered. Marriott had one of the most distinctive voices of Rock and his premature and tragic death in 1991 robbed the world of his magic forever. A great piece of history!

Updated: 07/10/2022Posted: 07/10/2022

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend