Bad Company

Paul Rodgers has such a gutsy rock voice, so much so that pretty much anything he sings is worth listening to. But, from a lyrical perspective, he only writes about wanting to fuck. Just said in different words from song to song, album to album, and band to band. Though on this record there is a mellow track about a seagull. Does he want to fuck it? Probably.

Bland Company. Short average dad rock. Not bad but not memorable.

Supergroups. Why are there always supergroups. All of the playing is good, and all of the songs are forgettable. Supergroups always sound way too polished, too over-produced, and too ironed to me. While great bands often feel like like more than the sum of their parts, Bad Company feel like far less. Don't let me Down is shockingly dull.

I’ve written more than I care to about the weird symbiosis I’ve had with the Random Album Generator over the last 8 or so months, but I wouldn’t keep bringing it up if it didn’t keep happening. So, on today’s installment of “The Matrix is Real”, we have Bad Company’s self titled debut record. Every Tuesday night, for the better part of the last 15 years, I’ve listened to The Best Show (with Tom Scharpling). It started its life as call-in comedy radio show during the tail end of the Clinton Administration on New Jersey’s WFMU, the greatest radio station in America - a free form, listener supported station…you can and should stream it sometime. By the mid-aughts, the radio show was being podcast the next day after the show aired on terrestrial radio. In 2013, Tom Scharpling left WFMU to do the show independently as a streaming call-in show/podcast. Currently, The Best Show still operates as podcast, but also streams on Twitch each Tuesday night. If you like indie rock and comedy, the Best Show should be right up your alley: they have live in studio performances from the likes of Lou Barlow, The Black Lips, Mike Watt, and more; comedic guests like Patton Oswald, Marc Maron, Matt Berry; weekly calls from Superchunk/Mountain Goats/Bob Mould drummer Jon Wurster, where he calls in as a fictional character, typically from the fictional town of Newbridge, NJ; and, of course calls, from listeners on a variety of lighthearted and funny topics - a personal favorite was “Who is the dumbest member of CSNY?”. It’s one of my favorite things on earth. It’s truly the *best* show around. Right now, you’re thinking “holy fuck, dude, get to the point”…hang on, I’m almost there. One of the staples of The Best Show, for the last decade plus, is the song Bad Company by Bad Company from the album we are here to discuss, “Bad Company”. The premise is simple, but might take a minute to explain. Because the Best Show is a call-in show, sometimes they get great callers, sometimes they get mediocre callers and, you guessed it, sometimes they get truly awful callers. When a truly awful or especially boring caller calls in, Tom will often lose interest and/or patience with them, and that is where Bad Company comes in. While an insufferable caller is rambling on about something off topic or idiotic, Scharpling will discreetly begin to fade in the song Bad Company (”Company…always on my mind”) into the background of their call. With the studio setup, everyone but the caller can hear the opening strains of the song kicking in. Listeners become giddy, because they know what’s coming. Scharpling will deftly keep the caller rambling, feigning interest in their tale, pushing them closer and closer to the first chorus of the song. Then, as Paul Rodgers sings “That’s why the call me…[snare hits] Bad Company!”, Scharpling hangs up of the caller, often mid-sentence. It is unbelievably hilarious to me and, at the same time, maybe the dumbest thing that makes me laugh…It never fails to make me laugh. [there’s a super cut of people getting Bad Company’d on YouTube, if you’re interested.] Anyway, that the generator recommended this record on a Tuesday, the day I always listen to/watch the Best Show is just another coincidence in a long line of increasingly specific coincidences I’ve experienced during this project. If there was ever a song I associated with Tuesday’s, it’s “Bad Company”. Who knows, maybe I thought this project would be a good way to pass some time, but it’s actually going to be the thing that causes a mental breakdown. Who knows. At this point, I’m just here for the ride. Oh, and you should listen to the Best Show. Tuesday nights on Twitch, BestShow4Life, the next day on the podcast platform of your choice and archives of the first 14 years over at WFMU.org. There’s literally like 24 years worth of shows you can listen to and, let’s face it, if you’re doing this project, you’ve probably got some other time you’re looking to kill.

This was definitely an album in heavy heavy rotation in my house during my middle school days - 4 or 5 of these songs were so prominent on radio through the 80s that even if you didn't have the record, you knew most of it. Not much to analyze here - it's prototypical "Classic Rock" with very little wiggle room into anything else, and whether that's a pro or con is (as everything) up to personal taste, but for that quality (limitation?) this is almost as good as it gets. Paul Rodgers is or was *the* classic rock voice of the 70s/early 80s. There's nothing overly creative or experimental in terms of production and that's likely what makes it still work today - guitar/bass/drums and occasional piano/keys. It's also hard not to think of the movie "Almost Famous" when listening to this and also looking at the band (see the cover for "Burnin' Sky" and it seems pretty obvious where the movie writers got inspiration for the controversial t-shirts!) Deserving of an isolated comment is the bass playing of Boz Burrell on this album - to my ears he was the secret weapon on many of these songs, most of which have a simple and potentially dull chord progression but Burrell's fluid lines tied them together brilliantly. In particular check out the work on "Movin' On" Funny that when this came up I smiled but wasn't too excited to revisit it...if I'd written this before playing it again i would have said something like: "...even though I'm unlikely to go out of my way to listen to this again, that's just as much due to my having heard it hundreds of times as changing tastes..." but damn if it hasn't been fun listening to this album again. In the end, for what it is...it really is great from start to finish, and sometimes you just need uncomplicated straight up 70s guitar rock.

Enjoyable enough, straight down the middle cheesy 70s rock. Have to give them a shout out for pulling off the trifecta of naming your band "Bad Company", titling your album "Bad Company" and having a song called "Bad Company". Rarefied air: https://www.stereogum.com/928281/20-songs-named-after-the-bands-that-played-them/lists/

Mediocre company I’d say. Carried through by the good bits!

Shite

If this album doesn’t make you feel like a badass idk what to tell you

Wow, this is an exceptional album, just brimming with classics. Six of these songs are classic rock staples and the remaining two are top notch deep tracks. Consider for a moment just how rare that is. There isn't a bad song on here. It's warm, sexy, bluesy rock for the ages. Bad Company are the standard bearers for blues-based rock in the 1970s and 80s. This band and these songs set the bar for how rock would sound for years with countless bands attempting and failing to catch their sound. The band is a murderer’s row of musicians hailing from some really great groups – Free, Mott, King Crimson. This is also probably one of the best executed albums I have ever heard. The compositions are tight, flawless. Not an extraneous note or overly long solo to be found. The band has a steadiness and intensity to their sound without all the showboating some of their peers were prone to. Lyrically, they manage to come off as tough, but with enough sensitivity to pull off a song like "Ready for Love" without sounding silly. Paul Rodgers' warm and soulful vocals are ridiculously good. He really is one of the best rock vocalists ever, and criminally underappreciated. Fave Songs: Rock Steady, Ready for Love, Can't Get Enough, Bad Company

If you are working on your 1974 Trans Am, this better be on.

If these songs weren’t played nonstop on the radio maybe I’d appreciate it more. Some classics but so overplayed.

Never herd of this group so it may be interesting… The album starts with can’t get enough, I mean it’s alright to be fair it’s just a generic rock song. No real hate towards it though. Rock steady is still generic as fuck but it has nicer guitar works so that’s a plus. Man this album is so bland yet listenable, ready for love has it’s moments on the instrumental department but just feels like a song that’s only in it for the pay cheque. Don’t let me down at least provides a nice pace change it’s actually a really nice piano track great closer for side one especially for this album. Then the band/ albums title track ( bad company) all of the elements of the song are interesting but it’s just like so many bands have done songs like this before so it’s just not the best. Then is the way I choose it’s okay, very okay just a bit slower than the others going for a kinda romantic feel. It’s alright ( It’s just hard to find ways to describe these songs seeing they’re so mid level). Movin’ on is a nice enough penultimate track, reminds me of can’t get enough but more enjoyable and although it’s not a favourite of all time this one is actually a really fun listen I can’t deny! Seagull makes sense as a closer just a nice acoustic song maybe a favourite but just because it’s so different to the rest of the album. 5 really generic songs, a good song halfway then two good ones at the end I must say not my favourite album. Only 8 tracks lasting 35 minutes from a group who have all had musical experience being a supergroup, doing nothing special sounding like they’re only in it for the money. If you like that then okay. Ps. I didn’t hate it it’s just generic, not unique enough to be a 4 not horrendous enough to be a 2.

omg isch das e smoothi stimm ahh supergroup moment hahaha fuck isch das guet bin bi ready for love und es isch bis jz uuhuere guet gsi würkli huere guete, simple, aber doch abwechsligsriche hard rock dont let me down chli klavier fokussierter mmh ich lieb ja sax aber han gfunde daa hets jz nöd so passt joo hani jz guet gfunde aber nöd glich wie die andere hahahahaha bad company kenni sot ich 15i bin vomene fucking cover vo five finger death punch, hans original nanie ghört huere schön movin on chli ccr-core? seagull kenni au vo iwo?? ja also das eird es herts 5i

Excellent album

Straight forward, clean, melodic rock. The album is strong from start to finish, with several absolute bangers in there. Couldn't ask much more from a rock record. Paul Rodgers has such a great voice for this style. Loved it.

Huh. If you'd asked me yesterday if I'd ever gone through a Bad Company phase, I would've said, no. But as soon as I saw the track listing of this album, I remembered owning this on cassette. And a quick perusal of their album covers made me remember I had at least two others. So, I guess I had a bit of a Bad Co. phase and I forgot! Anyway, this album is great! When I think of Classic Rock, this is exactly what I'm thinking. While I love just about every song on here, my two favorites are the gentle ballads Don't Let Me Down and Seagull. It's so great to hear them again! Thanks so much for jogging my memory, 1001!

I feel like I need to talk about this album outside of it's title track. There's a reason this album is an absolute classic as it's a great example of 70's blues rock. There's really not a mediocre song on the album. Favorite Songs: Can't Get Enough, Bad Company

Loved this album. It's short and full of good tracks. Pretty standard 70s and 80s rock vibe. Spotify ends up recommending a lot of great music if you start here

SLAMS!!! The old man has listened to them for years so this was a nice treat.

Hell yeah.

Bad comapany...til the day I dieeeee

Classic

Quintessential 70s! I always imagine the band in Almost Famous as a version of Bad Co. What happens when a bar band is really good!

Good, solid, earnest, old fashioned dad rock.

I mean, it sounds like what it is: a rock album from the 70s. It's kind of a slow chug through chunky riffs with rough vocals over top. If that's what you came for, you'll be happy with what you get. Otherwise, it's just kinda meh.

6/10. Glad to see that sometimes people do name a song, an album, and their band all the same thing. Pleasant enough to listen to, but it really slipped into the background a lot.

Escuchado hoy 2021, no parece gran cosa

In the 70s this album was considered good. If I was still 14 I might think so, but I'm an adult and it's generic blooze rawk. Awful.

Enjoyed. Did not know before

Paul Rogers is awesome. Probably best voice of the generation. Solid!

Classic Classic Rock

If I could give this 15 stars I would

Good company

Lof

Classic Classic Rock. Not a Bad Song on the Album and Great Example what should be on this list. 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Standouts: Bad Company, Can’t Get Enough, Ready for Love, Rock Steady, Movin’ On, 4.5

A great album!

What a great 70's hard rock album! Nearly every song is a hit. Favorite Tracks: "Can't Get Enough" "Rock Steady" "Don't Let Me Down" "Bad Company"

Pretty much what you would want from a classic rock album!

Classic rock vibes. Easy to listen to.

Never heard of the band but really enjoyed the album

its deffo good. something middle aged men love for sure.

Surpise! Not hip hop at all! 😂

Amazing. Seagull, enough said

I remember sitting in my dad's old truck fumbling through cassette tapes. He had the all the classics, including Bad Company. Such a great album!

Fantastic. Classic rock!

Venga, le voy a dar un 5

Nice discoverment

That voice!

Getting some real southern metal vibes here

Pretty good

Really good

Cool old rock school

кул! вестерн вайб

I was going to give this an enthusiastic 4, but I didn't care for the slower songs on the back half. Prob now a 3.5 rounded up to 4. Overall I'm happy this genre existed, I enjoyed the meaty songs

i've never bad co'd before. nonie glost, immer gmeint es seg us de 2000er es isch nöd. cant get enough isch recht geil, zweistummigs gitarremesolo nochem refrain isch suuper. rock steady findi chlii lahm. aso s tönt immerno cool aber schleppt au chli. ready for love gfallt mer seehr bass und schlagzüg sind suuper schön. dont let me down seeehr schöne aafang. uuuh und denn riesse bgvs uuuh geil. seeeehr sehr geile song. bad co uf bad co vo bad co isch sehr geil. passiert afoch nöd esoo viel.

MOR and pleasant

👍🏼

nice rock

Generic, marginally better than competent, early 1970s hard rock. It's got a bit of boogie, it's got a bit of rock. The singles (Can't Get Enough and Movin' On) are fun enough. But all I can think about is Stillwater from the film Almost Famous; a competent band, struggling to make it in the big time (and I know Bad Company sold a metric shit-ton of records, and filled stadiums for most of the decade). But really, this is a compilation of ham-fisted musical and lyrical hard-rock cliches. Fun for what it is, but is it groundbreaking or historically noteworthy in any way? (Spoiler: no, it isn't)

Lige præcis sådan jeg regner med at min 70'er rock skal lyde! Mon sangen Bad Company med gruppen Bad Company fra pladen Bad Company var grunden til at de lavede en helt plade?

This is a poster child for 3 stars. Solid music, but ultimately pretty forgettable. Seagull was probably my favorite track.

Decent classic rock album

That's a classic rock block. A octuple shot of Bad Company. For real though, it is a pretty solid effort. I appreciate the softer moments, shows a more well-rounded version of the band than you get from classic rock radio. Which classic radio does a totally disservice to so many bands, reduced down to a couple surface-level hits from yesteryear. Maybe that's the problem with most classic rock stations, they aren't run by music nerds, people who want to hear songs like Bad Co.'s "Don't Let Me Down". Solid album, should have tuned those guitars before they did "Seagulls".

Bad Company is as mid-tempo classic rock as it comes. It’s not bad but it’s certainly not great. Don’t Let Me Down might be my favourite. 5.7/10

Поп рок середнячок

Generic 70s rock. Unremarkable.

Bland. I rather listen to Led Zeppelin and Blue Oyster Cult than this.

This is rock and roll from the early 70s although they clearly weren't in the same league as The Who, the Stones or Led Zep. The lead guitarist and bass player are quite good at playing their instruments but the songs aren't very interesting. I can't understand why they would think it was a good idea to make a song titled (and having the slowly sung chorus) "Don't Let Me Down" given Lennon's classic was released only a few years earlier. This album has aged like a 1974 Chateau le Vinaigre.

Beetje standaard jaren 70-spul. Niet echt slecht, maar het heeft een grote 'waarom moet ik dit eigenlijk luisteren?'-factor. Daarmee ben je nog geen classic album, kortom.

honestly, that was just boring. i'm sure in its time, it was fine, but...it just conjures visions of budweiser in pull-tab cans, and a bunch of stupid people standing around thinking they're deep. it's possible i'm projecting a little here.

This is the soundtrack to someone trying to sell you something. Commercial, corporate slop with no redeeming qualities other than its brevity.

Relatively competent, but a little soulless for some reason. I don’t believe he can’t get enough of their love and I don’t believe he’s ready for love, or he feels like making love either… The Coldplay of Hard Rock Super Groups? Also disappointed because I got them confused with BadBrains who I was quite looking forward to listening to

I didn’t expect this to be a 5, but I didn’t expected it to be a 1 either. A long while back I gave an LCD Soundsystem record a 1 and called it “gruel for millennials”. This here is gruel for boomers. If you took all the Classic Rock in the world and averaged it and flattened it out into one thing, it would be this. Most of what I previously knew about Bad Company is that whenever the Rock and Roll HOF announcements come out, people get mad BC isn’t in there. That is so funny now that I’ve actually listened to them. It’s like insisting that plain rice crackers should be in the Chips Hall of Fame.

Bad Company is what ChatGPT would sound like if you asked it to compose “Dad Rock.” Devoid of imagination, plodding, lame. Too soft to go hard, too hard to be soft. The auditory equivalent of a “half chub.” Bad Company is the Imagine Dragons of 70’s Rock. Granted, if they were the entertainment in a bar that only serves Bud Lite, I’d think they sound pretty good, given that this is clearly their hobby. Everything they do well, a hundred artists do better. This album has no business being a “must hear.”

There are a couple of hits on here but it’s boomer rock and doesn’t add anything special to the genre. People joke that the Eagles are bland and haven’t added to the genre. This is a far more bland album than anything the Eagles have put out. I see almost no impact to the music world if this album hadn’t been made. This list doesn’t need this album.

Love it and must of once had the album or the cassette as I knew every song on it

Totally featured in the Supernatural soundtrack

Loved it. Vocals are killer.

the debut album of bad company, and these guys are immediately opening your door and flooding your ears with sick guitar riffs and absurd amounts of testosterone. absurdly perfect production value, especially when compared to all the other hard rock bands i've heard from around this time. a perfect balance of hard hitting anthems and slow, smarmy jams. it's a great buffet of sound. are they experimental? heavens no, this is straight up rock. but is it great? abso-fuckin-lutely.

great

This album is easy listening

Great album from one of the greatest voices in rock 'n' roll. Shame his talent was cut short by a couple od strokes.

Excellent

This is what you want when you say you want rock. Smooth groove and clean tone, perfectly dialed in. The pacing is a tight 35 minutes, all killer. Classic for a reason. It kicks ass without ever breaking a sweat. Incredible debut album. Shoutout to the triad - a song Bad Company, on the album Bad Company, buy the band Bad Company... Spins: All Day Playlist Additions: - Can't Get Enough - Rock Steady - Ready For Love - Don't Let Me Down - Bad Company - Seagull

Day490 - a classic rock staple. paul rogers has one of the best voices. im happy they were inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame its to bad they’re all to old to perform

This album was a centerpiece of Friday nights when a few of us would hang in a buddies basement drinking beer back on the 80s. Super great uplifting album with a couple moody tracks built in.

I had no idea they were on Led Zeppelin’s label but it makes sense. They have similar sounds. This has so many great tracks it would be a tragedy to rate this anything less than a 5.

No notes necessary, as this album has been in my collection for a long time and is an old favourite of mine. However, I will say that I believe the album is worth five stars for Paul Rodger's brilliant vocals alone, never mind all the other things I love about Bad Company.

This album rocked, had heard a bunch of these songs before but didn't know the band name. Short and very tight, enjoyed the bluesy elements and catchy riffs. Favorite songs were: Ready for Love Bad Company Seagull 9/10

I'm forever surprised how many musicians I didn't realize are from the UK lol. These guys have always felt so classic American rock to me. The Wiki page describes them as a hard rock group, and I also don't get those vibes. Anyway, lots of classics on here and this was a great debut. I was not expecting to like this so much. So groovy and rockin' and just pretty special. These guys are super talented. Don't Let Me Down is my fave on here, but really enjoyed the whole thing.

One of the best singers in rock. Great cover of Mott the Hoople's Ready for Love.

There have been a few albums where I accidentally clicked the deluxe version with so. many. extra. versions of the same songs. And there have been a few where that was the only option available. I've hated it every time. For this album, I deliberately picked the deluxe version with so. many. extra. versions of the songs. On purpose. And I listened to them happily, and will do it again. Bad Company is pure classic rock. It's one of those bands that I'll listen to over and over. It never gets old. 5 stars. Related, I also recommend Five Finger Death Punch's cover of Bad Company.

One of my top debuts!

Awesome

There are quite a few classic bangers on here but even the rest that I didn't know at all was great!

Solid classic rock!

Love that this was included. What a debut album! It's a bonafide killer from start to finish, six of the 8 songs were constants on rock radio when I was a kid in the 80's. Hard to beat the intro with "Can't Get Enough", then you roll into "Ready For Love", "Movin' On" & the ultimate classic "Bad Company". Fully loaded classic rock album. Even the ballads "Don't Let Me Down", "The Way I Choose" and "Seagull" are memorable and adored. The band itself is awe worthy... Paul Rodgers could sing the phonebook (and make it sound good), Mick Ralphs is a vastly underrated guitar god, Simon Kirke has some of the best drum fills ever & Boz Burrell is a legendary bass virtuoso. My parents know these songs, that has to say something about the prowess & staying power this album has had. Hit songs, influence, longevity on the radio, this one has it all. If you're a real fan of this album try the Deluxe version and hear how the songs morphed into what was ultimately released in 1974, along a few great B-sides. It's hard to believe they could leave "Little Miss Fortune", "The Way I Choose", "Easy On My Soul" or "Superstar Woman" on the cutting room floor!

5/5 Bad Company begins solidly with the simple yet effective rocker Can't Get Enough, before the funkier Rock Steady comes in. Then Ready for Love is such a beautiful rock ballad, with the instrumental moving brilliantly from lush in the fantastic verses, to sparse in the bare bones chorus. I love the piano in the instrumental break. The timeless Don't Let Me Down finishes an exceptional first side, with some breathtaking solos. It brings a welcome freshness to the centre of the recording. Next, it's Bad Company, the song so nice they named it thrice. A great storytelling tune, with an amazing chorus. The Way I Choose is a slower track with great guitar work, and the brass parts support capably. We're moving on to Movin' On, a bright, energetic number, with fantastic vocals, before Seagull finishes us off. The verses are a bit stilted, but the chorus is solid. Overall, this album is a great example of getting the most out of the ideas you have. It's short and sweet with eight great songs and no filler. Many elements can be described as basic or simple, but they work so well. Can't Get Enough 5/5 Rock Steady 4.5/5 Ready for Love 5/5 Don't Let Me Down 5/5 (FAV) Bad Company 5/5 The Way I Choose 4.5/5 Movin' On 5/5 Seagull 3.5/5 (LEAST FAV)