Song of the Day No.55

Bad Company

by Bad Company (Bad Company, 1974)

Formed in 1973 Bad Company adopted the mantle of supergroup after members of Free, King Crimson and Mott The Hoople started writing together. Based around the songwriting of Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs the band went into the now legendary Led Zeppelin recording venue Headley Grange to record their self-titled debut. The album reached the top of the US Billboard charts and broke the top three in the UK, it now helps define mid'70s rock.

Steady piano chords and atmospheric cymbal rolls work together with Paul Rodgers' smooth echoed tones. They create a mournful ambient that repeatedly sets the listener up for the crashingly defiant crunch of guitars, thump of drums and silky wail of the song kicking into gear, “Bad company, 'til the day I die”. The reflective atmosphere returns and the visceral process repeats catching you up in the hard-rock whirl of Ralphs' guitar solo until the fade.

AR