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Bad Company
Studio album by Bad Company
Released	May 1974 (UK), June 26, 1974 (US)
Recorded	November 1973
Studio	Headley Grange, East Hampshire, England
Genre	Blues rock hard rock
Length	34:45
Label	Island (UK) Swan Song (US)
Producer	Bad Company
Bad Company chronology
Bad Company (1974) Straight Shooter (1975)
Singles from Bad Company
"Can't Get Enough" Released: 10 May 1974 (1974-05-10) "Movin' On" Released: January 1975 (US)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	B−
Rolling Stone	favourable
Encyclopedia of Popular Music

Bad Company is the debut studio album by Bad Company, a 1970s English hard rock supergroup. The album was recorded at Headley Grange with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio in November 1973, and it was the first album released on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label.

Among the songs recorded during the album sessions were two covers of tracks originally by members' previous bands — specifically, Mott the Hoople's "Ready for Love" (recorded while Mick Ralphs was with the band and released on their 1972 album All the Young Dudes) and "Easy on My Soul" (recorded by Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke with Free and released on Heartbreaker in 1973). The latter did not make the final album, but was released as the B-side to second single "Movin' On".

Reception and legacy

The album reached the top of the US Billboard 200. Since then, the album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA, and became the 46th best selling album of the 1970s. The album spent 25 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, entering at No. 10 on June 15, 1974, and reaching its highest position of No. 3 in the second week. Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 40 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 323 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

The singles "Can't Get Enough" and "Movin' On" peaked at No. 5 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. "Rock Steady", "Bad Company" and "Ready for Love" are also classic rock radio staples.

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw named four songs from Bad Company – "Bad Company", "Can't Get Enough", "Ready for Love" and "Seagull" – to be among Bad Company's 10 greatest songs.

Versions

The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. In 2006 an audiophile mastered 24K gold CD was released by Audio Fidelity.

Track listing

Non-album tracks

1. "Little Miss Fortune" (Rodgers, Ralphs) – 3:52
   • Released as the B-side of the "Can't Get Enough" single.

1. "Easy On My Soul" (Rodgers) – 4:39
   • Released as the B-side of the "Movin' On" single.

Personnel

Bad Company

• Paul Rodgers – vocals, rhythm (1) and acoustic (8) guitars, piano (4, 5), tambourine (8)
• Mick Ralphs – lead guitar (all but 8), keyboards (3, 6)
• Boz Burrell – bass (all but 8)
• Simon Kirke – drums (all but 8)

Additional personnel

• Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie – backing vocals (4)
• Mel Collins – saxophones (6)
• 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

Certifications

References

1. ^ Bad Company (Vinyl sleeve). Bad Company. Island Records. 1974. back cover.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. "The Top 30 British Blues Rock Albums Of All Time". Classic Rock. Future plc. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
3. Moskowitz, David V. (2015). The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 27. ISBN 9781440803406.
4. Strong, Martin Charles (19 November 1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 35. ISBN 9780862415419.
5. Baksi, Gautam. Album review Bad Company at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
7. Scoppa, Bud. "Album review Bad Company". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
8. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
9. Reiff, Corbin (7 May 2014). "The History of Swan Song Records". ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
10. "Bad Company – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
11. "Bad Company RIAA certification". Riaa.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
12. "Official Charts Company – Bad Company Bad Company". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
13. Johnson, Howard (21 January 1989). "Bad Company 'Bad Company'". Kerrang!. Vol. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
14. O'Neill, Andrew (2017). A History of Heavy Metal. Headline. p. 63. ISBN 9781472241467.
15. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
16. Larkin, Colin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 131. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
17. "Bad Company – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
18. Berman, Eric. "Song Of The Day – "Ready For Love" by Bad Company". internetfm.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
19. Wardlaw, Matt (17 December 2011). "Top 10 Bad Company Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
20. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
21. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3859a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bad Company – Bad Co" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
23. "Charts.nz – Bad Company – Bad Co". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bad Company – Bad Co". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
26. "Bad Company Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
27. "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 41. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
28. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 426. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
29. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3891". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
30. "Warner /Elektra /Atlantic Sets Canada's AII- Time,12 -Month Sales Record - 44 Gold and Platinum Albums:Platinum-Album" (PDF). Billboard. 2 October 1976. p. 63. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
31. "British album certifications – Bad Company – Bad Company". British Phonographic Industry.
32. "American album certifications – Bad Company – Bad Company". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• 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)
• Bad Company - Bad Company (1974) album review by Thomas Erlewine, credits & releases at AllMusic
• Bad Company - Bad Company (1974) album releases & credits at Discogs
• Bad Company - Bad Company (1974, Deluxe Edition, 2015 Remaster) album to be listened as stream on Spotify

• 1974 debut albums
• Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis
• Bad Company albums
• Island Records albums
• Swan Song Records albums