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|  | Many would agree that this album represents Bad Company at their most confident. Does that translate to quality? I say it does. This is their greatest achievement.
Contrary to popular belief, this was not a copy of the first BC album. SS is sassier, heavier, and more consistent, viz:
Good Lovin' Gone Bad - It may have those Ralphs trademarks, but is certainly not a Can't Get Enough clone. For a start, it was never a Mott the Hoople song! (CGE actually dates from 1970, when MtH were an Island Band.) This is tough hard rock at its most memorable, and crunchy.
Feel Like Making Love - A unique (apart from track 4) mix of acoustic wistfulness and heavy rock fire. Outrageous, in a nice way. And who can argue with THAT guitar solo?
Weep No More - A beautiful song that shows what a romantic Simon Kirke is. The other three make this a sublime moment too. Perfect.
Shooting Star - Structured like track 2, but still its own song. Simple but very effective. The heaviness that brings the song to its climax is again shocking amongst the country-esque charm of the verses.
Deal with the Preacher - Heavy and funky (hear Boz' clever bass-lines), with a great lyric about indecision over commitment. A great fave with the late Tommy Vance, bless him. One of Ralphs' greatest solos, rivalling Blackmore or Santana at the time.
Wildfire Women - The sort of laid-back heaviness that Bad Co excelled at. Slide guitar adds a certain musical menace. This shows Rodgers stretching out more than any other song I can think of. A gem.
Anna - Again Mr Kirke does the heartfelt thing. Possibly the most Free-like moment here. No flash, just feeling.
Call on Me - The perfect way to end an album. This is an uptempo ballad, with a funky backbeat. The lyrics are as evocative as the music. And one should again mention Ralphs' guitar artistry. He puts emotion before technique, but has the technical ability to make it work.
Sorry this review is so overwhelmingly positive - this can make for very boring reading! - but this album is so inspired and well-made that I couldn't find a single fault to get arty (or arsey) over. Buy with confidence.
| | Great band - did they really fulfil their potential ? | |
| | I have to agree with most of the comments from all the reviewers here with particular reference to "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Makin' Love".
(Incidentally does anyone remember in the days before computers when Radio One DJ Johnnie Walker put together a spliced tape of the little guitar break in the middle of "Feel Like Makin' Love" to a solo that was about 3 or 4 times its original length?)
Where I do differ however, is that I believe Simon Kirke's two compositions "Anna" and "Weep No More" are more than 'album fillers'. I'm not sure the latter benefits from the string section but, I'd be happy to have written them.
Bad Comany had the potential of being a great band (and although they became big stadium fillers) I'm not convinced they fulfilled their collective potential.
| | | As a Free fan, I was pleasantly surprised by Bad Co's debut, so the release of this one was eagerly awaited. The first sign that I was going to be disappointed came with the release of the 1st single, "Good lovin' Gone Bad" which was basically just a below par rehash of "Can't Get Enough". When the LP was released soon after, my worst fears were confirmed. Yep it's a turkey. It's not completely bad though - Feel Like Makin' Love is still a good song and Shooting Star has it's moments but overall I'd rate it as Bad Co's worst LP with Paul Rodgers on vocals - yep, even worse than the much maligned Desolation Angels (which I confess to having a soft spot for)
| | | Ignore the previous reviewer's comments this is Bad Company at their very best and easily compares with their stunning debut. Like that debut this 1975 follow up is chock full of classics from the stomping Good Lovin' Gone Bad, the bump n' grind sweatfest of Feel Like Makin' Love (surely one of Rock's horniest paeans to the horizontal art), raw Blues/Rock of Deal With The Preacher and Mick Ralph's mesmerising slide riffs on the scorching Wild Fire Woman. With Paul Rodgers amazing soulful vocals, Mick Ralph's tasty and economic riffs, Simon Kirke's rock solid drums and Boz Burrel's sinuous bass lines this album cemented Bad Co's position as peerless blues/rock giants who took up that mantle after Led Zep's more experimental forays (Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti) saw them moving away into more prog flavoured waters. With Bad Co what you get is no frills, no fuss, no histrionics and no flabby excess just pure stonking blues filled whiskey soaked rock with great melodies and incredible hooks. The albums highlight is undoubtedly Shooting Star an epic tale of a guitar gunslinger who hits the big time only to die tragically - considering Rodgers' old sparring partner in Free Paul Kossoff died less than a year after this album's release it now seems oddly prophetic and would stand as the perfect eulogy on the great Koss's extraordinary talents. The sweet honky tonk of Weep No More with it's acoustic guitar and orchestral strings is simple and emotional with none of that cloying sentimental cheesiness that affects rock bands when they go for a hit ballad (Whitesnake anyone?). Likewise the soulful Anna and Call On Me, with it's tasteful keys, recall the stunning ballads of Rodgers previous band Free and so make this album a perfect package - and a firm fan with female rockers too.
Sadly the rot began to set in with the next album Run With The Pack and by 77's Burning Sky Bad Co were a pale shadow of a once great band. This album is their peak and should be in the collection of any fan of classic driving bluesy rock.
| | Two hits but the rest is Bad Company leftovers and filler | |
| | "Straight Shooter" is a rather ironic title because for Bad Company's second album, which came out in 1975 a year after their multi-platinum self-titled debut, because a lot of their material was written back in 1973 and obviously rejected for that first effort. However, the two best songs were added by vocalist Paul Rodgers, "Shooting Star" and the Grammy-winning "Fell Like Makin' Love," but those are counter-balanced by a couple of fillers from drummer Simon Kirke. Rodgers wrote two solid songs but you can pick them both up on "10 from 6," the Bad Company hits collection. If they had taken those two songs and added them to "Run with the Pack," then they would have had a second album almost as strong as their debut. Unfortunately, that did not happen and while Bad Company brought back stripped down back to the basics rock 'n' roll, they literally had half of their greatest songs on their first album.
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