Bad Company enjoyed a string of excellent albums since their start in 1974. For a band as great as they were, and with the pedigree that made up their ranks (Paul Rodgers was from Free, as was Simon Kirke; Mick Ralphs hailed from Mott The Hoople, and the late Boz Burrell came from King Crimson), Bad Company was a breath of fresh air for fans. Sadly, as with many bands, unrest breaks up the most exciting ideas. Bad Company as a premier band creatively ceased after the release of Rough Diamonds in 1982. But their previous five classics (Bad Company – 1974, Straight Shooter – 1975, Run With The Pack – 1976, Burnin’ Sky – 1977, Desolation Angels – 1979) were quite successful.
What surprised me most during this era was that there were no official Live albums released for this lineup. In 1993, well after the band’s peak, Atlantic Records (parent of Swan Song Records) released a stitched together collection of live performance tracks that represented their hits. Even more sadly, those tracks did not feature Paul Rodgers or Boz Burrell. That album was called What You Hear Is What You Get, a title that I’m sure was a realist application of what was being toted as Bad Company. Plus, I hate the use of The Best Of Bad Company as that album’s PR.
On April 29, Atlantic Records will try to fix some of that with a 2CD issue of collected Live performances that does feature the original lineup. The set is being called Bad Company Live In Concert 1977 & 1979. It pulls from two periods using recorded performances from two nights at two separate venues.
The first show is from May 23, 1977 at The Summit in Houston, TX. That show contains fifteen songs, all found on CD1:
01 Burnin’ Sky
02 Too Bad
03 Ready For Love
04 Heartbeat
05 Morning Sun
06 Man Needs Woman
07 Leaving You
08 Shooting Star
09 Simple Man
10 Movin’ On
11 Like Water
12 i. Live For The Music
13 ii. Drum Solo
14 Good Lovin’ Gone Bad
15 Feel Like Makin’ Love
The second show is from March 9, 1979. It was recorded at The Empire Pool at Wembley, London, with the exception of one inserted track from June 29, 1979 Washington, DC show at the Capitol Center (“Hey Joe”). All fifteen songs are included on CD2:
01 Bad Company
02 Gone, Gone, Gone
03 Shooting Star
04 Rhythm Machine
05 Oh, Atlanta
06 She Brings Me Love
07 Run With The Pack
08 i. Evil Wind
09 ii. Drum Solo
10 Honey Child
11 Rock Steady
12 Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy
13 Hey Joe (Live at Capitol Center, Washington, DC 26th June 1979)
14 Feel Like Makin’ Love
15 Can’t Get Enough