The Backstory of Bad Company and Me
Bad Company and their Greatest Hits album 10 to 6 was prevalent throughout much of my life. My dad played their records, I played their CD, and now I sought out their digital audio. I can easily see them being a Top 30 group, but am I only remembering the greatest hits?
Trying to Play the Drums
The exact timeframe is unclear, but it was likely a few months after my dad passed away (December 2000). His drum set had been sitting at his old church, where he used to play. Since someone at the church was using them for their weekly service. I thought it was time to get the drums back to our house.
I was still in my teens and thought it would be fun to take up my father’s favorite past time. He would let me mess around on the drums when I was younger, but it was never anything more than smashing the cymbals. After we collected all of the items from the church, I realized that my plan of learning to play would be much like me playing as a child.
The only song that I remember playing was “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. When you get to the main chorus, even I could tell how to play the drums. For even a few seconds, I understood how cool it was to be a drummer.
Wonderland
The music in movies tends to leave a longer and more lasting impression than most movies. Even if the entire soundtrack isn’t great, one good song can make the movie memorable. This holds true for Wonderland.
My friend Matt introduced me to the movie. We watched it on a weekend afternoon with a few friends. I (without Googling) have no idea what the plot of the movie is about. I believe there was some type of real-life murder dealing with John Holmes (famous ‘70s adult film star). All I can remember is the song “Shooting Star” was very prominent in the movie. I don’t remember if the movie was any good, but that song sure was.
Bad Company Now vs. Bad Company Rank In 2007
I think I did a pretty good job ranking the group in 2007. They were clearly not Top 10 – but they were worth a conversation for Top 20. In 2007, I probably heard several of their albums, but not the ’90s stuff. Sad to say, but when a ’70s rock group sticks around until the ’90s/’00s – bad things tend to happen. Any chance of Bad Company cracking the Top 10 left when produced albums after the ’80s.
Check out where they rank on my current list.
Bad Company Metrics
By The Numbers
- Qualified Songs: 123
- Greatest Hits: 10
- Four Star: 25
- Three Star: 75
- Two Star: 13
- One Star: 0
Score
313.01%
A Deep Dive Into the Current Score
Bad Company had some great first albums. Songs like “Shooting Star”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, and “Bad Company” are instant classics. Towards the end of their discography, they had a hard time getting a 3-star song on an album – let alone a four/five star. This really tanked their overall rank, even though they didn’t produce a 1-star (noise) track.
Bad Company Podcasts for Reference
The Bob Lefsetz Podcast – Bob Lefsetz (not sure who he is) did a nice long-form interview with Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers. Bob steered the ship and did a great job digging out information about the history of Bad Company and groups like Free and The Firm. Seems like this Bob knows his stuff.
The VVN Music Interviews – This interview with Paul Rodgers really focused on his love for blues and his current solo project. They dig into some of the backstories, but primarily focuses on his love for Otis Redding and other soul acts.
The Eddie Trunk Podcast – There were plenty of Paul Rodgers podcast interviews out there. After listening to several, I realized that Paul comes off as a very grateful and pleasant human. His interview with Eddie Trunk shows much of the same. They discuss his history with Free and The Firm – along with Bad Company.
Bad Company Videos for Reference
VH1 Behind the Music – (YouTube) VH1 is always there (or was) to document groups rise to fame and downward spiral. The story of Bad Company isn’t awful, meaning there weren’t that many instances of sex, drugs, overdoses, etc… There were a few break-ups and I think that qualifies for a Behind the Music.
The Battle of Bad Company Albums
I love it when artists have some definitive, awesome albums. Bad Company delivers with their debut album. My favorite songs are on their second album (Straight Shooter). Unfortunately, the albums tended to get worse as time went by.
| Album | Score |
| Bad Company | 600.00% |
| Straight Shooter | 225.00% |
| Run With the Pack | 210.00% |
| Desolation Angels | 80.00% |
| Stories Told & Untold | 35.71% |
| Rough Diamonds | 30.00% |
| Burin’ Sky | 16.67% |
| Fame and Fortune | 10.00% |
| Here Comes Trouble | 9.09% |
| Holy Water | 7.69% |
| Company of Strangers | 7.69% |
| Dangerous Age | 0.00% |
The Greatest Hit from Bad Company
We had a total of ten greatest hits. This can make a tricky tournament. In this case, there were two clear songs that would just destroy the competition – “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Shooting Star”. In the effort of fairness, I still allowed the other eight songs to battle it out and face these two songs in the respective finals. As predicted, it came down to these two classics.
Previous Greatest Hit and Tournament Winner
“Feel Like Makin’ Love”
I stopped everything and had to listen to both of these songs back-to-back. It was very close (possibly the closest out of all tournament ranking). It really came down to the feeling I get when I hear “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. There is something emotionally that gives it the slightest edge. What a song.
Overview
Bad Company is a quality band. Everyone should own their Greatest Hits album. Not everyone should have all of their albums. I think if you are a fan of Rock and Roll, you will enjoy most of the seventies work. They scored positively and I would still recommend their music to friends.
Amendments
January 1, 2020
I might have to reconsider my Noise Track policy. Basically, a song that is just pure noise is a 1-star. There are some awful songs that will be 1-star, but you don’t often hear them on albums. Some of the later songs that are 2-star were just not enjoyable listens for me – yet I could still make it through the song.