BAD COMPANY

1974's BAD COMPANY laid the groundwork for much of the mainstream hard rock that would dominate FM radio and album sales in the 1970s and '80s. In contrast to the expansive canvases of psychedelic music and the virtuoso excesses of prog rock, Bad Company's debut stripped the blues-rock model down to its essentials, playing muscular, amped-up power chords over driving 4/4 beats. Though the singing of vocalist Paul Rodgers (who had previously been in the blues-based band Free) has a rather flat affect, it is powerful and distinctive, meshing perfectly with the bluesy riffs of guitarist Mick Ralphs. The tightly structured songs are cut from similar cloth, but the exuberant "Can't Get Enough," the snarling "Bad Company," and moody, spectral "Ready For Love" provide enough variety to keep things interesting. The gentle "Seagull," though uncharacteristically introspective for the band, is one of Rodgers/Ralphs's finest compositions. Subsequent Bad Company albums would rework the same basic themes, but BAD COMPANY, the group's opening salvo, was their defining work. It remains a classic of straightforward, blues-based rock.

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