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Bad Company has influenced bands from Bon Jovi to Five Finger Death Punch, who recently had a #1 hit with their cover of the song “Bad Company.” They have also helped shaped the sound of an entire rock era with iconic powerhouse rock anthems “Can’t Get Enough,” “Rock Steady,” along with the ever popular ballads “Ready for Love,” “Seagull,” and Grammy®-nominated “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” The British rockers recently unearthed the original multi-track tapes from their first two albums and discovered previously unreleased tracks, takes, and mixes from those sessions.
For the first time ever, the band has remastered Bad Company (1974) and Straight Shooter (1975) using the original tapes to create new Deluxe Editions. It was paramount to founding member Paul Rodgers that the CD and LP be copied from the original tapes to guarantee the best sound possible. Each set includes a newly remastered version of the original album, along with a number of rare and unreleased recordings. The CD versions of these Deluxe Editions include all of the newly discovered bonus tracks, while their 180-gram vinyl counterparts offer a selection of the bonus material.
Deluxe Editions of BAD COMPANY and STRAIGHT SHOOTER will be available on April 7 at retail outlets for a suggested list price of $19.98 (2CD) and $39.98 (2LP). The titles will also be available digitally.
Singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Rodgers, along with guitarist/songwriter Mick Ralphs, bassist Boz Burrell, and drummer Simon Kirke recorded the band’s eponymous debut in November 1973 using Ronnie Lane’s mobile studio at Headley Grange, the former poorhouse where Led Zeppelin recorded frequently. When Bad Company was released the following year, the album went to #1 in America during the band’s first U.S. tour and was eventually certified 5x platinum thanks to hits like “Can’t Get Enough,” “Bad Company,” “Ready for Love,” and “Movin’ On.”
The second disc of the Deluxe Edition features 12 tracks, including eight previously unreleased recordings such as the demo for the ballad “The Way I Choose,” a take of “Bad Company” recorded right before the album version, and an unedited version of “Superstar Woman,” a song that Rodgers later recorded in 1983 for his solo album Cut Loose. Also featured is the single edit of “Can’t Get Enough,” and the b-sides “Little Miss Fortune” and “Easy On My Soul.”
The band released its second album Straight Shooter in April 1975, 40 years to the month of the new deluxe edition. The album rose to #3 on the U.S. album chart and was certified 3x platinum behind the hit singles “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” as well as the rock radio staple “Shooting Star.”
Of the 14 bonus tracks, all are previously unreleased except the b-side “Whiskey Bottle.” Among the standouts is a stripped-down version of “Shooting Star,” a remix of “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” with alternative guitar and vocals tracks, as well as two lost gems, never released before: “See The Sunlight” and “All Night Long.”
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