Bad Company was a self-confessed, Led Zep-assisted supergroup created to charge up 1970s charts dominated by loud hard-rock bands. The experiment worked better than even the biggest earlier expected. Ultimately, Bad Company turned into a decades-long affair and into one of the most beloved rock bands of all time.
Yes, Bad Company really had the tunes to go all the way. That makes compiling a Best Of list rather challenging. Still, in my opinion, these are the best 10 songs by Bad Company.
The Greatest 10 Songs by Bad Company
10. “Rock Steady”
It may appear to be a no-brainer now, but Bad Company’s success was actually not a guarantee.
In actual fact, there were a number of supergroups vying for the public’s attention by the time of the band’s 1974 debut (Humble Pie, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, etc.). Furthermore, the band’s previous groups had enjoyed hits on and off while they were together (Free, Mott the Hoople, King Crimson).
Songs like “Rock Steady,” however, proved that this wasn’t your meat-and-potatoes blues-rock group. Few, if anyone, could sing like Paul Rodgers. And the grooves that Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell cooked together made the group a very exciting proposition indeed.
9. “If You Needed Somebody”
Frankly, it shouldn’t have worked as well as it ultimately did. Bands don’t simply replace lead singers and expect to continue being successful. When that singer happens to be Paul Rodgers, the odds are stacked against them even more.
However, “If You Needed Somebody” was a hard-rock ballad in the vein of White Lion that, in 1990, found an audience. It was a hit, and the public accepted singer Brian Howe without much fuss.
8. “Run With the Pack”
What made Free a sensationally exciting band was the collective ability of the players in it. What made the band hard to stomach sometimes was the way that it would overuse its blues-rock formulas.
By their third album, Bad Company had a formula and didn’t want to stray from it. This makes listening to the whole album a tad of a chore. Still, if you just hear “Run With the Pack,” you can still be convinced that you’re hearing some of the best rock musicians in the world. And you wouldn’t be mistaken.
7. “Movin’ On”
Early Bad Company could do no wrong. While the musicians’ abilities remained consistent across their careers, later accusations of phoning in could be convincingly launched.
There was tremendous excitement for the band’s debut, not least of all from the musicians. This is what makes songs like “Movin’ On” really work smoothly.
6. “Can’t Get Enough”
Bad Company was the first band signed to Led Zeppelin‘s pet project, Swan Song Records. But manager Peter Grant could’ve had no idea about the success of the band’s debut.
Was Bad Company ever a threat to Led Zeppelin? Thankfully for all involved, Paul Rodgers enjoys groovy, heavy blues too much to stray into the pseudo-mystical type of material promoted by their patrons. “Can’t Get Enough” is a show of the band’s core strengths.
5. “Ready for Love”
Mick Ralphs had a good thing going as guitarist for Mott the Hoople. He just had two problems. First, he needed to share the spotlight with Ian Hunter. Secondly, Mott was a clever, quirky, often bizarre group.
Bad Company was a pure blues-rock group fronted by the best singer for the genre, Paul Rodgers. “Ready for Love” is, strictly speaking, a Mott the Hoople cover, but it practically erases that version from existence.
4. “Rock n Roll Fantasy”
With their collective backs against the proverbial wall, Bad Company came out swinging in 1979 with “Desolation Angels.”
“Rock n Roll Fantasy” was the biggest single from that record by far. It proved that Rodgers could even write a pop song. And it proved that Bad Company was not married to the classic blues-rock sound but would be willing to change with the times.
3. “Bad Company”
Bad Company may hold the rare distinction of being the only band whose debut song, album and band group name all coincide. Furthermore, all three were great hits.
Featuring a tremendous piano intro and created with the mission of building its own myth, “Bad Company” is one of the classic outlaw rock songs.
2. “Shooting Star”
Maybe Paul Rodgers was really trying to tug at the heartstrings and invoke melancholy with “Shooting Star.” But the story of Johnny, inspired by Jimi Hendrix, and his dreams of becoming a rock star still resonate with audiences.
“Shooting Star” is one of the biggest rock radio tunes of all time and a strong, poppy blues-rock song.
1. “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
The Rodgers/Ralphs partnership worked best when it worked effortlessly. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” was a country-influenced demo before Bad Company turned it into a menacing-sounding hard-rocker.
The dynamics, the singing and the lyrics are all iconic. They capture Bad Company at its best. And while there’s not a lot to the songwriting here, that’s precisely part of the magic.
When Bad Company really worked as a badnd, it could take a small idea and create something grandiose around it. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
