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Released: June 26, 1974

Rating: 4.141 (average of 13 ratings)

Genre: classic rock

Quotable: “One of the most important and accomplished debut hard rock albums from the '70s” – Gautam Baksi, All Music Guide

Album Tracks:

  1. Can’t Get Enough [4:16]
  2. Rock Steady (Rodgers) [3:50]
  3. Ready for Love [5:01]
  4. Don’t’ Let Me Down (Ralphs/Rodgers) [4:23]
  5. Bad Company (Kirke/Rodgers) [4:48]
  6. The Way I Choose (Rodgers) [5:15]
  7. Movin’ On [3:27]
  8. Seagull (Ralphs/Rodgers) [4:05]

Songs written by Ralphs unless noted otherwise.

Total Running Time: 34:35

Sales:

sales in U.S. only 5 million
sales in U.K. only - estimated --
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 5 million

Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 1 1
peak on U.K. album chart 3

Singles/Hit Songs:

  • Can’t Get Enough (6/1/74) #5 US, #15 UK
  • Movin’ On (1/18/75) #19 US

Awards:

Rated one of the top 1000 albums of all time by Dave’s Music Database. Click to learn more. One of my personal top 100 albums of all time. Click to learn more. my favorite album of the year. Click to learn more.

Bad Company
Bad Company
Review:
“Bad Company's 1974 self-titled release stands as one of the most important and accomplished debut hard rock albums from the '70s. Though hardly visionary, it was one of the most successful steps in the continuing evolution of rock & roll, riding on the coattails of achievement from artists like the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. From the simple electric guitar lick on Can't Get Enough to the haunting bassline in Bad Company and the fast beats of Movin' On, Bad Company exemplified raw rock & roll at its best. Erupting out of an experimental period created by the likes of Pink Floyd, Bad Company signified a return to more primal, stripped-down rock & roll. Even while labelmates Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy and IV featured highly acclaimed, colorful album artwork, Bad Company's austere black and white record cover stood out in stark contrast. Six years later, AC/DC used the same idea on their smash Back in Black. …Paul Rodgers' mesmerizing and gritty vocals hardly vary in tonal quality, offering a perfect complement to Mick Ralphs' blues-based guitar work. Several songs include three-chord verses offset by unembellished, distorted choruses, filled rich with Rodgers' cries. Bad Company is an essential addition to the rock & roll library; clearly influential to '70s and '80s hard rock bands like Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Boston” (Baksi).

Review Sources:

Last updated March 24, 2008.