Bad Company: Paul Rodgers (vocals, guitar); Mick Ralphs (guitar); Boz Burrell (bass); Simon Kirke (drums).
Recorded in Grasse, France in September 1975.
Digitally remastered by George Marino.
By the time of Bad Company’s third release, RUN WITH THE PACK, the critics had begun hitting the band with charges concerning its formulaic approach. The assertion bears some validity but completely misses the only point that really counts: Bad Company had a damn good formula. It is impossible to refute the merits of album opener “Live for the Music.” With a cutting three-chord riff and a tugging backbeat, Bad Company levels the overblown art rock of the ’70s with a simple 4/4 kick to the gut. The album’s highlights are numerous. The glorious “Silver, Blue and Gold,” is possibly the band’s best love song, while the title track travels on a lean path of bedrock. The band also takes a good whack at the Coasters’ classic tale of hormonal surges, “Youngblood.”

• RSD Release Date: n/a
• Genre: Pop