Bad Company
Desolation Angels

My favorite album by Cattiva Compagnia is this fifth of their career, released in 1979 with a title taken directly from a Jack Kerouac story. With the eighties approaching, the new wave, and the habit of synthesizers everywhere, the group skillfully manages to introduce some (then) fresh and current elements into their music, proverbially dry and direct, yet keeping them in the background and not allowing them to overturn the core of the sound, firmly in the hands of the synergy between guitar, bass, and drums.

The passionate and amazing voice of Paul Rodgers leaves no doubt regarding the genre proposed: solid and sound British rock (albeit with American cravings, supported by the great following they garnered in that country), of the best kind. The album enjoys a spectacular opening thanks to the cyclopean riff, composed and performed by Rodgers by inserting a 'multi-octave' effect between his Gibson and the amplifier, which serves as a thunderous prologue to the compelling, perfect "Rock'n'Roll Fantasy." The frontman's voice, warm and very mobile, full of blues nuances and sensual drive, elevates the robust rhythmic pedal of his bandmates on which shines the rhythmic brilliance of guitarist Mick Ralphs, one who plays few things but all too right, always and anyway. Another highly impactful piece is "Gone Gone Gone", composed by the late (a heart attack took him away two years ago) bassist Boz Burrell. The career vicissitudes of the talented Boz are original, a rock singer (!) who in the sixties was even about to replace Roger Daltrey in the Who, and then surprisingly joined King Crimson (at the time of "Islands"). At that point, leader Robert Fripp changed his career since, trusting in his musicality and especially pressured by tight concert schedules, he taught him to play the bass overnight! He earned his place in Bad Company as a bassist and not as a singer, unable to compete with someone like Rodgers at the microphone. Indeed, even here the sublime vocalist takes no time making the track his own with a tremendous performance, full of grit and lyricism. Boz consoles himself by signing another gem of the album, the hip-shaker "Rhythm Machine," and from a mile away it’s clear that it's his creation; the bass pedals vigorously and climbs through key changes, remaining at the center of the scene and keeping the (delightful) guitars at bay, while the good Simon Kirke, solid and essential drummer, enjoys himself with tender, sporadic interventions on electronic toms, an indelible stamp of an era.

The Americana mentioned at the beginning is called "Crazy Circles," that is, country rock made by a British group, and "Oh Atlanta," a true tribute to Little Feat, an American band riding high at the time with a great guitarist, the late Lowell George, who enjoyed the unconditional admiration of many colleagues, not least the excellent Mick Ralphs who obviously penned the piece. The bit of electronics and the widespread Americana manage to streamline and make more sunny the usual British dryness of the group, in my opinion giving this work more light compared to the tight and spirited rock blues and the poignant piano ballads that the band used to deal with. Even the cover, much slicker and more polished than the music it actually contains, ultimately contributes to making the musical proposal more radiant, keeping it well away from the grey of old London. All 'robust' rock at the time had to reckon with strong tendencies towards round and effected sounds, full of flanger and chorus, Bad Company adapts without losing sight of the grit, the blues drive, the essentiality that made this band a still important reference point for all genuinely made rock, without guile or snobbish and sectarian purism.