Bad Company
Straight Shooter

THE REVIEW

Small premise:

When I read the book "100 Ideal Albums to Understand Rock Hard and Heavy", one of the bands that intrigued me the most were these Bad Company, also because in their dedicated space a phrase attributed to Bruce Dickinson was mentioned that went something like this: "Me a talented singer? Perhaps you've never heard Paul Rodgers"...

When I listened to Bad Company for the first time, I finally discovered who this Paul Rodgers was and how incredibly true that phrase was...

That being said, let's talk about the album in question...

A year after the stunning "debut" (quotation marks are necessary, given the already well-established experience of the four members) self-titled album dated 1974, which is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of the '70s, Bad Company returned to the scene with this "Straight Shooter", confirming that the first album was not just a one-off.

The coordinates on which "Straight Shooter" moves are more or less the same as "Bad Company", focusing on the amazing voice and always excellent interpretation of Paul Rodgers and on Mick Ralphs' always measured and song-serving guitar work, supported by the excellent rhythm section of Boz Burrell and Simon Kirke.

The conditions to produce a great album are all there and the four don't betray expectations, although they don't attempt to create a carbon copy of "Bad Company" (not an easy task), instead, here there is more room for acoustic guitars and keyboards and the sounds are perhaps less bluesy and rocky, but the 8 proposed tracks are still of excellent quality, whether it be "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Makin' Love", undoubtedly the most radio-friendly and well-known, the two ballads "Weep No More" and "Anna", penned by Kirke, or the hard rock of "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" and "Deal With The Preacher".

The overall level of "Straight Shooter" is slightly lower compared to its illustrious predecessor, with which few albums could stand comparison, but this certainly doesn't diminish its value, and those who love a certain type of rock played with great class (and this album is full of it) will find plenty to enjoy, because Bad Company know how to write great songs and have no need to make unnecessary displays of technical prowess.

And besides, it's Paul Rodgers singing, not Ligabue...