A mobile studio in southern France
Bad Company recorded Run with the Pack in Grasse in September 1975, using the Rolling Stones Mobile. Ron Nevison handled the recording and Eddie Kramer the mixing, with the band producing. The resulting third studio album appeared in 1976.
Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, Boz Burrell and Simon Kirke had developed their partnership across two earlier albums and extensive performing. “Live for the Music” opens the programme, but the ten tracks do not stay within a single setting. Piano, acoustic passages and strings extend the possibilities of the four-piece group.
The strings were part of the idea
Rodgers wrote the title song at the piano and imagined its string lines from the beginning. Arranger Jimmy Horowitz translated those ideas for the recording. “Fade Away” also uses a string arrangement. The expanded instrumentation belongs to the way these songs were conceived and developed.
On the title track, begin by following the piano, then listen for the strings’ entrances. The arrangement opens out as the performance progresses, with the vocal remaining a point of reference between the band and the additional instruments.
Mick Ralphs and the guitar-led songs
Ralphs contributed “Live for the Music”, “Simple Man” and “Sweet Lil’ Sister”, while “Honey Child” was written by the whole band. Alongside their own material sits “Young Blood”, originally made famous by the Coasters. It connects the album to an earlier chapter of rhythm and blues.
“Silver, Blue & Gold” offers another route into Rodgers’ writing. On a return visit, place it beside one of the guitar-led performances and notice which instruments set the direction. These shifts give each player different responsibilities across the programme.
This Atlantic 75 edition
AAPA 038-45 spreads the ten original tracks across two 180-gram records at 45 RPM. The publisher specifies QRP and a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. Recorded runout inscriptions identify Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound for the lacquer cut. One retailer describes a quarter-inch tape copy as the source, while the publisher does not specify it. A direct cut from the original master tape is therefore not promised. Bonus material from Rhino’s separate deluxe release is not part of this programme.
You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.
More from the series: Atlantic 75 Series
Also on SACD: Run With The Pack
More by Bad Company: Straight Shooter · “Bad Company”
Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Paul Rodgers | Lead vocals, Guitar, Piano |
| Mick Ralphs | Backing vocals, Keyboards, Guitar |
| Boz Burrell | Backing vocals, Bass |
| Simon Kirke | Backing vocals, Drums |
How Michael hears this edition
Listening impression · paraphrased from the video
On Run with the Pack Michael highlights punch, clarity and instrument separation. He chooses Silver, Blue & Gold as a listening example and describes the band’s presentation on his system as particularly involving.
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