Bad Company in a French studio
Bad Company travelled to Château d'Hérouville in the summer of 1976 to make their fourth studio album. Released in 1977, Burnin' Sky brings Paul Rodgers's vocals together with Mick Ralphs's guitar, Boz Burrell's bass and Simon Kirke's drums. The band produced the record, with Chris Kimsey engineering. A compact rock group remains at its centre, building songs through voice, rhythm and guitar.
The title track opens the programme and provides a clear point of reference. From there, the sequence moves through shorter songs and occasional detours towards the extended “Master of Ceremony”. Following the complete route reveals a broader range of forms than familiarity with the band's name alone might suggest.
Material with a past
“Like Water” reaches back to Rodgers's work before Bad Company. He had already recorded the song with his short-lived group Peace. On Burnin' Sky, it takes a new place within the band's repertoire. That connection shows how an album can draw together material originating at different stages of a musician's career.
The brief “Knapsack”, derived from “The Happy Wanderer”, offers another surprise. Between the longer rock songs, it interrupts the expected flow. Mick Ralphs contributes “Too Bad” and “Man Needs Woman”, while Simon Kirke supplies “Peace of Mind”. Rodgers writes much of the material, but the programme also gives the other writers room to shape its character.
Between the vocal and the guitar
Listen to what Ralphs plays underneath a vocal line and what he adds after it. In a group of this size, the distribution of responsibilities has a direct effect on a song. Bass and drums can maintain its continuity while voice and guitar place their accents differently. It is possible to move attention between the individual parts and the complete arrangement without losing the connection between them.
“Master of Ceremony” runs beyond seven minutes at the end, expanding the scale once more. Following several compact selections, the group has a longer stretch in which to develop the closing piece. Those changes offer a route into the album: a defined opening, songs with different histories and a substantial finale. For listeners mainly familiar with the early hits, the record opens another part of the band's shared repertoire.
This edition
AAPA 057-45, part of the Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series, contains two 180-gram LPs at 45 RPM. The publisher credits Ryan K. Smith with mastering from a “one-off tape copy”. Its product page specifies Quality Record Pressings and a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. This edition presents the album programme and is separate from the expanded deluxe release containing additional alternate versions.
Also on SACD: Burnin’ Sky
More by Bad Company: Desolation Angels · Run With The Pack
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 | Accordion, Vocals, Guitar, Piano |
| Mick Ralphs | Keyboards, Guitar |
| Simon Kirke | Drums |
| Boz Burrell | Bass |
| Mel Collins | Saxophone, Flute |
| Tim Hinkley | Keyboards |
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