Straight Shooter (Bad Company album)
Encyclopedia
Straight Shooter is the second studio album
by British
supergroup
Bad Company
. The album was released in April 1975, a month after the release of the single
"Good Lovin' Gone Bad
" and four months before the album's second single "Feel Like Makin' Love
" (see 1975 in music
).
The album became a hit in America
, making the top ten on the Billboard 200
and was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America
a month after its release.
Mick Ralphs
and Simon Kirke
revealed on In the Studio (which devoted an episode to Straight Shooter) that the track "Shooting Star" (which told the story of a rock star who died early) was lyrically inspired by the drug and alcohol related deaths of Jimi Hendrix
, Janis Joplin
, and Jim Morrison
.
. Three months later, the band and recording engineer Ron Nevison
recorded at least eight songs at Clearwell Castle
in Gloucestershire
, England
. Sometime later Nevison mixed
the songs for Straight Shooter at Air Studios in London
. The sleeve for the album was designed by Hipgnosis
, who also designed their debut album.
The first single from the album, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad
", was released in March 1975 and reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The album was released in April. The album's final single "Feel Like Makin' Love
" was released in August and reached #10 on the Hot 100.
felt that although Straight Shooter was better than its predecessor, it should not be labeled hard rock
because Paul Rodgers did not have either a strong voice—which is needed to be a rock singer—and because the album is not played at the right speed. Ed Naha's feeling of the album, as stated in Rolling Stone
magazine, was much more favorable than Christgau's. Naha thought that, with their second album, Bad Company was proving that they would not end up like Mott the Hoople
, Free
, or King Crimson
—bands who Bad Company's members used to be part of. Naha also thought that Simon Kirke's "Anna" was as bad as it was when it was first recorded, but that "Weep No More" showed that he was progressing as a writer, while Boz Burrell was also making progress on the bass.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
. The album was released in April 1975, a month after the release of the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Good Lovin' Gone Bad
Good Lovin' Gone Bad
"Good Lovin' Gone Bad" was a 1974 TOP 40, major trans-Atlantic hit for English rock band, Bad Company. This track was written by the band's guitarist, former Mott the Hoople guitarist, Mick Ralphs. Paul Rodgers belts out this instant classic in his own precision, blues-gravel style. The song...
" and four months before the album's second single "Feel Like Makin' Love
Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company song)
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song by British supergroup Bad Company. The song originally appeared on the LP Straight Shooter in April 1975 and was released as a single in August of the same year...
" (see 1975 in music
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
).
The album became a hit in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, making the top ten on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
a month after its release.
Mick Ralphs
Mick Ralphs
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.-Career:...
and Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company.-Biography:...
revealed on In the Studio (which devoted an episode to Straight Shooter) that the track "Shooting Star" (which told the story of a rock star who died early) was lyrically inspired by the drug and alcohol related deaths of Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, and Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
.
Background
In June 1974, Bad Company released their self-titled debut albumBad Company (album)
Bad Company is the eponymous debut studio album by hard rock band Bad Company.The album was recorded at Headley Grange with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio in November 1973....
. Three months later, the band and recording engineer Ron Nevison
Ron Nevison
Multi-platinum record producer Ron Nevison, throughout his career, has operated much like a surgeon, brought in during a critical point in a band's career to bring them back to the top from the commercial brink...
recorded at least eight songs at Clearwell Castle
Clearwell Castle
Clearwell Castle is a mock Gothic mansion located in Clearwell, Gloucestershire. First known as Clearwell Court, it was built for Thomas Wyndham in 1728 to replace an older house which occupied same site. Its name was changed to Clearwell Castle in 1908....
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Sometime later Nevison mixed
Mix engineer
A mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
the songs for Straight Shooter at Air Studios in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The sleeve for the album was designed by Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
, who also designed their debut album.
The first single from the album, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad
Good Lovin' Gone Bad
"Good Lovin' Gone Bad" was a 1974 TOP 40, major trans-Atlantic hit for English rock band, Bad Company. This track was written by the band's guitarist, former Mott the Hoople guitarist, Mick Ralphs. Paul Rodgers belts out this instant classic in his own precision, blues-gravel style. The song...
", was released in March 1975 and reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The album was released in April. The album's final single "Feel Like Makin' Love
Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company song)
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song by British supergroup Bad Company. The song originally appeared on the LP Straight Shooter in April 1975 and was released as a single in August of the same year...
" was released in August and reached #10 on the Hot 100.
Critical reception
Straight Shooter received different reviews from different music critics. Gautam Baksi's review of the album for Allmusic said that the album's popularity was attributed to the acoustic ballads "Shooting Star" and "Feel Like Makin' Love", while the two songs written by Simon Kirke—"Anna" and "Weep No More"—as well as the album not having enough supporting songs and follow-up singles, were what made the album less successful than its predecessor. Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
felt that although Straight Shooter was better than its predecessor, it should not be labeled hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
because Paul Rodgers did not have either a strong voice—which is needed to be a rock singer—and because the album is not played at the right speed. Ed Naha's feeling of the album, as stated in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, was much more favorable than Christgau's. Naha thought that, with their second album, Bad Company was proving that they would not end up like Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
, Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
, or King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
—bands who Bad Company's members used to be part of. Naha also thought that Simon Kirke's "Anna" was as bad as it was when it was first recorded, but that "Weep No More" showed that he was progressing as a writer, while Boz Burrell was also making progress on the bass.
Side one
- "Good Lovin' Gone BadGood Lovin' Gone Bad"Good Lovin' Gone Bad" was a 1974 TOP 40, major trans-Atlantic hit for English rock band, Bad Company. This track was written by the band's guitarist, former Mott the Hoople guitarist, Mick Ralphs. Paul Rodgers belts out this instant classic in his own precision, blues-gravel style. The song...
" (Mick RalphsMick RalphsMichael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.-Career:...
) – 3:35 - "Feel Like Makin' LoveFeel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company song)"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song by British supergroup Bad Company. The song originally appeared on the LP Straight Shooter in April 1975 and was released as a single in August of the same year...
" (Paul RodgersPaul RodgersPaul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
, Ralphs) – 5:12 - "Weep No More" (Simon KirkeSimon KirkeSimon Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company.-Biography:...
) – 3:59 - "Shooting Star" (Rodgers) – 6:16
Side two
- "Deal With the Preacher" (Rodgers, Ralphs) – 5:01
- "Wild Fire Woman" (Rodgers, Ralphs) – 4:32
- "Anna" (Kirke) – 3:41
- "Call on Me" (Rodgers) – 6:03
Non-album tracks
- "Whiskey Bottle" (Rodgers, Ralphs) – 3:45
- Released as the b-side to the "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" single.
Personnel
- Paul RodgersPaul RodgersPaul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Mick RalphsMick RalphsMichael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.-Career:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Simon KirkeSimon KirkeSimon Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company.-Biography:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Boz BurrellBoz BurrellRaymond "Boz" Burrell was an English musician. Originally a vocalist, Burrell is best known for his bass playing and work with the rock bands King Crimson and Bad Company.-Career:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Album
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... ) |
3 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... ) |
13 |
| Norway (VG-lista VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... ) |
6 |
| UK (The Official Charts Company) | 3 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" | Hot 100 | 36 |
| 1975 | "Feel Like Makin' Love" | Hot 100 | 10 |