Paul Rodgers of Free & Bad Company

[Deborah J]

^^ You are welcome luvlz2. I visit Pauls' official website several times a week. If you have not heard Electric or The Law...both awesome albums/CD's :-) I truly believe he cannot hit a wrong note. That VOICE.. I will never grow tired of it Think I will play both tomorrow..or really just start from Free to his latest and do a Paul Rodgers day..not like I have not done that before!!

[Deborah J]

Paul Rodgers Talks About Bad Company Reissues and Possible New Music: Exclusive Interview

by Matt Wardlaw April 2, 2015 2:58 PM

Jim McGuire

Bad Company recently announced plans to release reissues of their first two albums, 1974′s Bad Company and the following year’s Straight Shooter. The newly expanded versions — each adding a heaping bonus disc full of previously unreleased material — are a dream come true for longtime fans of the group.

When Paul Rodgers spoke with Ultimate Classic Rock in 2013, he admitted that he had “deep reservations” about the idea of expanding the existing albums, saying that “I think we’ve culled the best of Bad Company from the masters that we’ve put out.”At the time, it was clear that he had a special affection for what had been created with the band on those original albums, beginning with Bad Company.

“Well, it was special,” he said. “It was so organic. It was amazing because at the time, with the demise of Free, it was really sad, with Koss [Free guitarist Paul Kossoff] and everything that went down with that, so I wanted to put something together that was really together and very well organized. So musically, it was very organic. We wrote songs and we recorded them.

“We were very fortunate that Peter Grant and Led Zeppelin were interested in getting behind the band and signing us,” he continued. “Because there were so many opportunities. They were so understanding of what it took to put together the kind of music that you really feel from the soul. They had this Headley Grange [mansion] with a mobile studio outside ready to roll, and they were going to make their album. They were delayed, and Peter Grant said to me, ‘That studio time is available. You can go in there and use Ronnie Lane’s mobile and this old mansion to record whatever you can record.’ We steamed in there and recorded everything that we had at that point — in fact, we recorded that [whole] album. So it was organic in that sense, and it was very real. It was very rough around the edges but very real, and we were very gung ho to get it all down.”

In a new conversation with Rodgers, he says that when it came to writing and recording the material that wound up on those early Bad Company albums, “We tried to touch the spirits.” And indeed, it is the spirits within those songs that have continued to resonate with music fans for more than 40 years. For Rodgers, it was an interesting experience revisiting the music that had been recorded for those first two albums, as they were working to find things that could be used as bonus material.

“The record company approached the surviving members of the band and asked if we would like to consider the idea of releasing all of these tracks. I must admit, when they first mentioned this idea to me, I was very skeptical,” Rodgers says. “Because when we go in the studio, we go to record ‘the one,’ you know? We get to the point where everybody agrees that that’s the track we’re going to use. Everything else is really shelved as far as we’re concerned. It no longer exists. We only think about the one. So I was very hesitant as to what the heck I was going to be listening to.

“But they sent me all of this material and I listened, and there’s two songs, ‘See The Sunlight’ and ‘All Night Long,’ I’m like, ‘Wow, I haven’t heard those in 40 years!’ Because they didn’t go on the albums. So it was quite interesting and I thought, well, if it’s interesting to me, perhaps it is interesting to the fans. So we went ahead with it.”

Rodgers went on to share his thoughts on the new reissues, about working with legendary manager Peter Grant and on the possibilities of a new Bad Company album.

You can see that Bad Company moved ahead and didn’t really look back, because if you look at the track or two that didn’t make the first record or a track that didn’t make Straight Shooter, whatever it was that didn’t make that first album, didn’t pop up on the second album. So it does show how you guys really were focused on the present at the time.

Well, that’s a good point, actually. I never thought of that, but we actually were. The yardstick that we always have, whenever I do anything, is, Do we like it? Are we proud of this? That’s what we do and it’s definitely not an exact science. Because one of the things that tickles me to death actually is that “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” they [recently] released the take before the master [as a single], which was the one we didn’t choose, right? It’s got no harmonies on it and no guitar solo, but it’s doing very well on the classic-rock charts. So there’s no accounting for taste — I don’t know anymore, it’s weird!

Listening to these alternate versions of the songs that we now know so well, it seems like even in the early stages, you all had a pretty good idea of where you were going with things, even though there was plenty of room left in to try things, as the alternate versions demonstrate. How much debate was there when it came to capturing versions of the songs that everybody was happy with?

I think the same as with any band. You know, I think the basic principle that we have is that I think we tried to touch the spirit. When you can touch the spirit, whatever that is and when you can feel the love and you can feel the song is cooking and it’s in the pocket, you know, everybody knows that’s the one that’s grooving. We work toward that feeling, and if there’s something that’s stopping us getting there, like in the arrangement, or maybe we should be doing two choruses there instead of one, maybe we should extend the solo … maybe we should do this or do that — that’s all kind of thrown into the mix until we all feel really comfortable with where we are with the song. So it’s a very harmonic discussion really that we have.

The differences are striking. If you listen to the released version of “Bad Company” vs. the evolving versions, when you listen to that final mixed version, I don’t know how much trickery was required in the mixing stages, but there’s no question why that version’s on the record.

Well, good, I’m glad you agree. There’s a lot of trickery that can go on in the studio and there’s a lot that one can do. None of which I am interested in even slightly. I mean, you can actually tune vocals and stuff like that, but it’s so hideous, I can’t believe it. I don’t like metronomes — I refuse to have anything like that or any gimmicks or trickery in the studio, because the intention really as always, is to be able to record something that we can step out onstage and pretty much recreate as good as or if not better [than the recorded version] just between the four of us.

Bad Company worked with Ron Nevison on those first three albums. What did Ron bring to the table that was helpful for the band?

Well, Ron was a guy that came from Led Zeppelin, really. It was Jimmy [Page]’s recommendation, or Peter’s, I guess. He was very good. He knew how to work the knobs and he was very much present.

Those records do say very specifically, “Produced by Bad Company.” Was that really his presence and involvement, working in more of an engineering capacity? Was there anybody involved in the process, whether it was Ron or whoever it was, that was a kind of mediator in the process where necessary?

I don’t think so. No, there was no mediating from anybody. We were a band. As long as we had somebody competent in the studio to translate what we were playing on to that tape, that’s really all they were required to do.

Was that something that was pretty easy to get past Peter Grant and other folks who might have felt that a producer was needed? Because that’s a big step, being able to get that creative control like that.Yeah, well, looking back and given what’s going on now, that’s probably true. But that was definitely the trend at that time. Because the record companies had had so much power in the past over what the band did in the studio and the problem that you have with that is that they aren’t out there at street level. Sometimes I think they’re in another world, whereas we know what we like and we know what we would like to project on the stage. We were fiercely adamant that we would be doing that. We would be putting onto that tape what we wanted to play on the stage. It was that or it wasn’t going to be anything. So we were very committed to that. That’s the only way that it could be. I think that there was a lot of that going on. Led Zeppelin probably paved the way in many respects for that kind of approach. I think that after that, record companies kind of clawed back the power a little bit and said, “Okay, we want you to do this.”

It’s a seesaw act, really. You go through periods of times where bands are calling the shots and then sometimes you’ve got the record companies calling the shots. I think it has to be a bit of both to make the thing work. But with those, it was a little bit take it or leave it. This is what we do, if you like it, let’s go. As it happened, [record company head] Ahmet Ertegun was fantastic, I must say. Because he was very understanding about what we were doing and about the spirit of what we were doing. He was a soul and blues guy and he was connected to soul and blues the same way that I was, so he was very supportive of what we were doing.

Where did Peter Grant come into the picture? You brought him in, if I understand correctly.

Yeah, when we were forming the band, Mick [Ralphs] and I, out at my cottage in the country, it was great, actually. Because we’d noodle on and we’d just be playing songs and birds were twittering around and stuff. We’d be up all night just working on songs. We got to the stage of thinking about management and I had a friend who used to be a road manager for Free named Clive Coulson and he went on from there to work with Led Zeppelin. He came out to my house and he said, “Wow, you guys, why don’t you give Peter a call?” I said, “I don’t know, is he going to be interested? He’s managing Led Zeppelin.” He said, “Well, I think you should give him a call and I think you will find that he is interested.” So lo and behold, I called him and he was. They had just formed Swan Song, he and Led Zeppelin, so they were talent scouting and Peter was interested. He came around and the rest is history, as they say.

But Peter did not take any part really in the music at all. He left that entirely to us. It was like he put an umbrella over us and took care of any business that needed to be taken care of. Any organization as far as studio time or hotels, contracts — anything at all that needed organization, Peter was there for that. He was great.

What would it take to make a new Bad Company studio album happen?

Well, you know, the immediate problem with that is that we don’t have [late Bad Company bassist] Boz [burrell]. Boz was a good part of what we did. It’s hard to realize it, [but] you take one member out and, yeah, you can limp along and you can do something similar, but I don’t know. That would be one aspect, [we would need] the right bass player, actually, that’s probably what I’m trying to say. And the right material and the will to do it. We’d have to see if that was there. I’m not sure. But I keep an open mind.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/paul-rodgers-interview-2015/

[The Pagemeister]

[luvlz2]

Bad Company Reported to Be Working on New Album With Paul Rodgers

If rumors are to be believed, Bad Company are working on a new album and are preparing to tour. This would be their first album with original singer Paul Rodgers in nearly 35 years.

 

The word comes from MediaMass link , who cite an anonymous source as saying that they have about eight songs recorded. "It's still in the early stages," the source said. "They got security on the doors to ensure no one hears a whisper."

 

Rodgers left Bad Company for a solo career after 1982's Rough Diamonds. After a few years' hiatus, original members Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke brought in Brian Howe to replace Rodgers. But after four studio albums, including the platinum Holy Water, Howe quit in 1994. After two more records with Robert Hart, Rodgers reunited with the band and cut four new songs in 1998 that were tacked on to 1998's The Original Bad Company Anthology.

 

Since then, the band has toured regularly, although original bassist Boz Burrell died in 2006. A full-page advertisement in the Winter 2016 issue of Red Hot Rock magazine says that a North American tour featuring Rodgers, Ralphs and Kirke will happen at some point in 2016.

 

Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock last year, Rodgers said Burrell's death had been a big reason why the band hadn't recorded anything. "Well, you know, the immediate problem with that is that we don't have Boz,' he said. "Boz was a good part of what we did. It's hard to realize it, [but] you take one member out and, yeah, you can limp along and you can do something similar, but I don't know. That would be one aspect, [we would need] the right bass player, actually, that's probably what I'm trying to say. And the right material and the will to do it. We'd have to see if that was there. I'm not sure. But I keep an open mind."

 

link

[Azapro911]

He was still fantastic with Brian May and Roger Taylor a few years ago, compared with some veteran classic rock front men time has been VERY kind to Paul Rodgers. Complete honesty time here: I've never heard his work with Jimmy Page and The Firm, fearing perhaps that it might be a bit too '80s and MTV for those two. Probably unfair and very pre-judgmental of me, but nobody's perfect.

[Charles J. White]

11 hours ago, Azapro911 said:

He was still fantastic with Brian May and Roger Taylor a few years ago, compared with some veteran classic rock front men time has been VERY kind to Paul Rodgers. Complete honesty time here: I've never heard his work with Jimmy Page and The Firm, fearing perhaps that it might be a bit too '80s and MTV for those two. Probably unfair and very pre-judgmental of me, but nobody's perfect.

It's fantastic - Page and Rodgers were excellent together

[geekfreak]

 bad company with Paul Rogers Again how cool is that...

[Deborah J]

^^I have checked his official website and nothing yet....you can bet if they are anywhere close to me and I am there if it happens:-)  

[Walter]

4 hours ago, Deborah J said:

^^I have checked his official website and nothing yet....you can bet if they are anywhere close to me and I am there if it happens:-)  

You and Mrs Walter together! She loves Paul too!  I'd go see him again anytime.  No matter who he plays with, 

[Disco Duck]

Rodgers is one of the few baritone lead singers in rock music.  He has great pipes and he sings with balls; I like that in a rock singer.   However, he is rather one-note, imo.  Not much in the way of shading or subtlety.  

[Charles J. White]

6 hours ago, Disco Duck said:

Rodgers is one of the few baritone lead singers in rock music.  He has great pipes and he sings with balls; I like that in a rock singer.   However, he is rather one-note, imo.  Not much in the way of shading or subtlety.  

It might have more to do with his style of song writing over his vocal abilities 

[luvlz2]

Now this is exciting:

Are Bad Company and Joe Walsh Planning a Summer 2016 Tour?

 

Even though they denied rumors of a new album, Bad Company will be on tour this summer. They have one date booked with Joe Walsh and have another booked by themselves.

The show with Walsh, which is listed on the Events section of Walsh's Facebook page -- although not confirmed by Bad Company -- finds them at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass., on June 9. A search  at Ticketmaster also turns up a Bad Company date with no listed opening act on June 25 at the Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater in Hinckley, Minn.

 

Again, there is no confirmation, but conventional wisdom suggests that the two acts are planning a tour together on the shed circuit. It doesn't make a ton of sense for a band -- no less two -- to only play a couple of dates in different parts of the country. Ultimate Classic Rock will keep you updated on the details if more shows are announced.

link

 

 

[Brigante]

Andy Fraser was irreplaceable in Free (sorry, Tetsu!), but I'd've thought Boz was far less integral to Bad Co. Maybe Ralphs could persuade Overend Watts from Mott to do it - he was Bad Co's original choice of bassplayer, after all!

I imagine Paul will decide who they use, though. Any ideas? 

[Charles J. White]

43 minutes ago, Brigante said:

Andy Fraser was irreplaceable in Free (sorry, Tetsu!), but I'd've thought Boz was far less integral to Bad Co. Maybe Ralphs could persuade Overend Watts from Mott to do it - he was Bad Co's original choice of bassplayer, after all!

I imagine Paul will decide who they use, though. Any ideas? 

Overend Watts was the original choice? I didn't know that. It's weird how some of these bands are connected - when I was younger I would sit around and come up with all of those types of possibilities and discuss that shit for hours on end - 'what if this person had gone here, or stayed there or what  have you - . That's cool about Watts though

[JTM]

1 hour ago, Charles J. White said:

Overend Watts was the original choice? I didn't know that. It's weird how some of these bands are connected - when I was younger I would sit around and come up with all of those types of possibilities and discuss that shit for hours on end - 'what if this person had gone here, or stayed there or what  have you - . That's cool about Watts though

Watts was never the original choice for the Bass in Bad Co, Boz was the guy who passed the audition, there was never any first choice.

[Brigante]

Boz did pass the audition - but Watts appears to have actually been 'invited' to join Bad Co. prior to that, with them only holding auditions after he declined. Mick Ralphs says on his website that Watts 'declined an offer to join Bad Company' but he doesn't elaborate. I think it was Mott's drummer, Buffin, who said (in one of Sven Gusevik's 1990s Mott fanzines) that Rodgers and Ralphs even got Peter Grant to approach Overend but he still said no. Peter appears to have been baffled by that and said 'But the boys want you!' Overend still wasn't up for it, though - Mott were full of oddball characters and Watts was certainly one of the oddest!        

[JTM]

3 minutes ago, Brigante said:

Boz did pass the audition - but Watts appears to have actually been 'invited' to join Bad Co. prior to that, with them only holding auditions after he declined. Mick Ralphs says on his website that Watts 'declined an offer to join Bad Company' but he doesn't elaborate. I think it was Mott's drummer, Buffin, who said (in one of Sven Gusevik's 1990s Mott fanzines) that Rodgers and Ralphs even got Peter Grant to approach Overend but he still said no. Peter appears to have been baffled by that and said 'But the boys want you!' Overend still wasn't up for it, though - Mott were full of oddball characters and Watts was certainly one of the oddest!        

I'll take your word for it, maybe Ralphs asked Watts to jump ship with him when he left MTH. Maybe I heard it before but forgot, it was all a long time ago. I do remember getting excited that Bad Co might carry on where Free left off though, and to a certain extent they did.

[luvlz2]

Bad Company and Joe Walsh Announce 'One Hell of a Night' Tour

Confirming recent rumors, Bad Company and Joe Walsh have announced plans to embark on a 25-date co-headlining tour this summer.

 

The tour, which begins May 12 in Dallas, will travel under the banner One Hell of a Night, and finds the acts rotating the headlining slot. In the press release announcing the shows, Walsh joked that he told Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers, "If it's a long bus ride, I go first!"

 

"I had always hoped that we would do something together, and so here we are 30 years later finally touring together, said Rodgers, who referred to Walsh as "a unique person and an uber-talented singer, songwriter and musician" and quipped, "It has taken us this long so I wouldn't miss this. Unless you want to wait 30 more years for our next tour in 2046."

 

"I've loved Joe Walsh since I first heard the James Gang many years ago -- looking forward to playing with him again!" said Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs. "Getting back onstage with Mick and Paul is always a thrill for me," added drummer Simon Kirke. "Knowing that I get to see Joe Walsh every night makes it that much better."

 

The tour also features Rodgers' son, Steve Rodgers, as the opening act, and will offer a special VIP package for fans, which Walsh referred to as an opportunity to "give back something special to as many people as possible who have been supporting both our bands all these years."

 

The One Hell of a Night tour finds Walsh promoting his most recent effort, 2012's Analog Man, and will begin shortly after the arrival of a classic-era Bad Company live album. "I have a huge amount of respect for Paul, of course, and the band and we get along great," said Walsh. "Paul and I agreed it would be a hell of an evening of music, one that will be memorable for everyone who comes, and memorable for us, and that's important in this day and age."

 

 

Joe Walsh/Bad Company 2016 Tour Dates

 

5/12 -- Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas, Texas

5/15 -- Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo.

5/17 -- Concord Pavilion, Concord, Calif.

5/18 -- Sleep Train Ampitheater, Chula Vista, Calif.

5/20 -- The Forum, Los Angeles, Calif.

5/22 -- Ak-Chin Pavilion, Phoenix, Ariz.

5/24 -- Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Woodlands, Texas

5/26 -- Bold Sphere Music at Champions Square, New Orleans, La.

5/28 -- MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Ampitheatre, Tampa, Fla.

5/29 -- Perfect Vodka Ampitheatre, West Palm Beach, Fla.

6/07 -- Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Lake, N.Y.

6/09 -- Xfinity Center, Mansfield, Mass.

6/11 -- PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J.

6/12 -- BB&T Pavilion, Camden, N.J.

6/14 -- Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, N.Y.

6/16 -- Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville, Ind.

6/18 -- Hollywood Casino Ampitheater, Maryland Heights, Mo.

6/20 -- Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, Mo.

6/22 -- DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkson, Mich.

6/23 -- FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, Ill.

6/26 -- Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

6/28 -- First Niagara Pavilion, Pittsburgh, Pa.

6/30 -- PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, N.C.

7/01 -- Chastian Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, Ga.

7/03 -- Carl Black Chevy Woods Amphitheatre at Fontanel, Nashville, Tenn.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bad-company-joe-walsh-tour/

 

[Ddladner]

^^^ Thanks for posting this, luvlz2!  Hoping to be at the New Orleans show.  

[luvlz2]

^^ Your totally welcome Ddladner! This is the best concert bill I have seen in a while as far as two big name acts like that, at least that I can remember around here.

[Deborah J]

Hi luvlz and Dd:-)

I will be at the 7/1 Atlanta date. It's Paul and Joe!  

 

[Ddladner]

8 minutes ago, Deborah J said:

Hi luvlz and Dd:-)

I will be at the 7/1 Atlanta date. It's Paul and Joe!  

 

Sounds great, Deborah!  Yesterday I bought my tickets for New Orleans May 26. Can't wait!! 

 

[Walter]

Mrs Walter and I, along with another couple, are going to the Tampa show on 5/28.  

[luvlz2]

Just found out Rich Robinson will be sitting in for Mick Ralphs on upcoming tour with Joe Walsh.

[Brigante]

But Ralpher is playing the Lion Keys Hotel & Spa in Oswestry on 17th April! Funny old world...