Released April 1975 (1975-04) Artist Bad Company Label Swan Song Records Genre Hard rock | Length 38:17 Release date 12 April 1975 Producer Bad Company | |
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Recorded September 1974 at Clearwell Castle, Gloucestershire, England Straight Shooter
(1975) Run with the Pack
(1976) Similar Bad Company albums, Hard rock albums | ||
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).
Contents
- Bad company album straight shooter 1975
- Background
- Critical reception
- Non album tracks
- Personnel
- Production
- Songs
- References
The album reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It 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.
Bad company album straight shooter 1975
Background
In June 1974, Bad Company released their self-titled debut album. 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 No. 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 No. 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 Christgau felt that although Straight Shooter was better than its predecessor, it should not be labelled 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 favourable 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 that 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.
Non-album tracks
- "Whisky Bottle" (Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, Burrell) – 3:45
- Released as the b-side to the "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" single.
Personnel
Production
Songs
1Good Lovin’ Gone Bad3:37
2Feel Like Makin’ Love5:13
3Weep No More4:02