Audio CD review:
Bad Company - Stories Told & Untold

Bad Company - Stories Told & Untold

Band: Bad Company Title: Stories Told & Untold Rating: Release Date: 15 October, 1996 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: One On One 2: Oh Atlanta 3: You're Never Alone 4: I Still Belive In You 5: Ready For Love 6: Waiting On Love 7: Can't Get Enough 8: Is That All There Is To Love 9: Love So Strong 10: Silver Blue And Gold 11: Downpour In Cairo 12: Shooting Star 13: Simple Man 14: Weep No More

Customer Reviews Better than you think With the exception of their first album, which was stocked with songs Mick Ralphs had been writing in the waning days of his membership in Mott The Hoople, their album catalog is very uneven, and consists of much filler. I grew up with the original Bad Company, who were, imho, vastly overrated. When the band came back in the 80's, with new vocalist Brian Howe, they managed two great arena rock albums - Dangerous Age and Holy Water - that were chokka-block full of great tunes. When the Mk3 version started up, I lost interest totally. This was a mistake on my part - because Robert Hart is a "ringer" for Paul Rodgers - and does a great job on the normally dreaded remakes of early Bad Co tunes. And the new songs aren't bad either. I picked this up used on the cheap (2 bucks), and was pleasantly surprised and pleased. Put your pre-conceived notions about Bad Co w/o Mr. Rodgers aside, and enjoy some decent remakes, and "filler" just as good as anything else the original Bad Co did back in the day. You won't be sorry you spent 2 bucks. And how often is it you get a whole album that is pretty good for 2 bucks? :). closing a cycle... That record marked the debut of singer Robert Hart, as well as a return to the original bluesy/country rock roots of the band, forsaking the more "commercial" sound of their late 80's and early 90's output with singer Brian Howe at the helm. This is the final release by Bad Company Mk3, done before the reunion of the original lineup in 1997, and 1 year after their only other release, Company of Strangers. I was born in '78, so I never heard the original incarnation of the band. My first introduction to Bad Company came through their 80's music, which I fell in love with, not even knowing that they've had a previous lineup and a totally different musical style! And while this is not my favorite style (meaning their original one), the return to their roots was masterfully done and the results were very good on "Company of Strangers". This release, however, shows a different side, with mostly acoustic sounding material, where 50% of the songs are new versions of old classics and the other half are brand new songs, probably leftovers. As far as I'm concerned, there are a couple of statements any self respecting artist should really think through before actually making them, and these are (1 being the most delicate): 5)a live album 4)an unplugged record 3)a greatest hits 2)a "covers" album 1)an album of re-recorded, remixed, updated hits. As I've mentioned in some of my other reviews, such records, more often than not, become an artist's swan song (the examples are WAY too numerous to mention), since they are often the result of a contractual obligation, and many other times, they fortell the impending decline of a band that has little or nothing else to say. This record, containing RE-RECORDED, ACOUSTIC versions of some of their GREATEST HITS tops my list of "what not to do"!!! And sure enough, it became the band's swang song. (at least this lineup's. . . ) It's never a good idea to start toying around with your catalog, remixing and/or re-recording. And this is a good example of why: half of the new versions are "hits" (Ready for Love and Shooting Star the clearest examples)and the other are "misses" (Can't get enough, Oh Atlanta). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy acoustic music, but not when it's done at the expense of the rocking nature of the originals! Extra keyboards, backup singers, horns, string sections. . . they're all good, as long as you USE them and not ABUSE them. And the original songs? they are pretty good, but they seem out of place in this context. In general, the record ends up being a little too soft for my taste, and a little too acoustic, and in the end, a little boring overall: I mean, one or two slower, acoustic songs are fine, but a record filled with them. . . it's too much for me. . . oh well. . . Bottom Line: if you enjoy(ed) "Company of Strangers" and the band's original output, you'll probably find things to like in here, but if you're a hard rocker, this is probably not the right place to look. . . . Worst Bad Company CD ever It was actually painful to here what they did to the classic Bad Company songs on this. Worst Bad Company CD ever. Even more dissappointing because the previous album Company of Strangers was their best non-Paul Rodgers album. Save your money. Buy the original Bad Company or Free albums. . You can see a complete list of all Bad Company discography, or go back to the Bad Company tabs