Run with the Pack
Run with the Pack is the third studio album by English supergroup Bad Company. It was released on February 21, 1976, by Island Records. The album was recorded in France using the Rolling Stones Mobile Truck in September 1975 with engineer Ron Nevison, and mixed in Los Angeles by Eddie Kramer. It was the only original Bad Company album without artwork from Hipgnosis, instead featuring artwork from Kosh.
| Run with the Pack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 21, 1976[1] | |||
| Recorded | September 1975 | |||
| Studio | Grasse, France, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 36:14 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Bad Company | |||
| Bad Company chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Run with the Pack | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[3] |
| Rolling Stone | positive[4] |
The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart and No. 5 on the US Billboard 200.[5] It has sold one million copies in the US alone.
The cover of the Coasters single "Young Blood" peaked at No. 20. The album also spawned rock radio classics "Silver, Blue and Gold", "Live for the Music", and the title track. "Silver, Blue & Gold" was never released as a single, but is one of the band's most popular compositions.
Cash Box said of "Do Right by Your Woman" that it "is an acoustic number, with some twelve-string work" and that "the harmonies are excellent, at times reminiscent of CSNY, and a low-down harmonical fill."[6]
Classic Rock History critic Janey Roberts rated the title track as Bad Company's greatest song, saying that its energy "just simply defines what Bad Company was all about" and praising the "great intros" and "pulsating verses that built up to superman style choruses."[7] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as Bad Company's 6th best song, praising its "panache and subtlety."[8]
The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. The vinyl album had a shiny, silver cover, but CD versions feature a simple, light grey cover. The original album cover also came as a gatefold, with a photo of the band inside, sitting around a couch near a television tuned in to a Bugs Bunny cartoon. (It was revealed in the notes in the booklet accompanying the "Deluxe 2CD Edition", that originally the TV screen showed a still of "I Love Lucy" but it was not possible to get approval for its use on the album cover, so it was changed).
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Live for the Music" | Mick Ralphs | 3:58 |
| 2. | "Simple Man" | Mick Ralphs | 3:37 |
| 3. | "Honey Child" | Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, Boz Burrell, Simon Kirke | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Love Me Somebody" | Paul Rodgers | 3:09 |
| 5. | "Run with the Pack" | Paul Rodgers | 5:21 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Silver, Blue & Gold" | Paul Rodgers | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Young Blood" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus | 2:37 |
| 8. | "Do Right by Your Woman" | Paul Rodgers | 2:51 |
| 9. | "Sweet Lil' Sister" | Mick Ralphs | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Fade Away" | Paul Rodgers | 2:54 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Live for the Music" (Take 1 Alternate Vocal & Guitar) | Ralphs | |
| 2. | "Simple Man" (Take 3 Early Mix) | Ralphs | |
| 3. | "Honey Child" (Early Mix, Alternative Guitar Solo) | Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, Burrell | |
| 4. | "Run with the Pack" (Extended Version, Alternative Vocal) | Rodgers | |
| 5. | "Let There Be Love" (Take 1, Previously Unreleased) | Ralphs | |
| 6. | "Silver, Blue & Gold" (Take 1, Early Mix) | Rodgers | |
| 7. | "Young Blood" (Alternate Vocal) | Leiber, Stoller, Pomus | |
| 8. | "Do Right by Your Woman" (Alternative Vocal) | Rodgers | |
| 9. | "Sweet Lil' Sister" (Live/Studio Backing Track) | Ralphs | |
| 10. | "Fade Away" (Early Mix, Alternative Guitar Solo) | Rodgers | |
| 11. | "Do Right by Your Woman" (Acoustic Version) | Rodgers | |
| 12. | "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (Studio Jam) | Whitefield, Holland, Grant | |
| 13. | "Young Blood" (Alternative Version 2) | Leiber, Stoller, Pomus | |
| 14. | "Fade Away" (Island Studios demo) | Rodgers |
Personnel
- Bad Company
- Paul Rodgers – vocals, guitar, piano
- Mick Ralphs – guitar, keyboards
- Boz Burrell – bass
- Simon Kirke – drums
Charts
Album – Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Pop Albums | 5 |
Singles – Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "Young Blood" | Pop Singles | 20 |
| 1976 | "Honey Child" | Pop Singles | 47 |
References
- "Bad Company: Run With the Pack". Discography World. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- Ruhlmann, William. "Run with the Pack - Bad Company". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- Charley Walters (8 April 1976). "Run with the Pack". Rolling Stone.
- "Bad Company Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2014
- "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 20 March 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- Roberts, Janey (19 October 2022). "Top 10 Bad Company songs". Classic Rock History.
- Dome, Malcolm (13 July 2016). "The Top 10 Best Bad Company Songs". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 14 January 2023.