Straight Shooter (Bad Company album)

Straight Shooter is the second studio album by the English hard rock supergroup Bad Company. The album was released on April 2, 1975, a month after the release of the album's first single, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", and four months before the second single, "Feel Like Makin' Love" (see 1975 in music).[1]

Not to be confused with Straight Shooter (James Gang album).

Straight Shooter
Studio album by
Bad Company
Released2 April 1975 (1975-04-02)[1]
RecordedSeptember 1974
StudioClearwell Castle, Gloucestershire, England[2]
Genre
Length38:17
LabelIsland (UK)
Swan Song (US)
ProducerBad Company[2]
Bad Company chronology
Bad Company
(1974)		 Straight Shooter
(1975)		 Run with the Pack
(1976)
Singles from Straight Shooter
  1. "Good Lovin' Gone Bad"
    Released: March 1975[1]
  2. "Feel Like Makin' Love"
    Released: August 1975[1]

The album reached number 3 on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.[4][5] It was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America a month after its release.[6] The album was remastered and re-released in 1994.

The track "Shooting Star" (written by lead singer Paul Rodgers) was lyrically inspired by the drug and alcohol-related deaths of guitarist Jimi Hendrix and other rock musicians.

Background

In June 1974, Bad Company released their self-titled debut album.[1] 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.[2]

The first single from the album, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", was released in March 1975[1] and reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] The album was released in April.[1] The album's final single "Feel like Makin' Love" was released in August[1] and reached No. 10 on the Hot 100.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [8]
Christgau's Record GuideB− [9]
Rolling Stone(favorable) [10]

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.[8]

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 a strong voice, which is needed to be a rock singer.[9]

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.[10]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Good Lovin' Gone Bad"Mick Ralphs3:35
2."Feel Like Makin' Love"Paul Rodgers, Ralphs5:12
3."Weep No More"Simon Kirke3:59
4."Shooting Star"Rodgers6:16
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Deal with the Preacher"Rodgers, Ralphs5:01
6."Wild Fire Woman"Rodgers, Ralphs4:32
7."Anna"Kirke3:41
8."Call on Me"Rodgers6:03
2015 Reissue Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Good Lovin' Gone Bad" (Alternate Vocal & Guitar)Ralphs3:21
2."Feel Like Makin' Love" (Take Before Master)Rodgers, Ralphs5:44
3."Weep No More" (Early Slow Version)Kirke5:07
4."Shooting Star" (Alternate Take)Rodgers5:33
5."Deal with the Preacher" (Early Version)Rodgers, Ralphs5:40
6."Anna" (Alternate Vocal)Kirke3:42
7."Call on Me" (Alternate Take)Rodgers5:45
8."Easy on My Soul" (Slow Version)Rodgers6:47
9."Whiskey Bottle" (Early Slow Version)Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, Boz Burrell3:45
10."See the Sunlight" (Previously Unreleased)Rodgers, Ralphs4:40
11."All Night Long" (Previously Unreleased)Rodgers4:47
12."Wild Fire Woman" (Alternate Vocal & Guitar)Rodgers, Ralphs4:10
13."Feel like Makin' Love" (Harmonica Version)Rodgers, Ralphs5:52
14."Whiskey Bottle" (B-Side of "Good Lovin' Gone Bad")Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, Burrell3:48

Non-album tracks
  1. "Whisky Bottle" (Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, Burrell) – 3:45
    • Released as the b-side to the "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" single.

Personnel
Bad Company
Production

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[22] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Strong, Charles (2002) [Originally published in 1994]. The Great Rock Discography (Sixth ed.). United Kingdom: Canongate Books. p. 133. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  2. Straight Shooter (Vinyl sleeve). Bad Company. United States: Swan Song Records. 1975. Back cover. SS 8413.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. Erlewine, Stephen (n.d.). "Straight Shooter Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. "Bad Company Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2014
  5. "Bad Company – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  6. RIAA Certification Search Type "Straight Shooter" under Title for search results.
  7. "Bad Company – Billboard Singles". AllMusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
  8. Baksi, Gautam. "Review: Straight Shooter by Bad Company". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. Naha, Ed. "Album Review: Straight Shooter by Bad Company". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 24. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6143a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bad Company – Straight Shooter" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bad Company – Straight Shooter" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  15. "Charts.nz – Bad Company – Straight Shooter". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bad Company – Straight Shooter". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  18. "Bad Company Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  19. "Top Selling Albums For 1975" (PDF). Music Week. 27 December 1975. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  20. "Canadian album certifications – Bad Company – Straight Shooter". Music Canada. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  21. "British album certifications – Bad Company – Straight Shooter". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  22. "American album certifications – Bad Company – Straight Shooter". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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