Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
Crazy Circles
Gone, Gone, Gone
Evil Wind
Early in the Morning
Lonely for Your Love
Oh, Atlanta
Take the Time
Rhythm Machine
She Brings Me Love
Lifting its title from that of a Jack Kerouac novel in which the Beat Generation author documented his growing disenchantment with Buddhism, Bad Company’s fifth album found the blues-rock giants running out of inspiration somewhat, their muscular meat-and-veg moves (which on the first three albums had splendidly transcended their limitations) carried solely by Paul Rodgers’s voice, which was itself going through the motions.
A last-ditch attempt to at least try to move the band’s music forward a notch (even the band thought 1977's Burning Sky wasn't very good), the material was more mature and less raw than before.
The use of a guitar-synth, giving a suggestion of freshness to opening salvo Rock’n’Roll Fantasy, is retrospectively hailed as radical, but overall this sounds like a band out of time, treading water in hobnail boots. They’d taken a “tax year” out; punk had happened. Gone Gone Gone has a certain rock-to-drive-to momentum, as does Evil Wind. Oh Atlanta has charm by association since Alison Krauss reinvented it in 1995. The ballads want to hint at plaintive gospel, but stall at plain-clothes Godspell. Burn-out had begun.
The album also contained their first hit single (in the US, but not the UK) for three years in Rock'n’Roll Fantasy. As a result, the album took the band back into the US Top 5 and the UK Top 10.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in March 1979
- Roxy Music - Manifesto
- Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti
- Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Angel Station
- The Only Ones - Even Serpents Shine
- Eddie and the Hot Rods - Thriller
- Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves
- Motörhead - Overkill
- The Beach Boys - L.A.
- Van Halen - Van Halen II
- Ian Hunter - You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
- Supertramp - Breakfast in America
- Triumph - Just a Game
- Magazine - Secondhand Daylight
- Badfinger - Airwaves
- U.K. - Danger Money
- The Tubes - Remote Control
- Bachman–Turner Overdrive - Rock n' Roll Nights
What they said...
"By the time Bad Company released Desolation Angels, it was evident that even Rodgers and Ralphs were getting tired of their '70s-styled, conveyor-belt brand of rock & roll, so they decided to add keyboards and some minor string work to the bulk of the tracks. Although this change of musical scenery was a slight breath of fresh air, it wasn't enough to give Desolation Angels the much-added depth or distinction that was intended." (AllMusic)
"This is supposedly a return to form after Burning Sky, and it may be. I'll just say that if I'd never mistake them for Free anymore, I'd never mistake them for Foreigner either. I don't think. P.S. Are those syndrums on Evil Wind? Naughty, naughty." (Robert Christgau)
"Bad Company’s small, honest breakthrough does make them credible and even sympathetic at a time when either the post-boogie puffery of Foreigner, Styx, Kansas et al., or the austere aggressiveness of punk would seem to have rendered their second-generation hard rock all but obsolete. Instead, Bad Company has found salvation, inspiration and balls in utter desolation. (Rolling Stone)
What you said...
Mike Canoe: Hmmm...I'm not not a Bad Company fan but it's been hard to get excited about Desolation Angels. Aside from radio mainstays, Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy and Gone, Gone, Gone, the only song that raises my pulse is the Paul Rodgers-penned Evil Wind. There's an easygoing shuffle to the rest of the album that's too\ easygoing for my ears. Aside from the three songs I mentioned above, nothing is as interesting as the story that's told by the sublime Hipgnosis album cover.
Gary Claydon: I always found it difficult to get excited about Bad Company. Not that I dislike them, it's just that, in comparison to Free's earthier and downright sexier blues rock, Bad Company were always a bit too smooth, a bit too polished, a bit too, well, 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. Which pretty much sums up Desolation Angels. Never been convinced it was an actual return to form, either but coming after the low point of Burning Sky it couldn't help but seem that way.
No, Desolation Angels is what I'd call 'serviceable'. Mid-tempo, bluesy AOR that neither reaches any heights or plumbs any depths. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy, Gone, Gone, Gone and Evil Wind are all decent enough. Lyrically, it shares an air of melancholy with the novel that gives it its title but there is a distinct feeling of sameness about it all.
Bottom line, I think the band had run out of ideas by this point and the glory days of the first three albums were well behind them. Desolation Angels saw some reasonable chart action in the UK but I strongly suspect this was down to the existing, sizable (and loyal) fan base. I'd be amazed if they were picking up any new fans at the time, especially given that the musical landscape had shifted in a way that, in 1979, made Bad Company something of an anachronism.
Adam Ranger: A well-produced album with great playing and great vocals (as an aside, outside of rock circles, I never really felt Paul Rodgers got the kudos he deserved as one of the great rock vocalists).
This is a solid album with some great tracks, some nodding to Free including my favourite, Oh Atlanta. There are some nice riff-driven tunes such as Gone Gone Gone and Earth Wind. Lonely For Your Love harks back to earlier albums with its shout-out chorus.
However, some of the tunes are perhaps a bit bland such as the single Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy. A solid album – possibly the last consistently good Bad Company record – but it lacks the edge of those first three albums and doesn't really have any memorable tracks. The album ends well with the choral crescendo of She Brings Me Love.
Greg Schwepe: Right now on any Midwest U.S. FM classic rock station, you can probably hear something from this week’s selection; Bad Company’s Desolation Angels. And if not from that album, anything from their other releases. And why is that? It’s because Bad Company are the epitome and definition of “classic rock.” Memorable songs, vibe, attitude, swagger, and a band that seems to be a bunch of amicable guys. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone saying “Man, I don’t like Bad Company and they’re a bunch of jerks.” Of the drawerful of band t-shirts I own, my Bad Company shirt gets the most comments out of any other; “Wow… cool shirt, I love Bad Company!” Not kidding.
Which brings us to Desolation Angels. While not their swan song on Swan Song, in hindsight, it appeared to be their last decent album. Sandwiched between Burnin’ Sky and Rough Diamonds, this is the meat in the sandwich. Burnin’ Sky might be an example of a band on their way down, then Rough Diamonds is an example of a band on their way out. Those two albums are not the ones a Bad Company fan would pull out to play first.
And so, you open Desolation Angels with yes, a classic rock anthem in Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy. Again, you’ve heard this on the radio a million times and you probably never tire of it, right? Great singable lyrics, great mood; kind of exemplifies everything we like about rock'n'roll.
Crazy Circles follows with an acoustic vibe, not unlike Seagull from their debut. Bad Company show they aren’t all muscular sing-along rock.
But the main riff of Gone, Gone, Gone shows they can be muscular sing-along rock. Might actually be my favorite song on the album. Evil Wind follows and shows why Mick Ralphs is underrated as a guitar player. Tons of memorable riffs and licks. I mean tons.
Over the whole album you have the vocals of Paul Rodgers, arguably one of the best in the pantheon of rock vocalists. He can bring it down a little (Early In The Morning), belt it out (Lonely For Your Love), or bring that steady warm vibe (Oh, Atlanta). And let’s not forget the solid drumming of Simon Kirke and bass of Boz Burrell, who also penned a few tracks on this album.
For the average music fan who does not own every Bad Company album in existence, Desolation Angels is probably the one they own. This got massive radio airplay and kind of brought them back to the consciousness of the average music fan. It had a buzz at the time.
I first got to see Bad Company on this tour in September of 1979. Several years ago, I attended “Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp” (see? Even Bad Company and that song kind of influenced this!) and one of the camp counsellors was none other than Simon Kirke. During the day, I was able to get my picture taken with him and have him autograph my copy of Desolation Angels.
The irony goes a little further as all campers were given a list of three songs to learn for the “audition” part of the day when they pair you with other campers so the camp counsellors could then “draft” their bands. One of the three songs was…yes, you guessed it… Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy and I got to perform that with Simon Kirke and other counsellors sitting in the audience (Night Ranger’s Kelly Keagy took the vocals on that one!). 8 out of 10 for me on this one that is a favourite for many reasons!
Philip Qvist: I think you can easily split the six albums from the classic Bad Company lineup into two groups; mainly their first three records, which were pretty much flawless, and then their final three, which had their fair share of flaws. That's not to say that they were bad albums, even Rough Diamonds has its rather good moments, but they all lack something that Bad Company or Straight Shooter brought to the party.
And that neatly brings us onto Desolation Angels. It starts off on a strong note with the guitar and synthesizer-driven, Paul Rodgers-penned Rock 'n' Fantasy, it carries on with Crazy Circles, before we get to the rather good, if somewhat rare, Boz Burrell composition Gone, Gone, Gone, with Evil Wind and Early In The Morning finishing off a more than decent Side One.
However, the momentum starts slipping on Side Two, with Mick Ralphs' Oh, Atlanta being the only real highlight - complete with strong harmonica playing from, I assume, Paul Rodgers. Although there are no stinkers on this side, the songs lack something to make them stand out.
By all accounts at the time, the constant grind of recording and touring was getting to Bad Co and it shows here. As I hinted at the start, this is not a bad record - but it is nowhere near as good as their first three albums, far less Free classics like Fire And Water or Heartbreaker. It's a decent 7 from me this week.
John Davidson: I bought this on release and liked it well enough at the time, but other than Rock 'n' roll Fantasy it's not an album that has stuck in my memory.
It would be harsh to call this corporate rock, but it's definitely verging on dad rock - there's not a hint of danger, edge or adventure in either the playing or the production. Instead, it's well-crafted, professionally played blues-rock.
Side one features the better songs. The first four have a groove to them that invites the listener to sing along. Early In The Morning signals a change of pace to balladry - It's a good song with some fine guitar work and along with closer She Brings Me Love seems to find an emotional connection.
Side Two follows the same template as side one. The songs are only so-so - though and listening to Rhythm Machine is like remembering your 16-year-old self watch your parents dance at a wedding.
Keith Jenkin: Solid album with plenty of variety that sounds much better away from the more energetic UK trends of the time it was released, like New Wave and the resurgence of Heavy Metal. As others have said, the band were already probably never going to top the first three albums, but while America embraced this one on the back of opener Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy", in the UK it was overlooked and sold pretty poorly. Fast forward 45 years, and listeners looking for a good collection filler could do far worse than checking out or revisiting this very enjoyable classic rock record.
Final score: 7.22 (50 votes cast, total score 361)
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