''Desolation Angels'' is the fifth studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

, released on March 17, 1979.

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

revealed on ''

In the Studio with Redbeard ''In the Studio with Redbeard'' is a North American radio program, produced and hosted by Dallas, Texas, based rock and roll disc jockey Doug "Redbeard" Hill. The show is a weekly hour-long "rockumentary" interview with music program which looks ...

'' (which devoted an episode to ''Desolation Angels'') that the album's title came from the 1965 novel of the same name by

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

. The title was almost used 10 years previous to name the second album from Rodgers' previous band,

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

, which in the end was called simply ''

''. ''Desolation Angels'' was recorded at

Ridge Farm Studios Ridge Farm Studio was one of the earliest residential recording studios in the United Kingdom. The studio operated for over twenty-five years and had artists, musicians, and producers from all over the world record and produce music there. The ...

Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area ...

in late 1978. It is considered the last strong album by Bad Company with the original lineup, mostly because it contains their last major hit, "

Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" is a song by English rock supergroup Bad Company. The track was written by vocalist Paul Rodgers, and released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album '' Desolation Angels'' (1979). The song is one of many ...

", written by

and inspired by a guitar synthesizer riff which Rodgers had come up with. The album reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard album charts in 1979 and went platinum in 1979 and double platinum subsequently. It was their final top ten album in both the U.S. and the UK. In addition to "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy", " Gone, Gone, Gone", written by bassist

Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998� ...

, also received substantial airplay on rock stations. A cover version of "Oh, Atlanta", written by

Mick Ralphs Michael Geoffrey Ralphs (born 31 March 1944, Herefordshire) is an English musician, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Career Ralphs began his career as a teenager, playing with b ...

, was recorded by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

and appears on her 1995 album '' Now That I've Found You: A Collection''. The original version was used in the open to

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

's 1993 broadcast of the

Motorcraft 500 The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race that was run annually each March at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia from 1960 to 2010 and as a July race since 2021. The race was the f ...

when ABC (which originally had the broadcast) could not find time to air the race, which had been postponed six days by a snowstorm in the

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

. The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. In 2020, Rhino put out a deluxe edition to honor the 40th anniversary with many alternate versions and bonus tracks.

Track listing

Personnel

;Bad Company *

– vocals, guitar, piano, synthesisers *

– guitar, keyboards *

– bass *

Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company. He has been the only continuous member of Bad Company since their inception. Life and career Kirke was born in L ...

– drums ;Additional personnel *The Bones – backing vocals (10) ;Production- Desolation Angels Discogs
/ref> *Bad Company – producer *Tony Patrick – recording engineer *Hipgnosis – sleeve design, photography *Christel Johansson – photo model *Peter Christopherson – photo model

Charts

Album – ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (United States) Singles – ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

Bad Company - ''Desolation Angels'' (1979) album review by Mike DeGagne, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Bad Company - ''Desolation Angels'' (1979) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Bad Company - ''Desolation Angels'' (1979) album to be listened
as stream on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

{{Authority control 1979 albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Bad Company albums Swan Song Records albums