Run With the Pack

iTunes Review

Run With the Pack is Bad Company’s third studio album and its first without an obvious anthem. Whereas previous albums featured enduring arena rock and FM radio classics such as “Can’t Get Enough” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” Run With the Pack settled for standard barn burners that played up the band’s R&B and hard rock roots. From the opening swing of “Live for the Music,” the band is obviously settling into its groove with assurance. Tellingly, the album’s most successful single was a tough R&B cover of the Coasters’ tune “Young Blood.” But while the band’s songwriting may not have been as immediate, their performances were sure-handed throughout. These are seasoned pros, and singer Paul Rodgers was one of the more gifted vocalists of his era. He brings that effective emotive breath to “Simple Man,” “the much underrated “Honey Child,” the title track and “Do Right By Your Woman,” while future hard rock guitarists learned quite a bit from the economy and strength behind the powerchords of Mick Ralphs.