Bad Company Album: “Dangerous Age”

I know I'm in the minority here, but as much as I enjoy the early Paul Rodgers albums, the late 80's/early 90's albums with Brian Howe on vocals are my favorite Bad Company releases. They were just completely slick, catchy, melodic (and yes commercial) AOR albums, and Howe's voice was perfect for that style of music. The AOR/melodic rock sound was getting its second wind (and plenty of airplay) at that time, and Howe helped Bad Company capitalize on that.

Despite the fact that Howe joined the band with 1986's

, 1988's Dangerous Age is really the first Bad Company album with the new AOR sound. Gone was the bluesy, soulful sound typically associated with Bad Company. Instead the band served up ultra polished, made-for-radio commercial rock, relying on catchy melodies and Brian Howe's arena rocking voice. Now, if you hate that kind of music (and there are plenty who do), nothing I say is going to convince you otherwise. I happen to love this kind of music, and for me, Dangerous Age,

, and

are all essential albums. No Smoke Without a Fire was the hit single from this album, and the ballad Something About You should have been. The rest of the songs are hit and miss. There are some really good melodic rockers, and some obvious filler tracks.

Overall this is a solid AOR album and the start of a new age for Bad Company. The band's 1990 album Holy Water is an even better example of the new Bad Company sound.

If you're looking for a "classic" Bad Company album, this isn't it. If you're a fan of the late 80's AOR/melodic rock style, you'll definitely want to check out the Howe era Bad Company albums, and Dangerous Age is a great place to start.

Edition Notes: Wounded Bird reissued Dangerous Age in 2010. Like all of their reissues, it has not been remastered nor does it include any bonus material. If you already own a copy of Dangerous Age, there's no need to replace it.

This album illustrates the true talent of Mick Ralphs, which has taken a back seat to Paul Rodgers in the past.

If you are one of those people that mourns the loss of their "band" when they go and change their format through the years by becoming more mainstream and not "rockin' like they used to"......think REO Speedwagon, Aerosmith, Metallica, U2,....then this CD is NOT for you. The songs on this CD don't even sound like the same band that did "Can't Get Enough of Your Love." But, put your feelings of betrayal aside--I know it's hard, I'm still mourning the loss of the old Metallica myself--and check this out. Not the same sound but the same great guitar jammin', drum bangin', and music composin'. Keep in mind: it got A LOT of airplay went it came out.

Bad Company. Nothing more to say. Except they make you use at least fifteen words and thats bull crap I say.

When 'Holy Water' went huge with radio airplay they decided to stick to a winning formula and it worked big time

the same dark bluesy performance of catchy hit songs continues here

'One Night' 'No Smoke Without A Fire' 'The Way It Goes' and my favorite 'Shake It Up' makes this a winning album

the upside - from start to finish this is one hit song after another,the songwriting is fantastic,my favorite tracks are 'Shake It Up' and 'The Way It Goes' and 'No Smoke Without A Fire'

the downside - the only small complaint is that it sounds almost identical to 'Holy Water' but it's not really a bad thing,it just shows they found their style and wanted to stick with it

the bottom line - if you love great rock and roll with catchy hooks and great lyrics,this is the album for you...donutman says so!!!