Desolation Angels (album)

This article is about the album. For the novel by Jack Kerouac, see Desolation Angels (novel).

Desolation Angels
Studio album by Bad Company
Released	17 March 1979
Recorded	Ridge Farm Studios, Surrey, England, August - September 1978
Genre	Hard rock
Length	41:03
Label	Swan Song Records
Producer	Bad Company
Bad Company chronology
Burnin' Sky (1977) Desolation Angels (1979) Rough Diamonds (1982)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Desolation Angels is a 1979 album by the hard rock band Bad Company. It was their 5th studio release. Paul Rodgers revealed on In the Studio with Redbeard (which devoted an episode to Desolation Angels) that the album's title came from the novel of the same name by Jack Kerouac.

Desolation Angels was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, England in late 1978.

It is considered the last strong album by Bad Company, mostly because it contains the last big hit by them, "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy," written by Paul Rodgers which its inspiration came from a guitar synthesizer riff that Rodgers came up with.

"Gone, Gone, Gone", written by bassist Boz Burrell, also received substantial airplay on rock stations. It was the first of only three songs he ever wrote for the band, but is widely revered as one of the band's finest compositions.

The album reached #3 on the Billboard album charts in 1979 and went Platinum in 1979 and Double Platinum subsequently.

A cover version of "Oh, Atlanta", written by Mick Ralphs, was recorded by Alison Krauss 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's 1993 broadcast of the Motorcraft 500 when ABC (which originally had the broadcast) could not find time to air the race, postponed six days by a snowstorm in the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The album was remastered and re-released in 1994.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" (Paul Rodgers) – 3:20
2. "Crazy Circles" (Paul Rodgers) - 3:32
3. "Gone, Gone, Gone" (Boz Burrell) - 3:50
4. "Evil Wind" (Paul Rodgers) - 4:22
5. "Early in the Morning" (Paul Rodgers) - 5:45

Side two

1. "Lonely for Your Love" (Mick Ralphs) - 3:26
2. "Oh, Atlanta" (Mick Ralphs) - 4:08
3. "Take the Time" (Mick Ralphs) - 4:14
4. "Rhythm Machine" (Simon Kirke/Boz Burrell) - 3:44
5. "She Brings Me Love" (Paul Rodgers) - 4:42

Personnel

• Paul Rodgers – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesisers
• Mick Ralphs– guitar, keyboards
• Simon Kirke – drums
• Boz Burrell – bass

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1979	Pop Albums	3

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1979	"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy"	Pop Singles	13
1979	"Gone, Gone, Gone"	Pop Singles	44

References

1. ^ Desolation Angels (album) at Allmusic