Holy Water [Original recording reissued]

Bad Company | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B002WDL5P2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,351 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

CD reissue of this 1990 album from the British Blues rockers. Holy Water reached #35 on the Billboard charts. 13 tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best of the Howe-era Bad Company albums, April 27, 2007

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holy Water (Audio CD)

I think we can all agree that the old Bad Company albums with Paul Rodgers on vocals are rightly viewed as classics. I also think that if you take an honest look back at those albums, you'll see that those last few albums were not on the same level as Bad Company or Straight Shooter. The band needed a shot in the arm and got just that when they hired former Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe. Howe was the perfect choice for the arena rock decade, and his tenure in Bad Company is still criminally underrated.

I know this kind of AOR/arena rock is almost universally ridiculed now, but plenty of us who grew up in that era can still appreciate an album full of big guitar hooks, rock anthems, bic-flicking ballads, and an unapologetic use of keyboards. Bands like Damn Yankees, Bad English, Foreigner, and of course Bad Company embraced this sound, and rode an unexpected second wave of popularity as a result.

Bad Company's 1990 album Holy Water is (pardon the pun) the high water mark for the Howe-era lineup. This album starts with the powerful title track and then hits you with the song "Walk Through Fire", which is one of the era's absolute best rock songs (Lou Gramm's "Midnight Blue" is the other). It doesn't let up there, instead charging through rockers like "Stranger Stranger" and "Fearless" as well as the hit ballad "If You Needed Somebody". Someone already noted that the album loses a little steam in the second half, but even the average song on Holy Water is still better than many of their contemporaries' best efforts.

This is about as strong an AOR album as you could ever hope to find. The first half easily deserves a 5-star rating, and the second half is worthy of at least 4 stars. Holy Water may remain shunned by old school Bad Company fans, but it's one of the era's best rock albums, and one that all 80's/early 90's rock fans will definitely want to check out.

Edition Notes: Wounded Bird reissued Holy Water 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 Holy Water, there's no need to replace it.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holy Water Theme, October 10, 2005

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holy Water (Audio CD)

I really love the song Holy Water, with its big-power-song rhythms and lyrics. Bad Company provides an entire album wrapped around that feeling.

If you've heard Holy Water and don't like it, then let's be honest, you probably won't like this CD. That's what the whole CD is about - blasting guitars, loud vocals about overcoming obstacles and getting to your goals. If you buy a new age CD about oceans, you get lots of soothing songs about the ocean. If you get Holy Water, you get lots of charge-you-up, you-can-do-it songs about relationships. That sounds fine by me!

Walk through Fire is of course about facing obstacles to get to someone. Stranger Stranger is about a hot, humid daydream. The other songs have their own variations, but mostly this is a long power-opus to the power of the individual who Knows What He Wants and is Willing to Go Get it.

There are plenty of other CDs out there for those seeking complex guitar solos and multiplex harmonies. Sometimes you just want a belting-it-out song that screams of leather jackets and smokey bars. This is the one!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuart, June 7, 2005

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Stuart M. Tysinger "Stryper Fan" (Johnson City, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holy Water (Audio CD)

I am a big fan of the Bad Company with Brian Howe at lead vocals. I believe this is the best cd from his era. Songs like: Stranger Stranger, Holy Water, If You Needed Somebody & Boys Cry Tough really show his range & power. Also, there are no fillers on this cd so you can stick in the cd & play it all the way through without skipping tracks.