Customer Reviews

Stories Told & Untold

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the final release by Bad Company Mk3, done before the reunion of the original lineup in 1997, and 1 year after their only other release, Company of Strangers. That record marked the debut of singer Robert Hart, as well as a return to the original bluesy/country rock roots of the band, forsaking the more "commercial" sound of their late 80's and early 90's output with singer Brian Howe at the helm.

I was born in '78, so I never heard the original incarnation of the band. My first introduction to Bad Company came through their 80's music, which I fell in love with, not even knowing that they've had a previous lineup and a totally different musical style! And while this is not my favorite style (meaning their original one), the return to their roots was masterfully done and the results were very good on "Company of Strangers".

This release, however, shows a different side, with mostly acoustic sounding material, where 50% of the songs are new versions of old classics and the other half are brand new songs, probably leftovers. As far as I'm concerned, there are a couple of statements any self respecting artist should really think through before actually making them, and these are (1 being the most delicate): 5)a live album 4)an unplugged record 3)a greatest hits 2)a "covers" album 1)an album of re-recorded, remixed, updated hits.

As I've mentioned in some of my other reviews, such records, more often than not, become an artist's swan song (the examples are WAY too numerous to mention), since they are often the result of a contractual obligation, and many other times, they fortell the impending decline of a band that has little or nothing else to say. This record, containing RE-RECORDED, ACOUSTIC versions of some of their GREATEST HITS tops my list of "what not to do"!!! And sure enough, it became the band's swang song. (at least this lineup's...)

It's never a good idea to start toying around with your catalog, remixing and/or re-recording it. And this is a good example of why: half of the new versions are "hits" (Ready for Love and Shooting Star the clearest examples)and the other are "misses" (Can't get enough, Oh Atlanta). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy acoustic music, but not when it's done at the expense of the rocking nature of the originals! Extra keyboards, backup singers, horns, string sections...they're all good, as long as you USE them and not ABUSE them.

And the original songs? they are pretty good, but they seem out of place in this context. In general, the record ends up being a little too soft for my taste, and a little too acoustic, and in the end, a little boring overall: I mean, one or two slower, acoustic songs are fine, but a record filled with them...it's too much for me...oh well...
Bottom Line: if you enjoy(ed) "Company of Strangers" and the band's original output, you'll probably find things to like in here, but if you're a hard rocker, this is probably not the right place to look...

It really kills me to hear this one. Its not that Robert Hart's original songs on this album are bad, although some tend to cross over into Michael Bolton territory, but it is the horrendous cover songs on this album. Hart makes a mockery of "Shooting Star". "Don't you know know"? it sounds pretty lame. However "Love so Strong" showcases some excellent guitar work by Mick Ralph, its not enough to make up for the rest of the Album. Its nothing against Hart, but I'm glad that the upcoming Bad Co. CD has Paul Rodgers singing again, at last!

I grew up with the original Bad Company, who were, imho, vastly overrated. With the exception of their first album, which was stocked with songs Mick Ralphs had been writing in the waning days of his membership in Mott The Hoople, their album catalog is very uneven, and consists of much filler. When the band came back in the 80's, with new vocalist Brian Howe, they managed two great arena rock albums - Dangerous Age and Holy Water - that were chokka-block full of great tunes. When the Mk3 version started up, I lost interest totally. This was a mistake on my part - because Robert Hart is a "ringer" for Paul Rodgers - and does a great job on the normally dreaded remakes of early Bad Co tunes. And the new songs aren't bad either. I picked this up used on the cheap (2 bucks), and was pleasantly surprised and pleased. Put your pre-conceived notions about Bad Co w/o Mr. Rodgers aside, and enjoy some decent remakes, and "filler" just as good as anything else the original Bad Co did back in the day. You won't be sorry you spent 2 bucks. And how often is it you get a whole album that is pretty good for 2 bucks? :)

Worst Bad Company CD ever. It was actually painful to here what they did to the classic Bad Company songs on this.

Even more dissappointing because the previous album Company of Strangers was their best non-Paul Rodgers album.

Save your money. Buy the original Bad Company or Free albums.

I was a big fan of Bad Company when they were in their prime and saw them do some great shows! That made me a little leery about getting this. So I read a lot of the reviews before I bought this and despite some bad reviews some of the good things people said made me give it a shot.
Some of the bad? "He's no Paul Rodgers." Very true, no one is but I did like the way he made the older songs his own, although I'm sure he had help with the arrangements. "Worst Bad Company CD ever." That may be a little harsh though more than one stated that. "Rock karaoke." lol, Funny but just not true.
The best reason for getting this CD" Jonathan A. Jepson said it better than I could: "Put your pre-conceived notions about Bad Co w/o Mr. Rodgers aside, and enjoy some decent remakes, and "filler" just as good as anything else the original Bad Co did back in the day".
The bottom line is that these are some well done tunes. If you're one of those music enthusiast who only appreciates one version of a song and hate all others then you might want to give this a pass. If you can appreciate different interpretations then you should give this a shot. My bottom line? I liked it!

Let it be said, hardly anyone has the chops to duplicate Bad Company's original vocalist: Paul Rodgers. Robert Hart, who has a voice like John Waite, but perhaps a bit rougher, is no Rodgers, or even close. The songs here are mostly retreads:
an experiment in which the band experimented without Rodgers, and had to do all the songs a different style. I am sure bands such as Van Halen faced the same dilemma at one time or another of replacing a larger than life lead vocalist, and the end result here is a mostly acoustic, slick listenable disjointed grouping of their early hits, and other songs done in Hart-Style, without the edgy guitar emphasis that the early songs had.

So perhaps it's for diehard fans; but it's interesting to hear at least once. Hart just can't sustain a rock vocal high note like Rodgers could (see song: 'Shooting Star' and the soaring vocals at the end). Probably this is blasphemy, but when heard 'Can't Get Enough' done honkey-tonk piano style, I almost laughed outloud. This cd sounds like a very good Karaoke band doing Bad Company. It just doesn't sound authentic, and slightly off everywhere. For a dyed-in-the-wool fan, it surely must grate a bit to hear the songs interpreted poorly for no appearant reason other than for Hart to hear his own voice. Hell, even the liner notes continually list him last in the band's lineups and credits (usually the lead singer is first).

The bad was really stretching it's own limits here, and it shows.

Despite all the negative reviews, I finally picked up a copy of Stories Told & Untold, the (to date) final studio offering from Bad Company. I ran across a cheap used copy and it bothered me to have an album missing from my collection. I get why so many old school Bad Company fans have such heartburn over this album, but honestly I thought it was pretty good.

Obviously, this is not "classic" Bad Company, but if Paul Rodgers isn't willing to play ball, why shouldn't the rest of the band do what they can to stay active? Robert Hart is a more than adequate stand-in, as evidenced by the quite excellent Company of Strangers album, and he does a good job here as well.

Stories Told & Untold is split between new material and rerecorded classics, which is always a risky business. The new material is decent, probably better than average (certainly better than most of Fame and Fortune or Rough Diamonds), but set against songs like "Shooting Star" and "Silver, Blue and Gold" it's bound to disappoint. I do like the more laid back, almost country vibe that's going on here. As to the rerecordings, I'm probably the only person who actually enjoyed them. They were both faithful to the originals and fresh sounding.

This isn't the Bad Company most people are used to (though I think the spirit is still present), and it's not my favorite Bad Company sound (sorry, but I love Holy Water the most), but Stories Told & Untold is a worthy entry into the Bad Company discography. If you keep an open mind, it should come as a pleasant surprise.

By far the worst of the Bad Company cd's. None of the tracks were worthwhile. May even have a different lead singer than Paul Rodgers. Do not buy

I bought a used copy of this album for next to nothing a few years ago, and I've been very surprised by how much I enjoy it. The original voice of Bad Company, Paul Rodgers, has been replaced on this album by the very capable Robert Hart (who sounds eerily similar to Rodgers on several tracks). This album consists of seven remakes of Bad Company classics (stories told) and seven new songs (stories untold).

Though it is risky for a well-known band to remake classic hits without the original band members, I enjoy these remakes. "Shooting Star" is especially solid, and I actually like it more than the original. There is a bluesy twist to that track, as well as many others, that is really interesting. And though the songs that are original to this album are not particularly remarkable, they are decent.

If you don't think that Bad Company should exist outside of Rodgers, then you won't like this album. But if you're able to be a bit flexible, I think you are in for a treat. Though this was a commercial flop, I'm glad that I own this album.

New Vocalist Hart proved that he could fill the Bad company vocal shoes with his debut cd, "Company of Strangers", which was one of their best cds ever, now Hart and Company is back with another great cd. They have some new songs, and re-recorded some old classics. "Ready for LOve", "Shooting Star","Can't Get Enough", never sounded better. "Weep No More" is awesome ballad, as is "Is That All There Is To Love". Shame this would this line-ups last cd, and a bigger shame no one really paid them much attention.