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Critic's Review
Bret Adams, All Music Guide
Bad Company has enjoyed plenty of commercial success and influenced countless musicians. Yet in many ways Bad Company and its precursor, Free, are vastly underrated by the rock establishment. The original Bad Company -- vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Paul Rodgers, lead guitarist Mick Ralphs, bass guitarist Boz Burrell, and drummer Simon Kirke -- reunited for a short 1999 tour. A few years later, Rodgers and Kirke carried on with guitarist Dave "Bucket" Colwell, who'd previously played in versions of Bad Company fronted by Brian Howe and Robert Hart, and bass guitarist Jaz Lochrie, a veteran of Rodgers' solo band. This new lineup released the DVD In Concert: Merchants of Cool in 2002. (An abridged CD version is also available.) This respectable live document was recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO, on January 22, 2002, and at the Grove of Anaheim in Anaheim, CA, on January 30, 2002. Bad Company rips through its greatest hits and a couple of classics from Rodgers and Kirke's Free days. Rodgers' voice, as always, is in fine form. Kirke and Lochrie nail down the bottom end and Colwell squeezes out all the recognizable riffs. "Burnin' Sky," "Can't Get Enough," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Deal with the Preacher," "Rock and Roll Fantasy" (with the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" and "I Feel Fine" seamlessly woven in), "Bad Company," and "Silver, Blue and Gold" stand out the most. Rodgers performs a solo version of the soaring ballad "Seagull." It does not take sharp eyes to notice that Free's immortal "All Right Now" is edited together from both shows. Guns N' Roses' Slash and Journey's Neal Schon arrive on-stage for a sizzling jam on Free's "Wishing Well." The video for the new studio track "Joe Fabulous," an average song at best, wraps up the main program. DVD bonuses include a variety of band and celebrity interviews, backstage footage, photo gallery, biography, and discography. The live "Saving Grace" video (with Schon) is a hidden "Easter egg" track, accompanied by rehearsal footage and Rodgers and Schon talking about writing the song.
