Bad Company – Desolation Angels(1979)

Biography
Bad Company are an English hard rock supergroup formed in Westminster, London, in 1973 by two former Free band members—singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke—as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982. Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. Their first three albums, Bad Company (1974), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run With the Pack (1976), reached the top five in the album charts in both the UK and US. Many of their singles, such as “Bad Company”, “Can’t Get Enough”, “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad”, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, remain staples of classic rock radio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Company

Album & Cover
Desolation Angels is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Bad Company. The album was released on March 17, 1979. 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. It was recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, England in late 1978. it contains their last major hit, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” written by Paul Rodgers and inspired by a guitar synthesizer riff that Rodgers had come 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 No. 3 on the Billboard album charts in 1979 and went Platinum in 1979 and Double Platinum subsequently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desolation_Angels_(album)

According to Aubrey Powell, the cover was inspired by kits for model aeroplanes with their exploded parts and labelling and white background as guide to assembly. The design conveys the hectic travel and schedule of the band leading to life becoming a white blank. The back cover photograph is Paul Rodger’s 1950 Cadillac. Richard Manning explains the design: these are ‘C’ Type colour prints that cost a lot less than Dye Transfers. The base print of the car and garage forecourt had the white areas cut out with a razor blade and the back of the print stripped away. The edges at the point of the white areas were sanded very thin, so that when the print was mounted with Columbia Cement, no shadow was cast by the edge. Similarly the back of the print of the girl was stripped and the edge of her hat, face and shoulder was sanded. The girl was taped in position and the base print was cut through with a razor blade following the right side shape of the girl. Read more at http://www.richardmanning.co.uk/hipgnosis-album-cover-art/bad-company-desolation-angel–1979/24

Cover Location: Old garage near Death Valley Junction with Christel Johansson(Miss World runner-up) and Peter Christopherson looking at the engine.
Who Did What: Photography: A. Powell. Other  uncredited  photography: Peter Christopherson. Model: Christel Johansson,
Label: Swan Song SS8506(US), Swan Song SS59408(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell

Tracklist

Credits
Engineer [Recording] – Tony Patrick
Producer – Bad Company
Written-By – Burrell (tracks: A3, B4), Ralphs (tracks: B1 to B3), Rodgers (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A5, B5), Kirke (tracks: B4)