The most underrated guitarist in classic rock, according to Paul Rodgers
If you want somebody well-versed in the art of rock guitar, you don’t need to look any further than Paul Rodgers.
Sure, he may not be a guitar player himself (or at least he’s not particularly known for as much), but he’s played with enough of the greats that he’ll have an idea as to what’s good and what’s bad. Reading the names of those he’s shared a stage with sounds like a who’s who of “greatest guitarists of all time”, pub debates. It’s mighty impressive.
For instance, in The Firm, he played with Jimmy Page, the man behind the unrelenting force that is Led Zeppelin and the genius who could make merging genres look easy. Then, he played with Brian May during his stint in Queen, one of the most innovative guitarists on the planet, who packs emotion into every single note. Top all of that with the likes of Steve Vai, Slash and Neal Schon, and you have a man well-versed in the six-string regardless of how well he can actually play it.
While Rodgers recognises the quality of so many of these great guitarists, there is one he has previously worked with that he feels doesn’t get the recognition he deserves – Mick Ralphs, his six-string compadre in the makeshift band Bad Company. The two came together through fate, as when Rodgers was playing in Free and Ralphs was in Mott the Hoople, they were on the same label and would often bump into each other.
The two really became friends when they went on tour together. Rodgers was in his next band, Peace, and Mott the Hoople were going from strength to strength. Both outfits found themselves on the road together, and the proximity led to Rodgers and Ralphs becoming even better friends. Two musicians can only hang out with each other so much before they start writing together, and that’s exactly what happened with this serendipitous duo.
“We started writing songs together, and songs being the lifeblood of any band, the songwriting turned into a band, Bad Company,” recalled Rodgers. “He had ‘Can’t Get Enough’, Mott’s Ian Hunter did not feel it suited the band’s style, so when Mick played it for me I told Mick that the song was a hit and that I would love to sing it – and we were off to the races on our first album.”
The song was an instant hit, climbing to number five on the Billboard Hot 100, because the combination of Rodgers and Ralphs working together was a match made in heaven, and the public could hear it. The band went on to write a lot more music and become a moderate success; however, despite the highs, Rodgers doesn’t think Ralphs gets enough credit as a guitarist when compared to the other people he played with.
Ralphs was never considered a bad guitarist, but there were a lot of people who felt like he was “nuts and bolts,” essentially meaning that he was good at keeping things together but not much more than that. Ralphs always thought this assessment was harsh, highlighting how multi-dimensional he was in his approach to song structure. The vocalist adored the way his Bad Company guitarist managed to make every song his own and feels he doesn’t get enough credit for what he did in the industry.
“Take ‘Rock Steady’ or ‘Burnin’ Sky’ or ‘Silver, Blue and Gold’, and of course the unstoppable ‘Can’t Get Enough’ or ‘Movin’ On’. If you picture each song or track and focus on the guitar, not just the part he chose to play but the actual sound, each song is a one-off – never been done before or since,” said Rodgers, concluding, “Although there have been lots of copycat attempts – which is the highest praise, I’m told.”
