We had a great sit down with Mick Ralphs, we talk Mott the Hoople the Bad Company new remastered albums, song writing, touring and borrowing guitars....!
Mick is such a great guitarist. I'll take his killer tone, feeling, phrasing, songwriting skill and great choice of notes over any "shredder" wanker any day. It's not about how fast you play or how many notes you play -- it's about what you SAY with the notes you play. Mick gets it.
It takes me about 10-15 seconds to know if a player has "feel". That's more important than all the shredding in the world. Mick has always had the feel and the tone of a true Master.
When I was a little kid BadCo was on the band that caught me in a sec because of the guitar sound of Mick Ralphs. 50 years later I bought my first Les Paul because of him and the sound I wanted to play. So sad to hear that the stroke kicked him so hard. Great respect for this gentlemen
Mick understood the beauty and power of how to play in the pocket and to accent the song without overplaying. Add to that, an amazing bad ass tone OMG - Mick is a Rock God and Legend!
Exactly the guy knows how to groove and knows his stuff. I always felt his tone is second to none....just like Leslie West, Billy Gibbons, Gilmour and Michael Schenker.
Absolutely. His tone and choice of notes was fantastic. His solo on "All The Way From Memphis" should be on every guitar magazine's top ten best rock solos list but it's not. He's so underrated it's a crime.
He sounded great. One thing odd to me is how he would switch back and forth between various Fender and Gibson brands. The two makes have an entirely different feel to them. My first electric was a Tele, so switching to a Les Paul felt like I was fretting a broom handle. Stay with the Gibson long enough, and the Telecaster felt like playing a 2x4. Or, I'm just sensitive to neck radius and spacing; some players don't have the adverse "feel" issue.
@@mnpd3 in Bad Companys early days Mick was predominantly Fender. Stratocasters with the tremolo bridges blocked and a Telecaster he modified with a humbucker pickup, and his Les Paul Jr. Then he got his '58 Sunburst in '74 and the rest is history. Paul Rodgers also owned one of Paul Kossoffs '59 Sunbursts, and Mick used that on some of Bad Companys later albums.
Mick right now is in therapy from a stroke last week, he always stays in touch with the band and their wherabouts.. he mentioned, and said the therapy was tough. I am thinking about him and wishing him a smooth recovery! A very long ago from the beginning fan...
He has been one of my favorite writers and musicians since Rock And Roll Queen, I totally understood when left Mott even though that made me sad. I hope he recovers quickly from his illness.
Godspeed and hoping for your best health, Mr. Ralphs. Your music convinced me to play the guitar for real in the mid 1970's. Thank you for what you do!
Love, love, love Mick Ralphs! Thunderbuck Ram is one of my favorite songs ever. He really knew how to build drama. I was thrilled to be able see him at the Mott 40 year reunion at the Hammersmith. Be well Mick. You're a treasure.
Mick was always so cute...still is. Really liked his long hair in the 70's..& what a legendary guitarist. Hope ur health issues hav much improved now. U R respected & loved, Mick 🙂🙂☮☮✌✌💕💕
I couldn't agree more with everyone who has posted regarding Mick Ralphs, particularly on his ability to do more with less. A very down to earth guy, as shown in his dismissal of the need for famous and successful guitarists to amass huge guitar collections just because they can. Unforgettable Mott records and Bad Co. gigs. A top, top bloke.
What a legend! Love the way he talks about how Bad Co became a band. He & Paul Rodgers formed an incredible partnership that reinvented the blues/rock sound. Such a likeable person, wishing him all the very best in his recovery. Thank you Mick for all the music!!!!! Bad Co, and individually he & Paul should have been in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a very long time ago!!!!
What makes Bad Co & Free two of the greatest bands and arguably most underrated of the "Greatest" rock bands of all time is the commonality of pure musicianship of all the players. The voice of both bands is THE greatest rock voice of all time. The bass playing of Boz was solid and Andy Fraser was solid as well. The songwriting of Fraser/Rogers and Ralphs/Rogers is outstanding. Andy Fraser's bass is one the most unique sounds in rock history. The 2 guitarists of these great bands were so good at their craft. They never overplayed or tried to be something/someone other than their own, suttle, unique style. Ralphs and Kossoff are what drove each band because of their unique tone and overall sound. Add in a phenomenal power drummer that was always on time and never overplayed in Simon Kirke, and of course the Voice...Free and Bad Company are truly two of THE greatest rock bands of all time!
Affable fellow, fine songwriter, arranger and perfect compliment to Paul Rodgers style. Saw him first in 77 and last in Calvert County MD in 2013. Always solid. I wish him well in his recent health struggles. Shame on the Hall of Fame for not recognizing his talents.
With his skill and gravitas, he could be an arrogant person. Yet, he is a humble and personable artist of his craft. You might say"He's keepin together." Always been a big fan of the first supergroup of rock.
Bob Green - You’re right of course. One quibble might be who came first: Crosby, Stills and Nash or BF, but their debut records were both in 1969. Bad Co certainly wasn’t the first, as you point out.
Wonderful player and a truly remarkable band. All master craftsmen and I never tire of listening to them to this day . Zeppelin really did well nailing down their signing to their label back in the day.
Mick Ralphs like Mick Jones of Foreigner should be more well known for their guitar playing and influence on Rock music, Ralphs should be doing more Q&A's, his tone (or brown sound as Eddie Van Halen would say) is amazing on all his Albums, both chords and his lead solo's are very tasty and in fact as Bad Co went on Album to Album his lead guitar playing just got better and better even more complex which he somehow makes it sound simple, hope your doing great now Mick
Both had the significant misfortune (lol) of becoming commercially successful in pop/rock. So, in the eyes of the rock music snob, perhaps they're both viewed as "selling out" - just not to the same degree as, say, Neal Schon. :o) One must apologize for becoming a millionaire via music.
That was a good interview. Love Mick Ralphs' story of Brian Johnson's Everly Brothers guitar. When I was a young teenager back in the late '60s, it was an Everly Brothers guitar I wanted more than any other. At the time I was not that familiar with the Everly Brothers but I loved the look of that guitar.
Just want to agree that the solo on "All the Way from Memphis" is classic, the way he sqeezes that one sustained note into the chorus is sublime!Also loved his only lead vocal with Mott that I know of on "I'm a Cadillac", great track.You can hear the evolution of "Ready for Love" on the various Mott live issues (as well as the jam that Frampton "borrowed" for his "Do You Feel" breakdown. Good to hear Leslie West RIP get some credit).
Simply thinking about that fertile and creative time period. Late 60's and through the 70's ... damn, what an incredible time, ... likely peaking about '79* (not Mick or Bad Co., but just in general). *check out the phenomenal music releases across all genres that were put out centered on '79, so '78, '79, and '80. I'm not sure there's a stronger 3 year span in music greater than that '79 peak. Check it out, you'll see.
Mick Ralphs... Overend Watts... Ready for love tract's string work is timeless....but that was with Mott of course, its good to see him alive and doing well, he says hes a nut (guitar nut) which is probably true on account of the way, or i should say the WHAT hes able to accomplish with a guitar, seems like a good ole boy to me, glad to see him doin well.
Great Player with the right notes and saw Bad Company and had the First Mott the Hoople album. Glad he left Mott and found three mates that also hit the note hard.
Wish I still had my late 50's Tele. I got drafted into the Army and while at home it got stolen with the help of my younger brother. Today, it's interesting to note that in those days we didn't date guitars by year. "It's brand new" or "a few years old" was as close as we came. At least I don't remember anyone talking "years" with guitars and I was around a lot of people who played guitars. And on electrics we always used flat-wound strings, so worn-out frets was virtually unheard of. Long time ago.
ronnoten He was always a handsome man in my eyes and a top guitar player ! I think he's a underrated guitar player ! He seems to been over weight now so i bet that caused the stroke . I wish him a speedy recovery .
Mick, absolute Rock God ... however the layperson wouldn't know him by sight or by name. But upon hearing his body of work every single one of them certainly would. fwiw; Mick w/Bad Co. performance on the Tonight Show (Jay Leno), is powerful stuff. They essentially setup nearly their entire backline, w/Paul's concert grand piano, and blew the room away! I wouldn't have seen it, but a formal colleague of mine (also a FOH engineer) turned me onto it and sharing how powerful, solid, and tight the band was. Evidently, they'd been rehearsing and we're heading out on a tour leg. Paul Rogers, Rock's ultimate, versatile, front man! Here's the Tonight Show performance; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AX6GY_SpsVY.html
Mark Bowles Mick had a stork November 2016 and the last update I got was two weeks ago. He is still paralyzed on one side. He's in some type of living facility I believe and working hard on his physical therapy. I have also heard he knows all his fans wish him well and he's bored
Does that mean he played an entire set in open C tuning, or did he switch guitars? I can’t imagine that he retuned the guitar from open C to normal tuning on stage.
A Legend - Love his Guitar Work on Mott The Hoople and Bad Company Albums !!! Great he uses "new" Gibson Guitars now - their good too ! I prefer the New Guitars too - I have a better feel with them……..!!!
Hymn for the dudes, shooting star, ballad of mott, moving on, to name but a few, thanks for the music, and giving me some of your energy and drive mick, no you'll be back pal it's what you do.🎸
