Their hits include “Shooting Star,” “Bad Company,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy,” "Ready for Love," and “Can’t Get Enough,” most of which are off of the albums Straight Shooter and Bad Company.
In the mid 80`s Rodgers & Burrell left the band. New singer Brian Howe, who had worked with Ted Nugent earlier, made 4 albums with the band. Year 1990`s LP Holy water contained big hit "If you needed somebody". Their style was then more like melodic rock.
In mid 1990`s Howe left the band and solo artist Robert Hart replaced him. Also other guitarist Dave Colwell & basist Rick Wills joined to group. In 2000`s Paul Rodgers came back to make the new album with old band members Kirke, Ralphs & other guys. They got a hit with the song "Joe Fabulous" what was number 1 on Classic Rock Radio. After that recording all original members left the band and new line-up members came to band. Robert Hart became again the band´s singer.
Holy Water
Bad Company Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But nothing seems to satisfy me the way you do, no
You make it easy, the way you please me
Every time I'm close to you
All this temptation
I can't see wrong from right
It's a new sensation
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Feels like I'm walking on sacred ground, baby
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Every time you come 'round
You were all I ever wanted
Never had a girl in my life 'til I met you, oh no, no
I got a certain feeling and you got my senses reeling
Whenever I get close to you
Yeah, you're my salvation
I found you just in time
Ah, my one temptation
You know I can't believe you're mine
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Feels like I'm walking on sacred ground, baby
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Every time that you come 'round
Ooh, it's funny how it sees like yesterday
Ooh, lovin' of the first degree
One word was all I heard you say, ooh baby
It's funny what you've done to me
Just wanna see you run to me
Yeah, all this temptation
I can't see wrong from right
It's a new sensation,
You know I'm blinded by the light
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Feels like I'm walking on sacred ground, baby
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Every time that you come 'round, yeah, yeah
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Feels like I'm walking on sacred ground, baby
The lyrics of the Bad Company song "Holy Water" describe the overwhelming feeling of being in love with someone who makes everything in life seem worthwhile. The singer admits that his life has gone through changes but nothing has ever satisfied him the way the person he loves does. The love he feels is almost sacred, he sees her as his salvation, his holy water, and the light that blinds him. He refers to her as his temptation, which implies that she is the one thing he desires the most, and her mere presence makes him feel like he is walking on holy ground.
The chorus highlights the euphoric feeling that being with the one you love can bring, and he repeats the phrase "feels like I'm walking on holy water" to draw attention to the transcendental aspect of his love. The next verse emphasizes the transformative power of love, as the singer recalls that he never had a girl in his life until he met her. He expresses how much he desires her and how she has made a huge impact on his life, making him feel sensations he's never experienced before.
In conclusion, "Holy Water" is a song that expresses the feeling of how amazing love can be, how it can light up your world and make everything seem worthwhile, and the impact a lover can have on a person's life. The song's poetic nature, combined with the band's raw rock sound, adds depth to the emotions conveyed.
Line by Line Meaning
In my life, there's been changes
Throughout my life, I've experienced change.
But nothing seems to satisfy me the way you do, no
Out of everything that has happened in my life, you're the only thing that brings me true happiness.
You make it easy, the way you please me
I love how effortless it is for you to make me feel good when we're together.
Every time I'm close to you
Whenever I'm near you, I feel a powerful connection.
All this temptation
There are many things that tempt me in life.
I can't see wrong from right
Sometimes, I get lost and can't tell what's the right thing to do.
It's a new sensation
Being with you is unlike anything I've ever felt before.
You know I'm blinded by the light
My love for you is so intense that it's hard to see anything else.
(Feels like) I'm walking on holy water
Being with you feels like I'm walking on something sacred and good.
Feels like I'm walking on sacred ground, baby
Being with you feels like I'm in a holy and special place.
You were all I ever wanted
You are everything I've ever dreamt of having in a partner.
Never had a girl in my life 'til I met you, oh no, no
I've never had a serious girlfriend before I met you.
I got a certain feeling and you got my senses reeling
You make me feel incredible and fill me with emotions I've never felt before.
Whenever I get close to you
Being near you always sends a thrill through me.
Yeah, you're my salvation
You are the one who saves me from my troubles in life.
I found you just in time
Meeting you came at the perfect moment in my life.
Ah, my one temptation
You are the one thing in life that constantly tempts me.
You know I can't believe you're mine
Sometimes, it's hard to believe that someone like you is with me.
Ooh, it's funny how it sees like yesterday
It feels like just yesterday I met you, even though it's been a while.
Ooh, lovin' of the first degree
Our love is so intense and passionate.
One word was all I heard you say, ooh baby
When we first met, all you needed to say was one word to capture my heart.
It's funny what you've done to me
You've completely changed my life, and it's amazing.
Just wanna see you run to me
I can't wait to be with you and hold you close.
Every time that you come 'round
Whenever you're near me, I feel alive and happy.
Yeah, yeah
I'm so excited and grateful to be with you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Brian Howe, Terry Thomas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RoxyWrites
Totally true, but let's compare voice style and range facts, to see why that is:
1. Paul Rodgers has a 3-octave, Mid-Baritone voice (this is the most common male vocal type in Rock music. Arguably smooth and consistent, but by no means technically unique or extraordinary, and without real range). Example: Axl Rose also has a bass-to-baritone type but he has a 6-octave range (almost unheard of in Rock, more common in Opera). Paul Rodgers was physically unable to sing any of Brian Howe's songs written during Howe's era with Bad Co. even though longtime Bad Co. fans ask to hear Howe-Era songs, but what about the reverse?? . . .
2. In contrast, Brian Howe (d. May 6 2020) had a 5-octave Tenor (male version of Sopranino) voice - this is referred to in Rock music as the UNICORN of Male vocal types. It's fairly rare, particularly the 5-octave range combined with the Tenor quality, and Brian had a whisky rasp to boot. (for example, other "Unicorn" singers with a 5-octave range: Freddie Mercury of Queen fame and Lou Gramm of Foreigner fame) - not very many of those.
What does all that mean?
Brian Howe could sing ALL of Rodgers 70s songs in the 80s and 90s when Howe fronted Bad Company - and he did so on every single tour.
Brian also wrote circles around most musicians, and during his almost decade tenure with Bad Co he wrote several songs that charted HIGHER on both the AOR and on the Singles charts-in multiple countries-than anything Paul Rodgers-or any other band members-had written before Brian Howe's era - or has written since! NOTE: (AOR=album-oriented rock format chart. It's no longer used but was very popular during both Rodgers and Howe's tenure)
Not a single Bad Co. song has ever charted higher in 5 decades than the highest-charting Brian Howe songs (2) written by him and sung by him while he was Lead for Bad Co. (NOTE: Those two songs are Holy Water and How About That?) ...How bout that? LOL.
Howe also gained Bad Co. a Platinum album (Holy Water) and 2 Gold Albums, faster than any other Platinum and Gold albums Bad Co. had garnered before - or since. The only Platinum albums Rodgers produced while with Bad Co. took much longer to earn that Platinum status than Howe's album - so much longer as to be a tad embarrassing *in comparison*.
The Bottom Line is there is NO comparison.
Why do I care about these details? Some stuff went down after Rodgers returned to the sometime-playing nostalgia band in 2000 where he and drummer Simon Kirke dragged Howe through the mud, claiming things that turned out to be untrue. I wrote an article about it for Rock n'Heavy magazine and I'm writing a book about it that is due out in late 2021. Howe was one of my favorite singers and no one is going to drag him through the mud without consequence, least of all a singer who couldn't match his abilities, who never worked with Howe, but is making false claims about the man who arguably saved Bad Co. from complete oblivion after they couldn't book arenas or sell many albums (even before Rogers left in 1983!) - Rodgers wouldn't have had a 'nostalgia' band to go back to after leaving them in the dust almost 20 years before if it weren't for Brian Howe (& producer Terry Thomas) with whom Howe wrote most of his songs.
EDIT:
https://rocknheavy.net/walking-on-holy-water-7cb78e212e31
@RoxyWrites
@Bob Anders Bob, Terry Thomas lives in the UK. When this album was made in 1990 this represented Brian's 3rd album collaboration with Terry. (Dangerous Age, Holy Water and Here Comes Trouble).
Terry also produced the 1997 Brian Howe solo album Tangled In Blue. Terry was a producer, though, not a band member.
As an ent. journalist (former news reporter, former film critic) I can tell you that producers are mostly studio involved and rarely tour with a band. I believe Terry has been living in the UK since the 90s if not before. AFAIK he's still in his own band, Charlie and is still touring, tho probably not during this past 2 years. They started collaborating after Atco (Atlantic records division Bad Company was under from 1985 until Brian left) fired the previous producer after the first album Brian did with Simon Kirke and Mick Ralphs was not received as well as they'd hoped and they and Brian felt the sound was too piano based that they needed to return to guitar structure, which they did on the next album which Terry Thomas was hired to work on.
Brian would write the songs and Terry would add riffs and fine tune them and help him flesh them out.
I wrote an article about Brian last year... I'm a staff writer at rocknheavy net magazine. I have a book about Brian coming out this year. The article is about what was happening BTS that the fans did not know and so is the book. In any case, since Brian passed away in 2020 even if Terrry had gone out on the road with him, which I have never seen any indication of in my research or interviews over the last 2 years, but he would have gone back to the UK after Brian's death in May of 2020 if he had been spending time with Brian Howe Band (which was not the same as Bad Company). Terry did not want to work with Bad Company without Brian there, and most of us didn't want to listen to Bad C anymore without Brian either. What Kirke and Rodgers did by maligning Howe in the press years after his departure in 1994, was uncalled for and unprofessional. That's part of what I've written about. cheers-
@peteartussee1202
I am so blessed to have grown up in the generation i did. The 70s,80s, and 90s will always have the best music.
@Douglas-ry5sm
Playing a song for uou
@JM-xo6tf
Yes we Do Rock 63
@sherryfox91
So true a time all by it's self
@davewareham2475
So many people saying he can't touch Paul Rogers. You're right. You know something else? Rogers can't touch Howe, either. Totally different styles, voices, but both are epic.
@javtimestwo
i can enjoy both and will continue to enjoy both.
Howe's vocals remind me of Don Henley and Bryan Adams, which is a HUGE compliment
@dampergoldenrod4156
@Javy C don henley is unlistenable
@garyhipps9727
You got that right!
@RoxyWrites
Totally true, but let's compare voice style and range facts, to see why that is:
1. Paul Rodgers has a 3-octave, Mid-Baritone voice (this is the most common male vocal type in Rock music. Arguably smooth and consistent, but by no means technically unique or extraordinary, and without real range). Example: Axl Rose also has a bass-to-baritone type but he has a 6-octave range (almost unheard of in Rock, more common in Opera). Paul Rodgers was physically unable to sing any of Brian Howe's songs written during Howe's era with Bad Co. even though longtime Bad Co. fans ask to hear Howe-Era songs, but what about the reverse?? . . .
2. In contrast, Brian Howe (d. May 6 2020) had a 5-octave Tenor (male version of Sopranino) voice - this is referred to in Rock music as the UNICORN of Male vocal types. It's fairly rare, particularly the 5-octave range combined with the Tenor quality, and Brian had a whisky rasp to boot. (for example, other "Unicorn" singers with a 5-octave range: Freddie Mercury of Queen fame and Lou Gramm of Foreigner fame) - not very many of those.
What does all that mean?
Brian Howe could sing ALL of Rodgers 70s songs in the 80s and 90s when Howe fronted Bad Company - and he did so on every single tour.
Brian also wrote circles around most musicians, and during his almost decade tenure with Bad Co he wrote several songs that charted HIGHER on both the AOR and on the Singles charts-in multiple countries-than anything Paul Rodgers-or any other band members-had written before Brian Howe's era - or has written since! NOTE: (AOR=album-oriented rock format chart. It's no longer used but was very popular during both Rodgers and Howe's tenure)
Not a single Bad Co. song has ever charted higher in 5 decades than the highest-charting Brian Howe songs (2) written by him and sung by him while he was Lead for Bad Co. (NOTE: Those two songs are Holy Water and How About That?) ...How bout that? LOL.
Howe also gained Bad Co. a Platinum album (Holy Water) and 2 Gold Albums, faster than any other Platinum and Gold albums Bad Co. had garnered before - or since. The only Platinum albums Rodgers produced while with Bad Co. took much longer to earn that Platinum status than Howe's album - so much longer as to be a tad embarrassing *in comparison*.
The Bottom Line is there is NO comparison.
Why do I care about these details? Some stuff went down after Rodgers returned to the sometime-playing nostalgia band in 2000 where he and drummer Simon Kirke dragged Howe through the mud, claiming things that turned out to be untrue. I wrote an article about it for Rock n'Heavy magazine and I'm writing a book about it that is due out in late 2021. Howe was one of my favorite singers and no one is going to drag him through the mud without consequence, least of all a singer who couldn't match his abilities, who never worked with Howe, but is making false claims about the man who arguably saved Bad Co. from complete oblivion after they couldn't book arenas or sell many albums (even before Rogers left in 1983!) - Rodgers wouldn't have had a 'nostalgia' band to go back to after leaving them in the dust almost 20 years before if it weren't for Brian Howe (& producer Terry Thomas) with whom Howe wrote most of his songs.
EDIT:
https://rocknheavy.net/walking-on-holy-water-7cb78e212e31
@jospehmoore6625
Howe’s vocal range is insane. I don’t see how anyone could compare his voice it’s so unique. There is a little Brian Adams there but his range is unbelievable. He hits high and lower ranges and his voice is super clean but also hitting raspier sounds as well. This guys vocal ability was fully loaded and was great addition to bad Company