Category: The Law

The Law – The Law [Deluxe Edition] (1991)

posted by albums-update

The Law were an English rock group formed in 1991 by singer Paul Rodgers (ex-Free, Bad Company and The Firm) and drummer Kenney Jones (ex-Small Faces/Faces and The Who). They intended to use different supporting musicians, to allow Rodgers to pursue whatever style he wished. They assembled a core band of studio musicians, consisting of Jim Barber (whose credits include The Rolling Stones, Ruby Turner and Mick Jagger‘s solo album Primitive Cool) as the main guitarist, second guitarist John Staehely (ex-Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne) and bassist Pino Palladino (formerly of Paul Young‘s and Jools Holland‘s bands), with guest spots by guitarists such as David Gilmour, Bryan Adams and Chris Rea.

The band produced the Billboard #1 AOR Chart hit “Laying Down the Law”, written by Rodgers, but the group’s only album peaked at a disappointing #126 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart. An album of outtakes from the first album has been released as a bootleg, often referred to as The Law II.

The Law – joined by John Young on keyboards – played just one show: at Milton Keynes Bowl, supporting ZZ Top and Bryan Adams. “That was completely barmy,” reflected Rodgers. “Kenney and I… couldn’t wait to get on the road, but it never happened. I sat waiting for the phone to ring. We even had to twist arms just to get that show – much to the chagrin of some of the other bands that day.”

The Law is the first and only album from the rock supergroup The Law.

The Law was a hollow, ill-conceived attempt at commercial success, backed by powerful industry figures like Atlantic chief Ahmet Ertegun (listed as a co-producer), ZZ Top manager Bill Ham, and producer Chris Kimsey. But a duo with a singer and drummer? Rodgers and Jones had to utilize session musicians and a few ringers like Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour, Chris Rea, and Bryan Adams. Hired guns, including Rea, Adams, Benny Mardones, and Def Leppard‘s Phil Collen, contributed seven of the 11 songs while Rodgers penned the other three. Considering the gritty, soulful past work of Rodgers and Jones, the slickness of The Law is a shock. Without question, the best song is Rodgers‘ lethal “Laying Down the Law,” a smoldering, meaty slab of bluesy rock crackling with his amazing voice. This is the only song that comes close to matching the fire and intensity of Free and Bad Company.

A few other songs, like the atmospheric “Stone,” featuring both Rea and Gilmour and the boisterous “For a Little Ride,” radiate a bit of sparkle. As performed by the Law, Collen‘s “Miss You in a Heartbeat” is bland, but Def Leppard had a big hit with it a few years later. It should be no surprise that the artistic and commercial failure of The Law rendered the “band” a one-off project. It could have worked had it formed and evolved naturally

Track listing

  1. “For a Little Ride” (Mark Mangold, Benny Mardones) – 3:54
  2. “Miss You in a Heartbeat” (Phil Collen) – 4:32
  3. “Stone Cold” (Tamara Champlin) – 4:13
  4. “Come Save Me (Julianne)” (Charlie Black, Cliff Downs, Austin Roberts) – 4:01
  5. “Laying Down the Law” (Rodgers) – 4:22
  6. “Nature of the Beast” (Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance) – 3:53
  7. “Stone” (Chris Rea) – 5:12
  8. “Anything for You” (Steve Diamond, Eric McCusker) – 3:57
  9. “Best of My Love” (Jerry Lynn Williams) – 4:36
  10. “Tough Love” (Rodgers) – 3:41
  11. “Missing You Bad Girl (Rodgers) – 4:42
  12. “That’s When You Fall in Love” (Rodgers) – 3:47 (Bonus track on 2008 re-release)

The Law

Additional Musicians

Production

  • Produced By Chris Kimsey, Ahmet Ertegün, Howard Albert, Ron Albert, Kenney Jones, Shane Keister & Paul Rodgers
  • Engineers: Christopher Marc Potter, Alex Sadkin
  • Mixing: Ahmet Ertegün, Shane Keister, Christopher Marc Potter
  • Mastering: Bob Ludwig
  • Re-Mastering: Jimmy Starr

Notes
Released: 19 March 1991, 2002 (Re-Released)
Recording Location: Olympic Studios, London, England Parsifal Westside
Genre: Rock
Length: 50:50 (2008 version)

Label – Atlantic Records