Vocalist
Paul Rodgers -- who had a strong track record with supergroups like
Bad Company and
the Firm -- and
Who drummer
Kenney Jones formed a duo named
the Law and released one album on Atlantic in 1991. In case any listener didn't recognize the stature of
Rodgers and
Jones, the liner notes trace their pedigrees.
The Law was backed by powerful industry figures like Atlantic chief
Ahmet Ertegun (listed as a co-producer),
ZZ Top manager
Bill Ham, and producer
Chris Kimsey.
Rodgers and
Jones utilized 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. Without question, the best song is
Rodgers' lethal "Laying Down the Law," a smoldering, meaty slab of bluesy rock crackling with his amazing voice. While this song 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. ~ Bret Adams