The Law

Formed briefly as an unrealized AOR supergroup, The Law revolved around vocalist Paul Rodgers of Free, Bad Company, and the Firm together with drummer Kenney Jones from the Small Faces, the Faces, and latter-day Who. Rodgers and Jones joined forces intending to draw on a rotating cast of supporting players so the singer could explore any direction that appealed. They gathered a central lineup of session players featuring guitarist John Staehely and bassist Pino Palladino while securing guest appearances from guitarists including David Gilmour, Bryan Adams, and Chris Rea. Eager to step away from his usual role as chief songwriter, Rodgers turned instead to outside material supplied by figures such as Adams, Rea, Def Leppard's Phil Collen, and Benny Mardones. The ensemble never fully coalesced, and its lone release, the self-titled album issued in 1991, failed to attract much attention. Curiously, the record's only notable success, the rock-radio chart-topper "Laying Down the Law," came from Rodgers himself, while the set also introduced the first recorded version of Collen's "Miss You in a Heartbeat," which later became a hit for Def Leppard. Disappointed by the overall outcome, Rodgers and Jones disbanded the project.