Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A strong melodic hard rock release, October 20, 2005
Bad English's self-titled debut was released in 1989. The band combined the forces of Journey members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain with ex-Babys lead vocalist John Waite, who was best known for his 1984 hit, "Missing You." Spawning three hit singles as well as several tracks that made the rounds on album-oriented rock radio, the album was a big hit at a time when hard rock and especially power ballads were in vogue. However, like many "supergroups", such as Asia and Damn Yankees, they peaked with their debut album and their subsequent album would lead to their inevitable breakup.
Bad English has a very big production reminiscent of the era and the material presented is strong throughout. The #1 hit "When I See You Smile", with its instantly recognizable keyboard line, is one of the best power ballads of the era, and also one of many written by songwriter extraordinare Diane Warren. The power ballads "Price of Love" and "Possession" were also big hits and are nearly as memorable as "When I You See Smile." The lesser known AOR hits include the solid melodic hard rockers "Forget Me Not", "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word", and "Best of What I Got." The remaining songs, while not nearly as memorable, are still very good, whether it's the hard rock of "Lay Down" and "Rockin' Horse", the pop-rock of "Tough Times Don't Last" and "The Restless Ones", or the closing ballad "Don't Walk Away." After this album, the band's next album Backlash was met with just that as their sound was falling out of favor to the grunge movement and gangsta rap. However, the band really put it together here and fans of good melodic hard rock will enjoy this.
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
FORGET ME NOT, March 20, 2002
Bad English is a good blend of what was the Babys and Journey after both bands went their separate ways. The main part of the line-up was John Waite[vocals], Neal Schon[guitars], and Jonathon Caine[keyboards/guitars/vocals]. This is more of a Pop band than hard rock, but they have an edge many of the so-called Pop groups lack. Although, releasing only 2 discs, the band shows tremendous flexibility in performance and writing.The music often reminds me of the Babys, but that's easy enough with Waite's strong vocals, but the difference is Schon's guitar work. Schon is much better than Wally Stocker[Babys], and has a much different style in his rhythms and solos. This release features three songs that received substantial airplay["Best of What I Got", "Forget Me Not", and "When I See You Smile"]. They are all very good songs that should have refelected better sales. Other songs that are quite good are "Heaven Is A 4 Letter Word", "Tough Times Don't Last", "Price of Love", and "Don't Walk Away". The entire release is easy to listen to and sounds as good to me a decade after it's release. The best thing now is you won't have to spend as much to get it... If you like the Babys, John Waite, or, Neal Schon this release is avery affordable addition to any collection. Of theire two discs this one has the most memorable songs, but that is due mostly to airplay, since their second release was virtually ignored. Try this; you'll like it!
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic melodies; great album!, January 21, 2002
What happens when your talented lead singer decides to break up your legendary band, leaving you out in the cold? Ask that question to Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain of Journey in regards to Steve Perry, and their answer will be to find another "melodic singer" and form a new group. That is exactly what led to the formation of Bad English. I like but don't love John Waite as a singer, but his performance on this album is nothing short of fantastic. Combined with the Journey boys and a couple of other fine musicians, here you have one classic melodic rock album.This band of course is best remembered for the #1 hit ballad "When I See You Smile" and to a lesser extent the top 10 "Price Of Love", also a ballad. For sure, the ballads such as these shine on this album. However, this band had 4 other songs from this album receive radio airplay in one format or another, including the leadoff single "Forget Me Not"--a great rocker that was (I believe) a top 50 hit. The first two tracks on the album--"Best Of What I Got" and "Heaven Is A 4 Letter Word" are fantastic rockers that both got some rock radio airplay, and the third track "Possession" is another nice ballad that hit the top 40. Other standout tracks are later songs on the album such as the rockers "Ready When You Are", "Lay Down" and "Rocking Horse" as well as slower tracks "The Restless Ones" (a truly gorgeous anthemic song) and the sweet closing track on the album "Don't Walk Away". I truly thought that this album was just the beginning of huge things for this outfit, but alas, after one more release that went barely noticed, this band was no more. Much like Steve Perry, John Waite wanted to get away from doing so-called "arena rock" and do his own (comparatively lame) thing. Nonetheless, with Neal Schon doing an album with the outfit Hardline and now being back in a post-Steve Perry Journey lineup that sounds as good as ever, the proof is there that the band and songwriting are every bit as important as the lead singer. Bad English is a fine example of that. This is a great album that should not be overlooked by '80s melodic rock fans.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
by Bad English 
