Bad English (album)
Bad English is the debut studio album by American glam metal supergroup Bad English. It was released in on June 26, 1989.
| Bad English | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 26, 1989[1] | |||
| Recorded | One on One Recording Studios, A&M Studios, Conway Studios, Secret Sound L.A. and Pacific Sound, 1988-1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:10 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Richie Zito | |||
| Bad English chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bad English | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Rock Hard | 8.5/10[5] |
| LouderSound | |
The album was a massive success, especially because of the No. 1 single "When I See You Smile".[7] That single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America while the album was certified platinum.[2] Aside from that song, the album had two other top 40 hits, "Price of Love" and "Possession", which peaked at No. 5 and No. 21, respectively.[8]
Critical reception
The album received generally positive reviews. AllMusic reviewer Dan Heilman gave the album four stars, saying, "[a]mid some tailor-made power ballads lurks some decent hard rock".[4] Rock Hard gave the album an extremely positive review, and called it "[b]est AOR album of the past six months".[5] LouderSound writer Dave Everley gave the album four stars, explaining the rating with "Bad English marked the end of an era, but what a last hurrah it was".[6]
Despite the positive reception to the album, in 2016 "When I See You Smile" was ranked by Louder Sound magazine as the 10th worst power ballad ever written.[9]
In popular culture
"Best of What I Got" is featured during the credits to the 1989 film Tango & Cash.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Best of What I Got" | John Waite, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word" | Schon, Cain, Waite, Mark Spiro | 4:45 |
| 3. | "Possession" | Waite, Cain, Ricky Phillips | 5:08 |
| 4. | "Forget Me Not" | Waite, Cain, Spiro | 4:58 |
| 5. | "When I See You Smile" | Diane Warren | 4:17 |
| 6. | "Tough Times Don't Last" | Cain, David Roberts, Waite | 4:42 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ghost in Your Heart" | Waite, Martin Page, Cain | 4:46 |
| 2. | "Price of Love" | Waite, Cain | 4:47 |
| 3. | "Ready When You Are" | Cain, Waite, Schon, Todd Cerney | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Lay Down" | Waite, Schon, Cain | 4:38 |
| 5. | "The Restless Ones" | Waite, Cain, Phillips | 5:23 |
| 6. | "Rockin' Horse" | Schon, Waite, Cain | 5:31 |
| 7. | "Don't Walk Away" | Andy Hill, Peter Sinfield | 4:30 |
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Billboard 200[10] | 21 |
| UK Albums[11] | 74 | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Forget Me Not" | 45 | 2 | - | - |
| 1989-1990 | "When I See You Smile" | 1 | 10 | 11 | 61 |
| 1990 | "Price of Love" | 5 | 30 | 38 | 80 |
| 1990 | "Best of What I Got" | * | 9 | * | * |
| 1990 | "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word" | 66 | 12 | - | - |
| 1990 | "Possession" | 21 | - | 42 | - |
(* "Best of What I Got" was released only to U.S. rock radio)
Certifications
| Country | Organization | Year | Sales |
| USA | Recording Industry Association of America[2] | 1990 | Platinum |
| Total available sales: | (+ 1,000,000) | ||
Personnel
- Band members
- John Waite - lead vocals
- Neal Schon - lead & acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- Jonathan Cain - keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Ricky Phillips - bass, backing vocals
- Deen Castronovo - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Production
- Richie Zito - producer
- Phil Kaffel - engineer, mixing
- Mike Fraser - mixing
- George Marino - mastering
References
- Giles, Jeff (26 June 2015). "How Journey and Babys Alumni Rose and Fell in Bad English". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- "Bad English - Singles". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- Bad English - Bad English | Songs, Reviews, Credits, retrieved 16 July 2021
- "Bad English". Rock Hard Heavy-Metal-Magazin. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- Everley, Dave (17 July 2017). "Bad English - album review". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- Popoff, Martin (2014). The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7. OCLC 891379313.
- "Bad English - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- Johnson, Howard (19 November 2016). "The 10 worst power ballads ever written". Louder Sound. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- "Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- "Bad English | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- "Bad English - Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- "Bad English - AC". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
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