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What’s the 4-1-1?
Bad English was the supergroups of supergroups. Okay, it was really Journey
and ex-Babys vocalist John Waite. Although that particular combination
caused a commotion in the melodic rock community, causing their debut album
to skyrocket to number 21 on the Billboard charts. I have to say, not too
many rock albums start off with horn section, but that’s just what
the group does on “Best of What I Got”. It just goes to show
the brass balls (get it) that Bad English had to combine that with a sweet
Neal Schon guitar phrase. Waite breaks his pop-rock label and shows that
he can rock with the best of them.
“Heaven is a Four Letter Word” stacks
crunchy guitar riffs over strong melodic vocals, topped by a harmonious
chorus. Schon goes flying around the neck of his ax during his solo. You
gotta love that power breakdown. Not too many people know this, but “Forget
Me Not” was the first single released for the album. It really didn’t
win the masses over. The song that broke the group of course was “When
I See You Smile”, which eventually shot to number one on the Billboard
charts. This was also the song that more or less pigeon-holed the band
as a balladeers. When you hear the catchy keyboard intro, you know instantly
what song it is. The song seems cheesy today, but I’m willing to
bet it was one of the most requested slow dance songs in 1989.
On "Price
of Love", Schon throws in soulful guitar runs any chance he gets, because
this one is mainly Waite in front of emotionally driven keyboards.
Instead of going all out on the chorus, John keeps things on the soft side.
Deen
Castronovo’s drum work compliments Schon’s rapid-fire licks
on “Ready When You Are”. I guess that’s why he landed
a spot in the current version of Journey. There’s lots of energy
given by all on this one. “Rockin’ Horse” is a sexually-charged
anthem that relies on blues rock riffage, a driving drum beat, and
soulful vocal melodies.
The Verdict
Sometime bad is good. Bad English’s debut outing will always
remain one of the best ‘supergroup’ projects of the last
20 years.
Did You Know?
The first name considered for the group was Full Circle.
Rating:  out
of 5
--George Dionne
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BAD
ENGLISH
