Bad English (album)

Bad English is the debut studio album by British/American rock band Bad English. It was released in on June 26, 1989.

Bad English
Studio album by
Bad English
ReleasedJune 26, 1989[1]
Recorded1988–1989
StudioOne on One Recording Studios (North Hollywood, CA); A&M Studios, Conway Studios and Secret Sound L.A. (Hollywood, CA); Pacific Sound (Chatsworth, CA); Can-Am Recorders (Tarzana, CA).
Genre
Length62:10
LabelEpic
ProducerRichie Zito
Bad English chronology
Bad English
(1989)		 Backlash
(1991)
Singles from Bad English
  1. "Forget Me Not"
    Released: 1989
  2. "When I See You Smile"
    Released: August 30, 1989[2]
  3. "Price of Love"
    Released: 1989
  4. "Don't Walk Away"
    Released: 1989 (UK)[3]
  5. "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word"
    Released: 1990
  6. "Possession"
    Released: 1990

The album was a massive success, especially because of the No. 1 single "When I See You Smile".[4] That single was certified gold by the RIAA 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.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Rock Hard8.5/10[7]
LouderSound[8]

The album received generally positive reviews.

RPM reviewer David Spodek called it "an LP full of enough hard driving rock and roll and power chords to please any AOR MD" and named "Forget Me Not" as the best cut.[9] Rock Hard gave an extremely positive review, and called it the "best AOR album of the past six months".[7]

AllMusic's Dan Heilman gave the album four stars, saying, "[A]mid some tailor-made power ballads lurks some decent hard rock."[6]

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".[8] Nonetheless, in 2016, "When I See You Smile" was ranked by LouderSound as the 10th-worst power ballad ever written.[10]

Musician reviewer J. D. Considine wrote simply: "Grammar is the least of their problems."[11]

"Best of What I Got" is featured during the credits to the 1989 film Tango & Cash.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Best of What I Got"John Waite, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon4:40
2."Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word"Schon, Cain, Waite, Mark Spiro4:45
3."Possession"Waite, Cain, Ricky Phillips5:08
4."Forget Me Not"Waite, Cain, Spiro4:58
5."When I See You Smile"Diane Warren4:17
6."Tough Times Don't Last"Cain, David Roberts, Waite4:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ghost in Your Heart"Waite, Martin Page, Cain4:46
2."Price of Love"Waite, Cain4:47
3."Ready When You Are"Cain, Waite, Schon, Todd Cerney4:20
4."Lay Down"Waite, Schon, Cain4:38
5."The Restless Ones"Waite, Cain, Phillips5:23
6."Rockin' Horse"Schon, Waite, Cain5:31
7."Don't Walk Away"Andy Hill, Peter Sinfield4:30

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1989 Billboard 200[12] 21
UK Albums[13] 74

Singles
Year Title Chart Positions
US Hot 100
[5]
US Main
[14]
US AC
[15]
UK Singles
[13]
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

Bad English

Production

  • Richie Zito – producer
  • Phil Kaffel – engineer, mixing (1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 13)
  • Mike Fraser – mixing (1-6, 8, 9, 11, 12)
  • Daren Chadwick – second engineer
  • Leon Johnson – second engineer
  • Jeff Poe – second engineer
  • Mike Tacci – second engineer
  • Bob Vogt – second engineer
  • Gary Wagner – second engineer
  • Randy Wine – second engineer
  • Toby Wright – second engineer
  • George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
  • Richard Ivers – production coordinator
  • Katy Parks – production coordinator
  • Hugh Syme – art direction, design
  • Chris Cuffaro – cover photography
  • HK Management and Trudy Green Management – management

References
  1. Giles, Jeff (26 June 2015). "How Journey and Babys Alumni Rose and Fell in Bad English". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. "Bad English - Singles". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. Popoff, Martin (2014). The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-62788-375-7. OCLC 891379313.
  5. "Bad English - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. Bad English - Bad English | Songs, Reviews, Credits, retrieved 16 July 2021
  7. "Bad English". Rock Hard Heavy-Metal-Magazin. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  8. Everley, Dave (17 July 2017). "Bad English - album review". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. Spodek, David (12 August 1989). "Review: Bad English – Bad English" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 50, no. 15. Toronto: RPM Music Publications Ltd. p. 8. ISSN 0315-5994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022 – via World Radio History.
  10. Johnson, Howard (19 November 2016). "The 10 worst power ballads ever written". Louder Sound. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  11. Considine, J.D. (September 1989). "Bad English". Musician.
  12. "Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  13. "Bad English | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  14. "Bad English - Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  15. "Bad English - AC". Billboard. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
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