Bad English ~ Bad English (aka debut) (album review) ... Crafting AOR is the name of the smile!

Style: pop rock, hard rock, AOR
Label: Epic
Year: 1989
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: John Waite ~ lead vocals
Neal Schon ~ guitars/b. vocals
Jonathan Cain ~ keyboards/rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Ricky Phillips ~ bass/b. vocals
Deen Castronovo ~ drums/b. vocals

Bad English's self-titled debut opens with a soaring guitar that lets you know this is not going to be anything but top notch playing & of the same quality that folks have come to expect from the involved players. The players being a reunion of three members of the Babys, or more particularly the keyboardist of the recently disbanded Journey who had composed "Don't Stop Believin'"; his bandmate guitarist, whose resume also included Santana; the vocalist who had the number one solo hit "Missing You"; the bassist of the Babys, who would find more name recognition post-Bad English with Styx & Coverdale/Page; & finally the drummer of Jason Becker & Marty Friedman's Cacophony, who would go on to join the reunited Journey, Geezer Butler's GZR & appear on Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzmosis. Supergroup is a legit description for Bad English considering its past & future. The album would smash the Hot 100 charts with the number one hit "When I See You Smile", giving a legacy to Bad English that would last to this day. Its such a great song decades later its likely there's many listeners who don't know they've heard all the members in other outings. Yet, for all the skills of the players, this was not a hard rock fest or fist waver, but a collection of AOR ultra power ballads & some well crafted groin shaking hair metal. Crafting radio friendly songs is the name of the game. The melody out front. The guitars in the back, though when allowed to come forward they soar like a bird. The vocals don't try to break glass with impossible notes. The keyboards are a strong element. The rhythms get you moving & might best be experienced in the bedroom, not on the dance floor. In some ways, Bad English was typical of the era. The sound of this album can be heard elsewhere, from Firehouse's "Every Time I Look At You", & most of their debut album actually, to the Damn Yankees who upped the ante for a more bombastic approach. Yet, the songs also feel somewhat timeless, as good today as when they debuted. They don't make music like this anymore. Bad English did power ballads the way so many of us dearly miss. The songs hit fast & in the right place. They didn't break any molds & are full of musical & lyrical cliches, while this is no masterpiece, but it hits you in just the right place so you walk away feeling good. Of the 13 songs here, there's a couple that could be left off. "Ready When You Are" is absolute uncreative filler next to its brothers. "Best Of What I Got" has some cringy lines that could have been left on the cutting room floor saving this track. Robert Palmer came to mind listening to this, but not in a good way. "Like a locomotive burning down the track / you're my destination ... Put my key inside your door / feels so good. / When I come home at night gonna rock in the neighborhood" Neal Schon's guitar sorta saves the day, who really doesn't play anything bad on the album & is one of strengths making this worth a visit. "Heaven Is A 4 Letter Word" actually sounds so much like what Damn Yankees were trying to do that you're waiting for Uncle Ted to appear to send it over the top. He obviously doesn't, but its hard to say if that's a good or bad thing. Aside from those bumps there's "Price Of Love" which sounds so much like all the overly dramatic power ballads of the era, but its hard not to enjoy it just the same. "Forget Me Not" has ironically been forgotten, but is a standout due to its slow sly opening, sounding a bit like early Phil Collins era Genesis. The song rolls out with a lot of attitude over a hypnotic groove, though the lyrics almost feel like they're talking about stalking instead of romance. "Rockin' Horse" lives up to its name with a rollicking rhythm. "The Restless Ones" you'll immediately recognize, but is one of those songs you might have forgotten about. Just as good as "When I See You Smile". Speaking of which, if you don't start singing when "When I See You Smile" starts playing, please post in the comments below. I want to know what ails you.

Jeff Beck ~ The Visual Story (DVD review) ... The Yardbird's bag of tricks!

Style: classic rock, hard rock, instrumental, blues-rock
Label: XXL Media
Year: 2011
Home: Britain

Concert location: multiple locations
Year Recorded: multiple dates
Length: 51 minutes
Bonus Features: none

Members: Jeff Beck ~ guitar
additional players n/a

Guests: Jan Hammer ~ keyboard
Doug Wimbish ~ bass
Simon Philips ~ drums
Steve Lukather, Carlos Santana ~ guitars

When you need a respected guitarist who is diverse, creative & with a powerful musical presence plus with a long history ... sadly, JB is not a name that is often offered but he should be in the top 10 on the top of the list. The problem might be he's more a guitarist's guitarist than a casual listener's guitarist. With a catalog ranging from pulling the Yardbirds away from the blues into more progressive territories to gutsy bluesy recordings with a young Rod Stewart on vocals, to the powerhouse rock line-up of Beck, Bogart & Appice to a solo career of largely instrumental albums that's been completely unpredictable with forays into blues, rock, avant-garde jazz, funk, electronica & even classical JB has not been necessarily kind to his fans neither giving them what they might want, expect nor music that can be always casually listened to. JB's love of experimentation has often led to musical forays more welcomed by guitarists who are into technical playing then someone looking for a rainy day record ... though, at the same time, he's released solos that would make peers Jimmy Page & Richie Blackmore wilt with tears & experiments that could go head to head with Hendrix, a guitarist who can be just as difficult when it comes to listenability by casual fans as many bootlegs contest. To truly understand JB one needs only turn to the instrumental guitar rockers of the 80's such as Steve Vai & Yngmie Malmsteen to hear his influence. This odd little video, sadly, only continues to push JB away from the casual fan & towards guitarists looking for a hardcore playing lesson & insight into this guitar legend. Opening with a undated & undetailed clip, not helped any by a complete lack of linear notes or any packaging details, is a 1970's British TV performance where JB fronts a top-notch band churning out the blues. It's got a very Led Zeppelin feel to it. The quality is horrendous with a fuzzy picture, obviously not taken from master tapes as the rolling counter on the screen belays, but that doesn't get in the way of JB shining. The song is followed by an on the spot discussion with the unidentified host of the guitar itself, it's switches & strings, JB's foot pedals & even a strange looking "bag" that JB says is one of only three he's seen & turns out to be a proto-vocoder. If you want to know JB's early set-up this is a near must view & with lots of close-ups on JB's fingerplay it's a lesson as good as it gets to a lesson. Actually, watching him it's amazing how much sound comes out of so little & unflashy movement of his right hand. This is followed by a second, & equally unidentified, clip of JB recording a solo in a studio via camera obviously stuck on a table & not meant for anything but personal viewing. The recording is a stop & start process with unidentified producer on hand & half the time is spent discussing or experimenting with different sounds. The highlight is seeing JB play both with an without the previously recorded rhythm section in the background. Put all your dreams of grandeur aside ... there's nothing glamorous about recording. It's a tedious process & a tedious film to watch ... though Andy Warhol would probably rave about it. On the other hand, it's interesting, if not a bit shocking, to see JB call a solo not very good though most guitarists would be exuberantly happy with the previously improvised moment. The clip ends with him rolling a cigarette. Warhol would be squirming with glee. The remaining part of The Visual Story is taken from a 1986 broadcast that was originally shown on Japanese TV & featured JB headlining with Carlos Santana in an outdoor concert. This has been previously released both officially & bootlegged & in longer complete form. It opens with a weak performance of "Wild Thing", a song that really should only be attempted by the original band as it was raunchy by being primitively raw due to recording limitations but when made raunchy comes out everything but. Further, JB is not a dynamic stage presence, though on the backing band includes legendary Jan Hammer, Doug Wimbish & Simon Phillips. Compared to the previous TV & studio bits JB is in prime high energy form giving it his all. The song selection might not the best, relying more on improvisation, but one can clearly see the power JB has with a guitar in hand. The weak opening gives way to a stronger end with songs featuring JB playing with Steve Lukather & Carlos Santana. Three very distinct guitarists in a unique moment. With a lack of bonus features, packaging detail that even extends to not listing song titles for the TV & studio recordings & generally third generation video quality this is a collector's only item. But, if you want a close-up fingerboard lesson on what JB plays this is a must. Or, if you want to see a progression of an artist from rigid tv studio with everything toned down, to working through problems in a studio to letting it all go free on stage then ... well, this video shines.