The partnership of songwriters Graham Gouldman and Andrew Gold, stepping out of the wreckage of the recently deceased 10cc, always promised a lot more than it actually delivered.
While there was no denying either the talents or the heritage of either player, Wax was doomed to remain a child of its time -- that awful, awkward second half of the '80s during which production and arrangements took over from the actual songwriting, and swamped even the sweetest tune in bombast and swill.
And so American English disguises 11 songs beneath echoing drums, bellowing keyboards and "look at me, I'm wonderful" vocals, until even the tracks that you know should be good, like the title track, the single "Bridge to Your Heart," and "Right Between the Eyes," are reduced to little more than background noises in a particularly annoying version of Miami Vice, and what should have been an object lesson in musical brilliance becomes a master class in the worst of '80s excess.
Unless, of course, you like records that sound like a lot of doors being slammed.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American English | Wax UK | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | In Some Other WorldJohn Hiatt | Wax UK | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Ready or Not | Wax UK | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Call It Destiny | Wax UK | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Bridge to Your Heart | Wax UK | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | Share the GloryGraham Gouldman, Phil Palmer | Wax UK | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Alright Tonight | Wax UK | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | The Promise | Wax UK | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 9 | Heaven in Her Bed | Wax UK | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | Bug in the Machine | Wax UK | Play | 04:21 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 41 mins | 95 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 259 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Bliss | Keyboards |
| 2 | Paul Carrack | Vocals (Background) |
| 3 | Ian Cooper | Mastering |
| 4 | Malcolm Dome | Sleeve Notes |
| 5 | Hugh Gilmour | Reissue Design |
| 6 | Andrew Gold | Audio Production, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist, Producer, Programming, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Graham Gouldman | Audio Production, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Steve Hammonds | Release Coordinator |
| 9 | John Hiatt | Composer |
| 10 | Simon Hurrell | Engineer, Mixing |
| 11 | Adrian Lee | Keyboards |
| 12 | Christopher Neil | Audio Production, Producer |
| 13 | Tessa Niles | Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Phil Palmer | Composer, Guitar |
| 15 | Jackie Rawe | Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Peter Van Hooke | Drums, Programming |
| 17 | Wax UK | Arranger, Primary Artist |
| 18 | Wix | Keyboards |
| 19 | Lorna Wright | Spoken Word |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |