American Child  (Audio CD) 
by Phil Vassar

Unsurprisingly, Vassar had a hand in writing all twelve tracks on this second outing. He takes his stab at post-9/11 patriotism with the "anything is possible in America" sentiments of the title track. Humor also figures strongly in the mix with the witty wordplay of "Athens, Grease" (think early Clint Black) and the commitment phobic "Houston (We Got A Problem)." Relationships are a dominant theme throughout, running the gamut from the rollicking remembrance of a high school flame "Forgettin's So Long" to the poignantly lovestruck ballad "Already Gone."

Recently, this album was re-released with two additional tracks which strengthen the cd considerably. One is the timely single "This Is God," which finds Vassar taking on the role of our heavenly father in order to question the chaos going on in the world. The other is a remake of the Huey Lewis & The News hit "Workin' For A Living" as a duet with Lewis himself. It's long been a highlight of Vassar's stage show and its frenetic tempo adds some much needed balance to the serious fare.

0 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Pretty good album-worth owning but not as good as the first  May 15, 2003
I love this guy's voice and I love American Child and especially THIS IS GOD!!! Wow - this album is worth owning if only for that song (I do feel bad for those who bought it before the bonus tracks). However, it is not a future classic after future classic compilation like the first Phil Vassar album. If you don't have that one and you can only afford one, buy that! If you have that one or you can afford 2, go for Amazon's 2-fer deal and get them both. This one is worth owning and quite enjoyable in its own right. I'm not panning it, but just saying I was expecting FABULOUS and got simply really good instead!

4 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Great Song Writing!  Apr 27, 2003
I am here to say I am a believer in Phil Vassar's talent! I recently caught his video for the song, "This is God" on CMT. What a stirring song!
This particular track is dripping with grace. It's all about how, in our humaness, we have twisted the truth of who God is and what he expects from us in our lives. I was blown away when I saw the video... and bought this album immediately!
The title track, "American Child" is also a phenomenal piece of song writing. Phil Vassar isn't your traditional country artist. He is all country but more than that. He is a thoughtful writer with strong heart rending vocal ability.
If you love heart-felt song writing and soul filled singing you will love this album.

4 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Crazy Attempt  Feb 05, 2003
Take a good look at the country charts for Phil Vassars American Child the original album bombed on the charts after about a month and dissapeared from the top 40 album charts a major disspointment obviously for Arista Recrords because they probably have high hopes for Phil Vassar. I have never seen this before on an album now the person has got to buy this album again if they bought it before January that is the case with me because there a few new tracks here to make the album shine a little better with a power ballad called This is God a song kind of similar to American Child but in different context and a few other tracks were added. The rest of the album is kind of shuffled and I guess they could not pick another single off the album for the radio that is why they had to rerelease the record.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Extra tracks, more Phil!  Feb 05, 2003
This CD has all of the awesome songs from Phil's American Child CD, plus the powerful "This is God" and a rockin' version of Huey Lewis and the News' "Working for a Livin'" - featuring Huey Lewis. Both songs were completed too late for American Child's release last August and rather than make the fans wait, Arista has 'repressed' the American Child CD.