good boy or good girl morality is found in the conventional level of morality

In Stage three (good intentions as determined by social consensus), the self enters society by conforming to social standards. Individuals are receptive to approval or disapproval from others as it reflects society's views. They try to be a "good boy" or "good girl" to live up to these expectations,[2] having learned that being regarded as good benefits the self. Stage three reasoning may judge the morality of an action by evaluating its consequences in terms of a person's relationships, which now begin to include things like respect, gratitude, and the "golden rule". "I want to be liked and thought well of; apparently, not being naughty makes people like me." Conforming to the rules for one's social role is not yet fully understood. The intentions of actors play a more significant role in reasoning at this stage; one may feel more forgiving if one thinks that "they mean well".[2]

Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development constitute an adaptation of a psychological theory originally conceived by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Kohlberg began work on this topic while a psychology graduate student at the University of Chicago[1] in 1958, and expanded upon the theory throughout his life.

The theory holds that moral reasoning, the basis for ethical behavior, has six identifiable developmental stages, each more adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than its predecessor.[2] Kohlberg followed the development of moral judgment far beyond the ages studied earlier by Piaget,[3] who also claimed that logic and morality develop through constructive stages.[2] Expanding on Piaget's work, Kohlberg determined that the process of moral development was principally concerned with justice, and that it continued throughout the individual's lifetime,[4] a notion that spawned dialogue on the philosophical implications of such research.[5][6]

The six stages of moral development are grouped into three levels: pre-conventional morality, conventional morality, and post-conventional morality.

For his studies, Kohlberg relied on stories such as the Heinz dilemma, and was interested in how individuals would justify their actions if placed in similar moral dilemmas. He then analyzed the form of moral reasoning displayed, rather than its conclusion,[6] and classified it as belonging to one of six distinct stages.[7][8][9]

There have been critiques of the theory from several perspectives. Arguments include that it emphasizes justice to the exclusion of other moral values, such as caring;[10] that there is such an overlap between stages that they should more properly be regarded as separate domains; or that evaluations of the reasons for moral choices are mostly post hoc rationalizations (by both decision makers and psychologists studying them) of essentially intuitive decisions.[11]

Nevertheless, an entirely new field within psychology was created as a direct result of Kohlberg's theory, and according to Haggbloom et al.'s study of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, Kohlberg was the 16th most frequently cited psychologist in introductory psychology textbooks throughout the century, as well as the 30th most eminent overall.[12]

Kohlberg's scale is about how people justify behaviors and his stages are not a method of ranking how moral someone's behavior is. There should, however, be a correlation between how someone scores on the scale and how they behave, and the general hypothesis is that moral behaviour is more responsible, consistent and predictable from people at higher levels.[13]

Kohlberg's six stages can be more generally grouped into three levels of two stages each: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional.[7][8][9] Following Piaget's constructivist requirements for a stage model, as described in his theory of cognitive development, it is extremely rare to regress in stagesâ€”to lose the use of higher stage abilities.[14][15] Stages cannot be skipped; each provides a new and necessary perspective, more comprehensive and differentiated than its predecessors but integrated with them.[14][15]

The understanding gained in each stage is retained in later stages, but may be regarded by those in later stages as simplistic, lacking in sufficient attention to detail.

The pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoners at this level judge the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level consists of the first and second stages of moral development and is solely concerned with the self in an egocentric manner. A child with pre-conventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized society's conventions regarding what is right or wrong but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.[7][8][9]

In Stage one (obedience and punishment driven), individuals focus on the direct consequences of their actions on themselves. For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the perpetrator is punished. "The last time I did that I got spanked, so I will not do it again." The worse the punishment for the act is, the more "bad" the act is perceived to be.[16] This can give rise to an inference that even innocent victims are guilty in proportion to their suffering. It is "egocentric", lacking recognition that others' points of view are different from one's own.[17] There is "deference to superior power or prestige".[17]

An example of obedience and punishment driven morality would be a child refusing to do something because it is wrong and that the consequences could result in punishment. For example, a child's classmate tries to dare the child to skip school. The child would apply obedience and punishment driven morality by refusing to skip school because he would get punished.

Stage two (self-interest driven) expresses the "what's in it for me" position, in which right behavior is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best interest but understood in a narrow way which does not consider one's reputation or relationships to groups of people. Stage two reasoning shows a limited interest in the needs of others, but only to a point where it might further the individual's own interests. As a result, concern for others is not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect, but rather a "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" mentality.[2] The lack of a societal perspective in the pre-conventional level is quite different from the social contract (stage five), as all actions at this stage have the purpose of serving the individual's own needs or interests. For the stage two theorist, the world's perspective is often seen as morally relative.

An example of self-interest driven is when a child is asked by his parents to do a chore. The child asks, "what's in it for me?" The parents offer the child an incentive by giving a child an allowance to pay them for their chores. The child is motivated by self-interest to do chores.

The conventional level of moral reasoning is typical of adolescents and adults. To reason in a conventional way is to judge the morality of actions by comparing them to society's views and expectations. The conventional level consists of the third and fourth stages of moral development. Conventional morality is characterized by an acceptance of society's conventions concerning right and wrong. At this level an individual obeys rules and follows society's norms even when there are no consequences for obedience or disobedience. Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid, however, and a rule's appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.[7][8][9]

In Stage four (authority and social order obedience driven), it is important to obey laws, dictums, and social conventions because of their importance in maintaining a functioning society. Moral reasoning in stage four is thus beyond the need for individual approval exhibited in stage three. A central ideal or ideals often prescribe what is right and wrong. If one person violates a law, perhaps everyone wouldâ€”thus there is an obligation and a duty to uphold laws and rules. When someone does violate a law, it is morally wrong; culpability is thus a significant factor in this stage as it separates the bad domains from the good ones. Most active members of society remain at stage four, where morality is still predominantly dictated by an outside force.[2]

The post-conventional level, also known as the principled level, is marked by a growing realization that individuals are separate entities from society, and that the individual's own perspective may take precedence over society's view; individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles. Post-conventional moralists live by their own ethical principles—principles that typically include such basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice. People who exhibit post-conventional morality view rules as useful but changeable mechanisms—ideally rules can maintain the general social order and protect human rights. Rules are not absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question. Because post-conventional individuals elevate their own moral evaluation of a situation over social conventions, their behavior, especially at stage six, can be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level.[citation needed]

Some theorists have speculated that many people may never reach this level of abstract moral reasoning.[7][8][9]

In Stage five (social contract driven), the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values. Such perspectives should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community. Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid edicts. Those that do not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to meet "the greatest good for the greatest number of people".[8] This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable compromise. Democratic government is ostensibly based on stage five reasoning.

In Stage six (universal ethical principles driven), moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. Legal rights are unnecessary, as social contracts are not essential for deontic moral action. Decisions are not reached hypothetically in a conditional way but rather categorically in an absolute way, as in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant.[18] This involves an individual imagining what they would do in another's shoes, if they believed what that other person imagines to be true.[19] The resulting consensus is the action taken. In this way action is never a means but always an end in itself; the individual acts because it is right, and not because it avoids punishment, is in their best interest, expected, legal, or previously agreed upon. Although Kohlberg insisted that stage six exists, he found it difficult to identify individuals who consistently operated at that level.[15]

In Kohlberg's empirical studies of individuals throughout their life Kohlberg observed that some had apparently undergone moral stage regression. This could be resolved either by allowing for moral regression or by extending the theory. Kohlberg chose the latter, postulating the existence of sub-stages in which the emerging stage has not yet been fully integrated into the personality.[8] In particular Kohlberg noted a stage 4Â½ or 4+, a transition from stage four to stage five, that shared characteristics of both.[8] In this stage the individual is disaffected with the arbitrary nature of law and order reasoning; culpability is frequently turned from being defined by society to viewing society itself as culpable. This stage is often mistaken for the moral relativism of stage two, as the individual views those interests of society that conflict with their own as being relatively and morally wrong.[8] Kohlberg noted that this was often observed in students entering college.[8][15]

Kohlberg suggested that there may be a seventh stage—Transcendental Morality, or Morality of Cosmic Orientation—which linked religion with moral reasoning.[20] Kohlberg's difficulties in obtaining empirical evidence for even a sixth stage,[15] however, led him to emphasize the speculative nature of his seventh stage.[5]

Kohlberg's stages of moral development are based on the assumption that humans are inherently communicative, capable of reason, and possess a desire to understand others and the world around them. The stages of this model relate to the qualitative moral reasonings adopted by individuals, and so do not translate directly into praise or blame of any individual's actions or character. Arguing that his theory measures moral reasoning and not particular moral conclusions, Kohlberg insists that the form and structure of moral arguments is independent of the content of those arguments, a position he calls "formalism".[6][7]

Kohlberg's theory centers on the notion that justice is the essential characteristic of moral reasoning. Justice itself relies heavily upon the notion of sound reasoning based on principles. Despite being a justice-centered theory of morality, Kohlberg considered it to be compatible with plausible formulations of deontology[18] and eudaimonia.

Kohlberg's theory understands values as a critical component of the right. Whatever the right is, for Kohlberg, it must be universally valid across societies (a position known as "moral universalism"):[7] there can be no relativism. Moreover, morals are not natural features of the world; they are prescriptive. Nevertheless, moral judgments can be evaluated in logical terms of truth and falsity.

According to Kohlberg, someone progressing to a higher stage of moral reasoning cannot skip stages. For example, an individual cannot jump from being concerned mostly with peer judgments (stage three) to being a proponent of social contracts (stage five).[15] On encountering a moral dilemma and finding their current level of moral reasoning unsatisfactory, however, an individual will look to the next level. Realizing the limitations of the current stage of thinking is the driving force behind moral development, as each progressive stage is more adequate than the last.[15] The process is therefore considered to be constructive, as it is initiated by the conscious construction of the individual, and is not in any meaningful sense a component of the individual's innate dispositions, or a result of past inductions.

Progress through Kohlberg's stages happens as a result of the individual's increasing competence, both psychologically and in balancing conflicting social-value claims. The process of resolving conflicting claims to reach an equilibrium is called "justice operation". Kohlberg identifies two of these justice operations: "equality", which involves an impartial regard for persons, and "reciprocity", which means a regard for the role of personal merit. For Kohlberg, the most adequate result of both operations is "reversibility", in which a moral or dutiful act within a particular situation is evaluated in terms of whether or not the act would be satisfactory even if particular persons were to switch roles within that situation (also known colloquially as "moral musical chairs").[6]

Knowledge and learning contribute to moral development. Specifically important are the individual's "view of persons" and their "social perspective level", each of which becomes more complex and mature with each advancing stage. The "view of persons" can be understood as the individual's grasp of the psychology of other persons; it may be pictured as a spectrum, with stage one having no view of other persons at all, and stage six being entirely socio-centric.[6] Similarly, the social perspective level involves the understanding of the social universe, differing from the view of persons in that it involves an appreciation of social norms.

Kohlberg established the Moral Judgement Interview in his original 1958 dissertation.[4] During the roughly 45-minute tape recorded semi-structured interview, the interviewer uses moral dilemmas to determine which stage of moral reasoning a person uses. The dilemmas are fictional short stories that describe situations in which a person has to make a moral decision. The participant is asked a systemic series of open-ended questions, like what they think the right course of action is, as well as justifications as to why certain actions are right or wrong. The form and structure of these replies are scored and not the content; over a set of multiple moral dilemmas an overall score is derived.[4][9]

A dilemma that Kohlberg used in his original research was the druggist's dilemma: Heinz Steals the Drug In Europe.[5]

One criticism of Kohlberg's theory is that it emphasizes justice to the exclusion of other values, and so may not adequately address the arguments of those who value other moral aspects of actions. Carol Gilligan has argued that Kohlberg's theory is overly androcentric.[10] Kohlberg's theory was initially developed based on empirical research using only male participants; Gilligan argued that it did not adequately describe the concerns of women.[21] Kohlberg stated that women tend to get stuck at level 3, focusing on details of how to maintain relationships and promote the welfare of family and friends. Men are likely to move on to the abstract principles, and thus have less concern with the particulars of who is involved.[22] Consistent with this observation, Gilligan's theory of moral development does not focus on the value of justice. She developed an alternative theory of moral reasoning based on the ethics of caring.[10] Critics such as Christina Hoff Sommers, however, argued that Gilligan's research is ill-founded, and that no evidence exists to support her conclusion.[23]

Kohlberg's stages are not culturally neutral, as demonstrated by its application to a number of different cultures.[1] Although they progress through the stages in the same order, individuals in different cultures seem to do so at different rates.[24] Kohlberg has responded by saying that although different cultures do indeed inculcate different beliefs, his stages correspond to underlying modes of reasoning, rather than to those beliefs.[1][25]

Another criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that people frequently demonstrate significant inconsistency in their moral judgements.[26] This often occurs in moral dilemmas involving drinking and driving and business situations where participants have been shown to reason at a subpar stage, typically using more self-interest driven reasoning (i.e., stage two) than authority and social order obedience driven reasoning (i.e., stage four).[26][27] Kohlberg’s theory is generally considered to be incompatible with inconsistencies in moral reasoning.[26] Carpendale has argued that Kohlberg’s theory should be modified to focus on the view that the process of moral reasoning involves integrating varying perspectives of a moral dilemma rather than simply fixating on applying rules.[27] This view would allow for inconsistency in moral reasoning since individuals may be hampered by their inability to consider different perspectives.[26] Krebs and Denton have also attempted to modify Kohlberg’s theory to account for a multitude of conflicting findings, but eventually concluded that the theory is not equipped to take into consideration how most individuals make moral decisions in their everyday lives.[28]

Other psychologists have questioned the assumption that moral action is primarily a result of formal reasoning. Social intuitionists such as Jonathan Haidt, for example, argue that individuals often make moral judgments without weighing concerns such as fairness, law, human rights, or abstract ethical values. Thus the arguments analyzed by Kohlberg and other rationalist psychologists could be considered post hoc rationalizations of intuitive decisions; moral reasoning may be less relevant to moral action than Kohlberg's theory suggests.[11]

Kohlberg's body of work on the stages of moral development has been utilized by others working in the field. One example is the Defining Issues Test (DIT) created in 1979 by James Rest,[29] originally as a pencil-and-paper alternative to the Moral Judgement Interview.[30] Heavily influenced by the six-stage model, it made efforts to improve the validity criteria by using a quantitative test, the Likert scale, to rate moral dilemmas similar to Kohlberg's.[31] It also used a large body of Kohlbergian theory such as the idea of "post-conventional thinking".[32][33] In 1999 the DIT was revised as the DIT-2;[30] the test continues to be used in many areas where moral testing is required,[34] such as divinity, politics, and medicine.[35][36][37]


how did the band america get its name

Eventually, the trio dubbed themselves America, chosen because they did not want anyone to think they were British musicians trying to sound American.[2] They played their first gigs in the London area, including some highlights at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm. Through Ian Samwell and Jeff Dexter's efforts they were eventually contracted to Kinney Records (UK) in March 1971 by Ian Ralfini and assigned to the UK Warner Brothers label.

America (band)

America is an English-American rock band formed in England in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live.

Achieving significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for their close vocal harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.

The band came together shortly after the members' graduation from high school, and a record deal with Warner Bros. Records followed. Their debut 1971 album, America, included the transatlantic hits "A Horse with No Name" and "I Need You"; Homecoming (1972) included the single "Ventura Highway"; and Hat Trick (1973), a modest success on the charts which fared poorly in sales, included one minor hit song "Muskrat Love". 1974's Holiday featured the hits "Tin Man" and "Lonely People"; and 1975's Hearts generated the number one single "Sister Golden Hair" alongside "Daisy Jane." History: America's Greatest Hits, a compilation of hit singles, was released the same year and was certified multi-platinum in the United States and Australia. Peek left the group in 1977, and their commercial fortunes declined, despite a brief return to the top in 1982 with the single "You Can Do Magic".

The group continues to record material and tour with regularity. Their 2007 album Here & Now was a collaboration with a new generation of musicians who credited the band as an influence. America won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist and were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Group at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards in 1973.[1] The group has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

While their fathers were stationed at the United States Air Force base at RAF South Ruislip near London in the mid-1960s, Beckley, Bunnell and Peek attended London Central High School at Bushey Hall where they met while playing in two different bands.

Peek left for the United States for an abortive attempt at college during 1969. Soon after his return to the UK the following year, the three began making music together. Starting out with borrowed acoustic guitars, they developed a style which incorporated three-part vocal harmony with the style of contemporary folk-rock acts such as Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Their first album America (1971) was recorded at Trident Studios in London and produced by Ian Samwell, best known for being Cliff Richard's lead guitarist as well as writing Richard's 1958 breakthrough hit "Move It". Jeff Dexter, Ian's roommate, co-produced the album and became the trio's manager. Dexter also gave them their first major gig, 20 December 1970, at "Implosion" at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, as the opening act for The Who, Elton John, Patto and The Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band & Choir for a Christmas charity event. Although the trio initially planned to record the album in a similar manner to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Samwell convinced them to perfect their acoustic style instead.

The debut album America was released in 1971 to only moderate success, although it sold well in the Netherlands, where Dexter had taken them as a training ground to practice their craft. Samwell and Dexter subsequently brought the trio to Morgan Studios to record several additional songs. One of them was a Bunnell composition called "Desert Song", which Dexter previously demoed during studio rehearsals in Puddletown, Dorset at the home of Arthur Brown. The song had its public debut at The Harrogate Festival, four days later, to great audience response. After several performances and a TV show, it was re-titled "A Horse with No Name". The song became a major worldwide hit in early 1972. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1972.[3] America's debut album was re-released with the hit song added and quickly went platinum. The album resulted in a second major chart success with Beckley's "I Need You", which peaked at No.Â 9 on the US charts.[4]

After their initial success, the trio decided to dismiss Samwell and Dexter and relocate to Los Angeles, California. The recording of a second album was delayed by the relocation as well as an injury to Peek's arm. Deciding not to replace Samwell, the group opted to produce the album by themselves. The trio began their move away from a mainly acoustic style to a more rock-music-oriented style with the help of Hal Blaine on drums and Joe Osborn on bass. Peek began to play lead electric guitar on more tracks and the group expanded from an acoustic trio to embrace a fuller live sound, adding Dave Dickey on bass and Dave Atwood (who'd played as a session musician on their debut album) on drums. By the beginning of 1973, Atwood had been replaced by Dickey's friend, Willie Leacox, who, like Dickey, was formerly of the group Captain.

America's second album, Homecoming, was released in November 1972. Awarded a gold disc in December 1972, the million sales figure was confirmed by the R.I.A.A. in 1975.[3] The group reached the top 10 again with Bunnell's "Ventura Highway".[4] Other singles, including Peek's "Don't Cross the River" and Beckley's "Only in Your Heart", were only modestly successful, but the group still won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist of 1972.

The group's output grew increasingly ambitious. Their third offering, Hat Trick, was released in October 1973 following several months of recording at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. Again self-produced, the album featured strings, harmonicas, an eight-minute title track, and tap dancing.  Beckley, Bunnell and Peek were once again joined by Blaine on drums, while Osborn was replaced by their touring bassist, David Dickey. The album was not as successful as Homecoming (1972), featuring only one modestly successful single, "Muskrat Love" (No.Â 67 in the US), penned by Texas folk singer Willis Alan Ramsey. A Captain & Tennille version of the song would reach the top 10 in late 1976.

After the disappointing commercial performance of the album Hat Trick (1973), America chose to enlist an outside producer for their next album.  They were able to secure the services of producer George Martin and recording engineer Geoff Emerick, who played a major role in shaping the sound of The Beatles. Sessions took place at AIR Studios in London.

The resulting album, Holiday, was released in June 1974 (by this time the group had consciously begun naming their albums with titles starting with the letter "H"). With Martin's guidance, the album's style was very different from America's first three efforts, as he enhanced America's acoustic sound with strings and brass.

During an early 1975 tour of Europe, bassist Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels (formerly of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Manassas) was called to fill in for Dickey, who was not available.

The trio soon found themselves in the Top Ten once again with the first single from Holiday, the Bunnell-penned "Tin Man", which reached No. 4, featuring cryptic lyrics set to a Wizard of Oz theme. "Lonely People" (a song written by the newly wed Dan and Catherine Peek[5]) followed "Tin Man" into the top ten in early 1975, becoming Dan Peek's only credited song to reach there, peaking at No. 5.[4]

Martin worked with the trio again for their next LP, Hearts, recorded in Sausalito, California and released in March 1975. America scored its second chart topping success with Beckley's "Sister Golden Hair" in mid-1975, a song which featured a memorable opening guitar riff admittedly inspired by George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and frank relationship lyrics inspired by Jackson Browne.[6] The follow-up single, Beckley's ballad "Daisy Jane", also scored among the Top Twenty shortly after.[4] Peek's reggae-influenced "Woman Tonight" was a third success (number 44 in the US) from the album towards the end of the year.[4]

Warner Bros. released a compilation of America's best-known tracks in December 1975, History: America's Greatest Hits, which went platinum. Martin, who produced the album, remixed those tracks which were culled from the group's first three albums.[6]

During early 1976, the group recorded its sixth studio album at Caribou Ranch near Nederland, Colorado, inspiring the album's title, Hideaway, which Martin produced. Released during April 1976, it saw the band's popularity severely faltering, as the two singles, "Today's the Day" and "Amber Cascades", only managed to reach number 23 and 75 (respectively) in the Billboard charts.[4] Songs like "Jet Boy Blue" and "Don't Let It Get You Down" received a lot of airplay on FM Stations.

Martin's implementation of more complex instrumentation on America's albums proved somewhat overwhelming to the band on stage, often compelling them to switch from instrument to instrument during songs.[6] For their 1976 tour, the group expanded their stage line-up to include Jim Calire on keyboards and sax and Tom Walsh on percussion so that they could more comfortably perform Martin's arrangements.[6]

Martin and the trio went to Hawaii during late 1976 to work on the group's seventh studio album. The album was recorded in a beach house on the island of Kauai. The album, Harbor, released in February 1977, continued the trend of decreasing sales for the group. It was their first album that failed to score either platinum or gold, and all three of its singles failed to chart.

In May 1977 Dan Peek left the band. Peek recently had renewed his Christian faith after years of recreational drug use and had begun to seek a different artistic direction from Beckley or Bunnell; the break with the band was amicable.

Peek contracted with Pat Boone's Lamb & Lion Records and issued his first solo album, All Things Are Possible, in 1978. The album, produced by Chris Christian, was successful and Peek became a pioneering artist in the emerging Christian popular music genre. The title track entered the Billboard pop charts during the autumn of 1979, peaking at number 78.[7]

Meanwhile, Beckley and Bunnell decided to continue as America, ending their contract with Warner Bros. with the release of their first concert LP, Live, during October 1977. Recorded at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, the performance featured a backing orchestra conducted by Elmer Bernstein. The concert was recorded shortly after Peek left the group. The album was only mildly successful on the popular charts; whereas all of their previous albums, even Harbor, had at least made the Top 30, Live just barely inched into the top 130.[8]

After more than two years without new studio material, Beckley and Bunnell presented the group's new style with a cover of The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" in March 1979. It was featured on the soundtrack for the 1979 movie California Dreaming. Although the movie was unsuccessful and the soundtrack was issued by an obscure distributor known as American International, the single reached No.Â 56 on the charts.

America's first studio album without Peek, Silent Letter, was released in June 1979 on their new label, Capitol Records. The album, once again produced by George Martin, was recorded in Montserrat in the West Indies with the members of the live band: David Dickey, Willie Leacox, Michael Woods, Jim Calire and Tom Walsh. The group began to use songs from other songwriters as they sought to increase their commercial success. The album scored no higher than No.Â 110 on the charts, leading Bunnell sarcastically to dub the album Silent Record. During the latter part of 1979, Calire and Walsh were dropped from the on-stage line-up. Session bassist Bryan Garafalo replaced Dickey in 1980 and Bradley Palmer took over from Garafalo in 1981.

America continued to evolve as the 1980s began. For their next album, Alibi, released in August 1980, Beckley and Bunnell sought fresh personnel in the form of producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin. They also employed players from the West Coast, such as the Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit, Leland Sklar and Steve Lukather, to help improve their sound. Alibi eschewed the strings and brass of a typical George Martin project in favour of a more popular-rock style. It also became the third studio album in a row without a successful single in the United States, although Beckley's "Survival" scored the top of the charts in Italy. The album's sales maximised at No.Â 142.  This album though, could be the best kept secret of this bands career.  There were several songs including Bunnell's "Might Be Your Love" and "Hangover" along with "Survival" that certainly showed the band's growth.

America's next album, View from the Ground, released in July 1982, saw the group finally score another commercial success. The album, recorded under the working title Two Car Garage, featured a number of songs produced by the duo themselves. As with Alibi (1980), Beckley and Bunnell brought in a number of high-profile musicians, including the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson, Toto's Jeff Porcaro, Christopher Cross and Dean Parks. But it was former Argent guitarist Russ Ballard who had the greatest effect on the group's fortunes. Ballard produced and played all of the instruments and sang most of the background vocals on a song he crafted especially for the band, called "You Can Do Magic". The song rose quickly through the pop charts, and scored as high as No. 8 on the Billboard pop singles chart for a number of weeks during October 1982, the band's first major success in seven years. Following "Magic" was the single "Right Before Your Eyes", an homage to silent movie actors better known to listeners as "Rudolph Valentino" due to its memorable refrain. Written by Ian Thomas (brother of comedian Dave Thomas of Strange Brew fame), and produced by Bobby Colomby, the single barely missed a spot in the Top Forty during early 1983. Although View from the Ground failed to achieve gold-rated sales, it scored as high as No. 41 on the album charts, a significant improvement over the previous few releases.

Having had success with Ballard, Beckley and Bunnell asked the former Argent performer produce their next album, Your Move, in its entirety. In the end, Ballard wrote most of the songs and performed most of the instruments in addition to his production duties. For the most part, Beckley and Bunnell were singers on an album that Ballard had crafted for them, although they did contribute some material of their own. On one track, Bunnell decided to rewrite Ballard's lyrics, and the successful song "The Border" was the result. Set to the backing of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the saxophone work of Raphael Ravenscroft, the single scored No. 33 on the charts in August 1983. "The Border" was much more successful on the adult contemporary charts, where it scored No. 4 (even besting "You Can Do Magic"). It also made No. 24 on the Dutch Top 40. A second single, Ballard's "Cast the Spirit", failed to chart. The album itself, released in June 1983, was reasonably successful at No. 81, but something of a disappointment, when compared to its predecessor.[according to whom?]

America's work was also featured on several soundtracks during this period. Beckley and Bunnell provided vocals to several Jimmy Webb compositions for the film The Last Unicorn in 1982. The soundtrack became popular in Germany, and the group frequently plays its title track, when touring in that country. America also recorded "Love Comes Without Warning" for the 1984 Steve Martin comedy The Lonely Guy.

Dan Peek emerged from several years of musical obscurity during May 1984, releasing his second solo Christian album, Doer of the Word, on Home Sweet Home Records. Once again produced by Chris Christian, the album's title track featured Beckley on backing vocals. Peek would issue two more solo albums over the next few years: Electro Voice (1986) and Crossover (1987).

Meanwhile, America opted for a decidedly different style from its previous offerings for its twelfth studio album, Perspective, released in September 1984. Ballard was out, and synthesizers and drum machines were in. Several different producers, including Richie Zito, Matthew McCauley, and Richard James Burgess, helped create an electronic popular style, that was very common during the 1980s, but drastically different from America's usual style. "Special Girl", the album's first single, was culled from hired songwriters and failed to make the charts. The next single, "Can't Fall Asleep to a Lullaby", was co-written by Bunnell, Journey's Steve Perry, Robert Haimer, and Bill Mumy, the latter of Lost in Space and Babylon 5 fame. Although neither track was played on popular radio, both did achieve minor success on the adult contemporary charts. The album peaked at No.Â 185 during a three-week stint on the charts in October 1984.

Their mainstream commercial success over, Beckley and Bunnell ended their Capitol contract with In Concert, released in July 1985. The concert was recorded at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara, California, on 1 June 1985. In Concert became the first America album to miss the charts entirely.

Beckley and Bunnell spent the latter half of the 1980s focusing on their live show, performing well over 100 times a year around the world. While America remained a hot ticket on the touring circuit, they were unable to land a recording contract in the years after they left the Capitol label.

By the early 1990s, the development of compact discs led to the reissuing of many older popular albums, providing acts like America with revived sales. During 1991, America was able to offer four new tracks as part of a collection issued by Rhino Records called Encore: More Greatest Hits, which was designed to complement the group's original 1975 retrospective.

America's resurgence caught the eye of Chip Davis of American Gramaphone Records, who signed the group to his label. In May 1994, America released its first new studio album in a decade, Hourglass. Produced primarily by Beckley and Bunnell, with help from Hank Linderman and Steve Levine, the album featured an eclectic group of songs. Despite garnering generally positive reviews, the album was a commercial failure.

During 1995 Beckley delivered his debut solo album. Entitled Van Go Gan, the album experimented with various styles and sounds. Comedian Phil Hartman (who during his career as a graphic artist had designed several America album covers) was featured as the voice of a televangelist preacher on "Playing God".  Although it was named as one of the Top Ten Music CDs of the year in Japan in 1995, the album wasn't released outside Japan until four years later.[9]

America fans were also treated to a concert album in 1995. Released by the King Biscuit Flower Hour Records, Inc., the concert was actually taken from a 1982 instalment of the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. Known as In Concert (not to be confused with the 1985 Capitol release of the same name), King Biscuit experienced modest success with the album (though America themselves did not: it failed to break the charts).

This success resulted in a new record deal with King Biscuit's subsidiary label, Oxygen Records. After rumours that Steely Dan producer Gary Katz would produce the project came and went, the album eventually reached stores in September 1998. The new album, entitled Human Nature after the name of Beckley's home recording studio, was accompanied by a modest commercial blitz. The first single, Beckley's "From a Moving Train", featured a strongly acoustic style. The track received considerable airplay and moderate success in adult contemporary formats. Reports claimed that the song was a major success in the popular charts in Spain. A second attempt at a single in "Wednesday Morning" was somewhat less successful. The album failed to garner the sales that Oxygen was expecting, and America was once again without a record deal.

The next few years saw the group's catalogue expand with a number of side projects, reissues of older albums on CD, and several major retrospective releases. In July 2000, Rhino released Highway: 30 Years of America, a three-CD box set which included 64 remastered tracks spanning the group's career. Included were a handful of alternative mixes and demos such as an early take of a stripped-down "Ventura Highway".

A year later, in August 2001, Rhino released a trimmed-down single disc compilation, The Complete Greatest Hits, which assembled all of the group's 17 charting Billboard singles. The disc also included two newly recorded songs, "World of Light" and "Paradise". Peaking at No.Â 152 on the Billboard album charts in October 2001, The Complete Greatest Hits was America's first charting album since Perspective in 1984.

On the solo front, in February 2000 Beckley released Go Man Go, an album of remixed tracks from Van Go Gan. The original Van Go Gan finally saw domestic release that July with bonus tracks. June saw the roll-out of another Beckley side project, Like A Brother, recorded with Robert Lamm and Carl Wilson under the name Beckley-Lamm-Wilson. Dan Peek resurfaced in 1999 with a new website and his first solo release in many years, Bodden Town.

As part of a contemporary trend of recycling oldies recordings to create new hits, Janet Jackson's 2001 single "Someone to Call My Lover" sampled the "Ventura Highway" guitar riff and rose to No.Â 3 on the Billboard pop charts.

In October 2002, the group released its first Christmas album, Holiday Harmony. Produced by Andrew Gold, the album received positive reviews for its imaginative blending of elements of classic America tunes into familiar holiday standards. Included were three new tracks, including a Bunnell-penned ode to "Ventura Highway" called "Christmas in California", featuring Beckley on lead vocals. One month later, America released a live album, The Grand Cayman Concert. Recorded the previous April in the Cayman Islands, the concert featured just Beckley and Bunnell on acoustic guitars, a throwback to the earliest days of their career. Included were their most familiar songs along with a few which were almost never performed live, such as "Wind Wave" and "Pigeon Song". Both albums failed to chart.

After this, the band ceased recording and concentrated on their consistently lucrative touring schedule.

In early 2003 Bradley Palmer left the touring band after twenty two years and was replaced, first by Chas Frichtell, then by Trent Stroh, until Richard Campbell (formerly toured with Three Dog Night, Natalie Cole and Dave Mason) came in permanently.

Record labels occasionally offered new DVDs, such as a re-release of America's 1979 concert film, Live in Central Park, a 2004 concert at the Sydney Opera House, and a 2005 show at the Ventura, California Concert Theater joined with Stephen Bishop and Andrew Gold directed by Sheldon Osmond. Also in 2005, America appeared on the PBS concert series SoundStage with long-time friend Christopher Cross, and a guest appearance by rock photographer Henry Diltz on banjo.

In April 2006, after a few solo concerts, Beckley released his third solo album, Horizontal Fall, which was largely ignored by both critics and buyers. His 2011 follow-up, Unfortunate Casino, met a similar fate.

As the second half of the first decade of the 2000s began, the group remained very much active and popular in the nostalgia concert circuit. Though the group had occasionally issued new material on minor labels, their offerings had been largely ignored by the greater commercial music industry and record-buying public.

However, a fateful connection would provide a sudden and unexpected change in fortune for the group. Around 2005, Beckley began correspondence with Adam Schlesinger of the independent rock music group Fountains of Wayne. Beckley had been a fan of the 2003 Fountains of Wayne album Welcome Interstate Managers, and Schlesinger turned out to be a fan of America's work. The exchange of songs between the two resulted in them recording a few tracks together. The recordings came to the attention of SonyBMG's new Burgundy Records label, which was impressed both by the quality of the material and by the possibility of pairing America with other independent artists. The company contracted America to record a new album with Schlesinger and his musical partner, James Iha, formerly of The Smashing Pumpkins, at the production helm. Entitled Here & Now (2007), it would be America's first major-label studio album since Perspective in 1984.

The recording sessions at Stratosphere sound in New York City, which ran through July, attracted a number of notable guest musicians, including Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, Stephen Bishop, Rusty Young, and members of the groups Nada Surf and My Morning Jacket.

In an effort to aim the album toward both younger and older audiences, the label decided to bundle the new album with a second disc comprising live performances of every track from History: America's Greatest Hits, previously recorded at XM Radio as part of XM's Then Again...Live series, recorded with longtime America drummer Wil Leacox, guitarist Michael Woods and bassist Richard Campbell. In the run-up to the album's scheduled release on 16 January 2007, America attracted publicity unknown to it since the early 1980s. The release itself was well received by critics, and Here & Now went all the way to number 52 in the Billboard charts.[8]

In addition to receiving growing support from a new generation of musicians, America finally began to receive acclamation from the entertainment industry. In 2006 America was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.[10] On 6 February 2012, the group was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contributions to music at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard.[11][12] As of late as 2009, America performed over 100 shows per year.[13]

America's follow-up to Here & Now (2007) was released on 26 July 2011. Entitled Back Pages, the album was a collection of twelve tracks covering songs from artists ranging from Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to Adam Schlesinger and the Gin Blossoms. Released on the E1 Music label, the album was produced by Fred Mollin, who had originally worked with America 31 years before on Alibi.  The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with the help of a number of studio musicians.  The release of Back Pages was briefly overshadowed by the publicity surrounding the sudden death of founding member Dan Peek on 24 July 2011.

In February 2014 lead guitarist and background vocalist Michael Woods (Woodz), who had been with the touring band since the fall of 1977, announced his retirement from the band, due to ill health. His replacement was Nashville musician Bill Worrell.

In March 2014 long-time Beach Boys and Brian Wilson vocalist/guitarist Jeff Foskett subbed for Beckley at some concerts and long-time drummer Wil Leacox retired from the band in July 2014, after an almost 42 year tenure, and was replaced by former Reel Big Fish drummer Ryland Steen.

In November 2014, America recorded a live performance at Infinity Hall in Hartford, CT for Connecticut Public Television that was subsequently aired nationwide in June 2015, and afterwards streamed online.[14]

During the late summer of 2015, guitarist/keyboardist Andy Barr, from the group Cobra Starship, came in for Worrell, who had a broken wrist. After healing, Worrell returned to the group until leaving for a solo career in October 2016. Barr then joined America permanently.

Long time America bassist David Dickey died on December 3, 2016 at his home in Sweetwater, Texas.

From the time Dan Peek left the group in May 1977, and up until his death in July 2011, speculation abounded as to whether he could or would return to the fold. On Peek's 1978 solo debut album, All Things Are Possible, Beckley and Bunnell sang back-up vocals on the track "Love Was Just Another Word". According to Peek and Bunnell, in June 1983, Peek even joined the group onstage to perform a few songs during a concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. On Peek's 1984 follow-up album, Doer of the Word, Beckley provided prominent backing vocals on the title track. In November 1999, credible rumours began to spread, that unreleased demo recordings from the early 1980s featuring Beckley and Bunnell collaborating with Peek would be released on CD sometime in early 2000. No such recordings have been released to date.

The questions about a possible reunion of the original trio began not long after Peek left the group. When asked about the prospects for a reunion in the early 1980s, Beckley and Bunnell stated, that they were happy for Peek in that he had found a new life and a new direction, but that it was unlikely there would be a reunion. "All things are possible, like [Dan] says", Beckley told radio host Lew Irwin in 1982, but "it just doesn't seem in the cards." Within a few years, however, Peek had begun to entertain just such thoughts publicly. "Like they said and like I said, all things are possible", Peek told interviewer Steve Orchard in 1985. "I really have my fingers crossed. I would love to get back together [with them] and do some things."

Although Beckley and Bunnell had over the years become increasingly firm in their position, that a reunion with Peek was unlikely, and could in fact be counterproductive, record companies tried to persuade them to change their minds. Bunnell noted to Steve Orchard in 1998, that "[w]e had a few labels say that they would be interested in recording us if we would bring Dan back or if we could put together the original trio." Beckley and Bunnell chose to maintain their decision to remain a duo.

In 2000, Peek began posting a number of weekly "episodes" to his website relating to his experiences prior to and during his years in America. Peek raised a few eyebrows both for his candid discussion of his experiences with drugs and religion and for his observations of Beckley and Bunnell. Eventually, Peek compiled the material into a book entitled An American Band, which was released in late 2004.

Certain sources have suggested erroneously that a reunion with Peek actually did occur. A Rolling Stone rock music discography book, printed during the mid-1990s, contained an apocryphal entry for America stating, that Dan Peek had reunited with Beckley and Bunnell for a tour in 1993 with the Beach Boys. This misinformation has been so widely disseminated, that the Australian rock journalist and historian Glenn A. Baker erroneously assumed this to be true in an interview question posed to Beckley and Bunnell on the Live at the Sydney Opera House DVD.

Furthermore, during an interview airing on 7 June 2010 on the Steel Pier Radio Show with Ed Hurst airing on WIBG Radio, Peek was asked about the reunion prospects and more or less ruled them out. The last song Peek recorded was "Kiss Me on the Waves" (2011) with the Spanish band Etcetera, as guest singer. The song was written by Guillermo Albelo and included in the album Steps on the Water.

Continuous speculations of Peek reuniting with America finally came to an end when Peek died in his home in Farmington, Missouri of fibrinous pericarditis on 24 July 2011, at the age of 60.[15]

Current touring musicians

Former touring musicians


when the romans left britain who took over the land

Regarding the events of 409 and 410 when the Romano-Britons expelled Roman officials and sent a request for aid to Honorius, Michael Jones (The End of Roman Britain, 1998) offered a different chronology to the same end result: he suggested that the Britons first appealed to Rome and when no help was forthcoming, they expelled the Roman officials and took charge of their own affairs.[39]

End of Roman rule in Britain

The end of Roman rule in Britain was the transition from Roman Britain to post-Roman Britain. Roman rule ended in different parts of Britain at different times, and under different circumstances.

In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew troops from northern and western Britain, probably leaving local warlords in charge. Around 410, the Romano-British expelled the magistrates of the usurper Constantine III, ostensibly in response to his failures to use the Roman garrison he had stripped from Britain to protect the island. Roman Emperor Honorius replied to a request for assistance with the Rescript of Honorius, telling the Roman cities to see to their own defence, a tacit acceptance of temporary British self-government. Honorius was fighting a large-scale war in Italy against the Visigoths under their leader Alaric, with Rome itself under siege. No forces could be spared to protect distant Britain. Though it is likely that Honorius expected to regain control over the provinces soon, by the mid-6th century Procopius recognised that Roman control of Britannia was entirely lost.

By the early 5th century, the Roman Empire could no longer defend itself against either internal rebellion or the external threat posed by expanding Germanic tribes in Northern Europe. This situation and its consequences governed the eventual permanence of Britain's detachment from the rest of the Empire.

In the late 4th century, the empire was controlled by members of a dynasty that included the Emperor Theodosius I. This family retained political power within itself and formed alliances by intermarriage with other dynasties, at the same time engaging in internecine power struggles and fighting off outside contenders (called "usurpers") attempting to replace the ruling dynasty with one of their own. These internal machinations drained the Empire of both military and civilian resources. Many thousands of soldiers were lost in battling attempted coups by figures such as Firmus, Magnus Maximus and Eugenius.

The Empire's historical relationship with Germanic tribes was sometimes hostile, at other times cooperative, but ultimately fatal, as it was unable to prevent those tribes from assuming a dominant role in the relationship. By the early 5th century, as a result of severe losses and depleted tax income, the Western Roman Empire's military forces were dominated by Germanic troops, and Romanised Germans played a significant role in the empire's internal politics. Various Germanic and other tribes beyond the frontiers were able to take advantage of the Empire's weakened state, both to expand into Roman territory and, in some cases, to move their entire populations into lands once considered exclusively Roman, culminating in various successful migrations from 406 onwards. The crossing of the Rhine caused intense fear in Britannia, prone as it was to being cut off from the Empire by raids on the primary communications route from Italy, to Trier to the Channel Coast. In the event, this was much more than just another raid.

In 383, the Roman general then assigned to Britain, Magnus Maximus, launched his successful bid for imperial power,[1] crossing to Gaul with his troops. He killed the Western Roman Emperor Gratian and ruled Gaul and Britain as Caesar (i.e., as a "sub-emperor" under Theodosius I). 383 is the last date for any evidence of a Roman presence in the north and west of Britain,[2] perhaps excepting troop assignments at the tower on Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey and at western coastal posts such as Lancaster. These outposts may have lasted into the 390s, but they were a very minor presence,[3] intended primarily to stop attacks and settlement by groups from Ireland.

Coins dated later than 383 have been excavated along Hadrian's Wall, suggesting that troops were not stripped from it, as once thought[4] or, if they were, they were quickly returned as soon as Maximus had won his victory in Gaul. In the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, written c. 540, Gildas attributed an exodus of troops and senior administrators from Britain to Maximus, saying that he left not only with all of its troops, but also with all of its armed bands, governors, and the flower of its youth, never to return.[5]

Raids by Saxons, Picts, and the Scoti of Ireland had been ongoing in the late 4th century, but these increased in the years after 383. There were also large-scale permanent Irish settlements made along the coasts of Wales under circumstances that remain unclear.[6][7][8][9] Maximus campaigned in Britain against both the Picts and Scoti,[10][11] with historians differing on whether this was in the year 382 or 384 (i.e., whether the campaign was before or after he became Caesar). Welsh legend relates that before launching his usurpation, Maximus made preparations for an altered governmental and defence framework for the beleaguered provinces. Figures such as Coel Hen were said to be placed into key positions to protect the island in Maximus' absence. As such claims were designed to buttress Welsh genealogy and land claims, they should be viewed with some scepticism.

In 388, Maximus led his army across the Alps into Italy in an attempt to claim the purple. The effort failed when he was defeated in Pannonia at the Battle of the Save (in modern Croatia) and at the Battle of Poetovio (at Ptuj in modern Slovenia). He was then executed by Theodosius.[12]

With Maximus' death, Britain came back under the rule of Emperor Theodosius I until 392, when the usurper Eugenius would successfully bid for imperial power in the Western Roman Empire, surviving until 394 when he was defeated and killed by Theodosius. When Theodosius died in 395, his 10-year-old son Honorius succeeded him as Western Roman Emperor. The real power behind the throne, however, was Stilicho, the son-in-law of Theodosius' brother and the father-in-law of Honorius.

Britain was suffering raids by the Scoti, Saxons, and Picts and, sometime between 396 and 398, Stilicho allegedly ordered a campaign against the Picts,[13] likely a naval campaign intended to end their seaborne raids on the east coast of Britain.[14] He may also have ordered campaigns against the Scoti and Saxons at the same time,[15] but either way this would be the last Roman campaign in Britain of which there is any record.[16]

In 401 or 402 Stilicho faced wars with the Visigothic king Alaric and the Ostrogothic king Radagaisus. Needing military manpower, he stripped Hadrian's Wall of troops for the final time.[15][17][18] 402 is the last date of any Roman coinage found in large numbers in Britain, suggesting either that Stilicho also stripped the remaining troops from Britain, or that the Empire could no longer afford to pay the troops who were still there.[19] Meanwhile, the Picts, Saxons and Scoti continued their raids, which may have increased in scope. In 405, for example, Niall of the Nine Hostages is described as having raided along the southern coast of Britain.[20]

On the last day of December 406 (or, perhaps, 405[21]), the Alans, Vandals, and Suebi living east of Gaul crossed the Rhine, possibly when it was frozen over, and began widespread devastation.[20][22]

As there was no effective Roman response, the remaining Roman military in Britain feared that a Germanic crossing of the Channel into Britain was next, and dispensed with imperial authority â€“ an action perhaps made easier by the high probability that the troops had not been paid for some time.[3] Their intent was to choose a commander who would lead them in securing their future but their first two choices, Marcus and Gratian, did not meet their expectations and were killed. Their third choice was the soldier Constantine III.[23]

In 407 Constantine took charge of the remaining troops in Britain, led them across the Channel into Gaul, rallied support there, and attempted to set himself up as Western Roman Emperor.[20] Honorius' loyalist forces south of the Alps were preoccupied with fending off the Visigoths and were unable to put down the rebellion swiftly, giving Constantine the opportunity to extend his new empire to include Spain.[24][25]

In 409 Constantine's control of his empire fell apart. Part of his military forces were in Spain, making them unavailable for action in Gaul, and some of those in Gaul were swayed against him by loyalist Roman generals. The Germans living west of the Rhine River rose against him, perhaps encouraged by Roman loyalists,[26][27] and those living east of the river crossed into Gaul.[28] Britain, now without any troops for protection and having suffered particularly severe Saxon raids in 408 and 409, viewed the situation in Gaul with renewed alarm. Perhaps feeling they had no hope of relief under Constantine, both the Romano-Britons and some of the Gauls expelled Constantine's magistrates in 409 or 410.[29][30][31] The Byzantine historian Zosimus (fl. 490's â€“ 510's) directly blamed Constantine for the expulsion, saying that he had allowed the Saxons to raid, and that the Britons and Gauls were reduced to such straits that they revolted from the Roman Empire,'rejected Roman law, reverted to their native customs, and armed themselves to ensure their own safety'.[32]

It has been suggested[by whom?] that when Zosimus records that the natives expelled the Roman civilian administration in 409 he might have been referring to the Bacaudic rebellion of the Breton inhabitants of Armorica since he describes how, in the aftermath of the revolt, all of Armorica and the rest of Gaul followed the example of the Brettaniai. A later appeal for help by the British communities was, according to Zosimus, rejected by the Emperor Honorius in 410 AD. In the text called the Rescript of Honorius of 411, the Western Emperor Honorius tells the British civitates to look to their own defence as his regime was still fighting usurpers in the south of Gaul and trying to deal with the Visigoths who were in the very south of Italy. The first reference to this rescript is written by the sixth-century Byzantine scholar Zosimus and is located randomly in the middle of a discussion of southern Italy; no further mention of Britain is made, which has led some, though not all, modern academics to suggest that the rescript does not apply to Britain, but to Bruttium in Italy.[33][34][35]

Historian Christopher Snyder wrote that protocol dictated that Honorius address his correspondences to imperial officials, and the fact that he did not implies that the cities of Britain were now the highest Roman authority remaining on the island.[36] The idea that there may have been larger-scale political formations still intact on the island has not been completely discredited however.

At the time that the Rescript was sent, Honorius was holed up in Ravenna by the Visigoths and was unable to prevent their Sack of Rome (410).[36] He was certainly in no position to offer any relief to anyone. As for Constantine III, he was not equal to the intrigues of imperial Rome and by 411 his cause was spent. His son was killed along with those major supporters who had not turned against him, and he himself was assassinated.[37]

There are various interpretations that characterise the events in a way that supports a particular thesis without taking issue with the basic chronology.

The historian Theodor Mommsen (Britain, 1885) said that "It was not Britain that gave up Rome, but Rome that gave up Britain...", arguing that Roman needs and priorities lay elsewhere.
[38] His position has retained scholarly support over the passage of time.

Michael Jones (The End of Roman Britain, 1998) took the opposite view, saying that it was Britain that left Rome, arguing that numerous usurpers based in Britain combined with poor administration caused the Romano-Britons to revolt.

One theory that occurs in some modern histories concerns the Rescript of Honorius, holding that it refers to the cities of the Bruttii (who lived at the "toe" of Italy in modern Calabria), rather than to the cities of the Britons.[40][41][42] The suggestion is based on the assumption that the source (Zosimus) or a copyist made an error and actually meant Brettia when Brettania was written, and noting that the passage that contains the Rescript is otherwise concerned with events in northern Italy.

Criticisms of the suggestion range from treating the passage in the way it was written by Zosimus and ignoring the suggestion,[43] to simply noting its speculative nature,[44] to a discussion of problems with the suggestion (e.g., 'why would Honorius write to the cities of the Bruttii rather than to his own provincial governor for that region?', and 'why does far-off southern Italy belong in a passage about northern Italy any more than far-off Britain?').[45][46] The theory also contradicts the account of Gildas, who provides independent support that the reference is to Britain by repeating the essence of Zosimus' account and clearly applying it to Britain.[47]

E. A. Thompson ("Britain, A.D. 406–410", in Britannia, 8 (1977), pp. 303–318) offered a more provocative theory to explain the expulsion of officials and appeal for Roman aid. He suggested that a revolt consisting of dissident peasants, not unlike the Bagaudae of Gaul, also existing in Britain, and when they revolted and expelled the Roman officials, the landowning class then made an appeal for Roman aid.[48] There is no textual proof that that was so, though it might be plausible if the definition of 'bagaudae' is changed to fit the circumstances. There is no need to do this, as any number of rational scenarios already fit the circumstances.[49] There is the possibility that some form of bagaudae existed in Britain, but were not necessarily relevant to the events of 409 and 410. The alleged ubiquity of Pelagianism amongst the British population may have contributed to such a movement if it had existed, not to mention large-scale purges amongst the British elite over previous decades. Among the works that mention but skirt the issue is Koch's Celtic Culture (2005), which cites Thompson's translation of Zosimus and goes on to say "The revolt in Britain may have involved bacaudae or peasant rebels as was the case in Armorica, but this is not certain."[50]


what's the difference between resident evil 7 and gold edition

Purchase of a GameStop-exclusive Collector's Edition included an eight-inch model of the Baker mansion, which when opened functions as a music box playing the main theme rendition of "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", a mannequin finger-shaped 4Â GB USB flash drive contained within a VHS tape box, a SteelBook Case containing the game, a lithograph of the Baker family, and a note.[33][34] The UK version added the Survival Pack: Action Set DLC, a 20th anniversary artbook and a seven-inch replica of the mansion, but did not feature the music box.[35] U.S. pre-orders on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One came with a code for a free digital download of Resident Evil: Retribution.[36] A 4D candle with the scent of the Baker House Mansion was made to enhance the virtual reality experience.[37] The Gold Edition, to be released on December 12, 2017, will include previously released downloadable content (DLC) as well as the upcoming End of Zoe DLC.[38]

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard[a] is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game was released worldwide in January 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 – with support for the PlayStation VR headset – and Xbox One. It is the eleventh main entry and 24th entry overall in the Resident Evil franchise. It is the first main series installment to be played from a first-person perspective.

The story follows civilian Ethan Winters as he searches for his wife Mia, which leads him to a derelict plantation inhabited by the Baker family. Ethan makes use of weapons and tools in the fight against the Baker family and the "Molded", a humanoid form of bacteria. Healing items are used in the event of injury and there are puzzles that may be solved to further the story. Instead of being action-oriented like Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, the survival horror element present in earlier installments and exploration took priority. Thus, the game uses a first-person perspective. It is the first full-length game to be developed in the RE Engine. Led by Koshi Nakanishi, the director of Resident Evil: Revelations, the development team consisted of about 120 people. The game was presented as a virtual reality demo named KITCHEN a year prior to its announcement at E3 2016.

Pre-release reception for the game was generally positive, with critics comparing the game to Konami's cancelled Silent Hills title and its P.T. demo. Resident Evil 7 received generally favorable reviews, which praised the gameplay, graphics, and design. PlayStation VR was hailed for increasing player involvement. However, it was also subject to criticism, with decreased resolution and physical discomfort cited as its main complaints. Further criticism was directed at the game's boss battles and the final chapter of the game. The third-best sales debut in the series, it sold 4.1 million copies overall.

The player controls the protagonist, Ethan Winters, from a first-person perspective.[1] Although Ethan is a civilian who offers few combat skills,[2] he is able to arm himself with a variety of different weapons including handguns, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives and chainsaws[3] against the Baker family, and a humanoid form of bacteria known as the "Molded". Additionally, he is able to quickly turn 180 degrees to avoid enemies, as well as block incoming attacks to reduce damage. Various portions of the game are spent being pursued by members of the Baker family, who if engaged in combat, can only be temporarily incapacitated. However, these encounters are avoidable by means of stealth, or running away.[4][5]

Unlike Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, the gameplay emphasizes horror and exploration over action.[2][6] The inventory uses a grid-based system with an initial capacity of 12 slots, but may be expanded several times over the course of the game. An item can occupy up to two spaces, and four items may be assigned to the D-pad. Item boxes found in save rooms may also be used to manage and store items, and can be retrieved from different item boxes for later use.[4][7] Items in the inventory can be used, examined, or combined with other items to increase their usefulness.[8] Many of the game's puzzles require that items be examined under certain conditions in order to reveal secrets.[9] Tape recorders can be used to manually save the game's progress, which, depending on the given difficulty level, may require the use of a cassette tape.[4][10] Videotapes are scattered for Ethan to find, which place the player in the perspective of a different character, oftentimes revealing plot information or clues needed to solve a puzzle.[4][11]

The PlayStation 4 version of the game is playable in virtual reality using the PlayStation VR headset, with the core gameplay mechanics remaining identical.[12] The game will be playable on VR devices compatible with Microsoft Windows and Xbox One in 2018.[13]

In 2017, Ethan Winters, a civilian, is drawn to a derelict plantation in Dulvey, Louisiana, by a message from his wife, Mia, who has been presumed dead for the past three years. While exploring a seemingly abandoned house, Ethan finds Mia imprisoned in the basement. During their escape, Mia suddenly becomes extremely violent and attacks Ethan, forcing him to kill her. After receiving a call from a woman named Zoe offering assistance, Ethan is attacked by a revived Mia, who cuts his left hand off. Jack Baker, the patriarch of the Baker family, captures Ethan; he is dragged to another house and Zoe staples his hand back on. Ethan is held captive by Jack, his wife Marguerite, their son Lucas, and a catatonic, wheelchair-bound elderly woman. After escaping his restraints, he is repeatedly attacked by Jack, who is infected with powerful regenerative abilities.[4]

After seemingly killing Jack, Zoe again contacts Ethan, revealing that she is Jack's daughter. Zoe informs Ethan that she, her family, and Mia are all infected with the same ailment, but can be cured with a special serum. Ethan makes his way to an old house to retrieve the serum ingredients, and in doing so manages to kill Marguerite. After recovering the ingredients, Ethan experiences visions of an unknown young girl. Lucas captures Zoe and Mia before Ethan's return, and forces him to navigate a booby-trapped barn to find them. Ethan outwits Lucas, causing him to flee, and frees Zoe and Mia. Zoe develops two serum doses; Jack, now heavily mutated, attacks Ethan, who uses one dose to permanently kill him.

Ethan must choose to cure either Mia or Zoe. Choosing Zoe leaves Mia heartbroken, despite Ethan's promise to send help. As he and Zoe flee on a boat, Zoe reveals that the Bakers were infected after Mia arrived with a young girl named Eveline when the wreck of a tanker ship washed ashore. Eveline stops their escape by psychically killing Zoe, and Ethan is knocked from the boat by a creature. If Ethan chooses Mia, Zoe gives a bitter farewell to him and Mia. As he and Mia flee on a boat, they come across the crashed tanker, where they are attacked by the creature and knocked from the boat.

Following either choice, Mia ends up on the wrecked ship and searches for Ethan while experiencing visions of Eveline, who refers to Mia as her mother. Eventually, Mia's memory is restored, revealing that she was a covert operative for an unnamed corporation that developed Eveline as a bioweapon. Mia and another agent were to escort Eveline as she was being transported aboard the tanker when Eveline escaped containment, killed Mia's colleague, and sank the ship. She infected Mia in an effort to force her to be her mother.

Upon finding Ethan, Mia gives him a vial of Eveline's genetic material. If Ethan cured Mia, she resists her control long enough to seal Ethan out of the ship to save him; if he cured Zoe, Mia succumbs to Eveline's control and attacks Ethan, forcing him to permanently kill her.[4]

After leaving the shipwreck, Ethan discovers a hidden laboratory inside an abandoned salt mine. There, he learns that Eveline is a bio-organic weapon capable of infecting people with a psychotropic mold that gives her control over her victims' minds, resulting in insanity, superhuman regenerative abilities, and various mutations. Eveline grew up obsessed with having a family, influencing her to infect Mia and the Bakers, as well as to lure Ethan to the Bakers' home. Lucas is also revealed to have been immunized against Eveline's control by the organization in exchange for providing observations on her. Using the lab equipment and Eveline's genetic material, Ethan synthesizes a toxin to kill her, and proceeds through a series of tunnels that lead back to the Baker house. Eveline assaults Ethan with hallucinations, but he overcomes them. Ethan injects Eveline with the toxin, but instead of killing her it reveals she is the elderly woman in a wheelchair, rapidly aging since her escape. Eveline mutates into a large monster and, aided by the arrival of a military squad, Ethan is able to kill her.

With Eveline dead, the squad and their leader, who identifies himself as "Redfield", extracts Ethan by helicopter. If Ethan did not cure Mia, he throws his phone containing her last message to him from the helicopter, saying "goodbye". If Mia was cured, she is found alive aboard Redfield's helicopter. As the helicopter flies away, it is revealed to be branded with a variation of the Umbrella Corporation logo.[4]

BSAA agent Chris Redfield teams up with the now reformed Umbrella Corporation in order to apprehend Lucas Baker and uncover evidence on the mysterious group that created Eveline, called "The Connections". After rescuing Ethan Winters and sending him away on a helicopter, Chris proceeds into Lucas' lab in the salt mine, where he accidentally runs into one of Lucas' traps and has a bomb attached to his left wrist. Undeterred, Chris continues his pursuit. He tries to rescue several captured Umbrella soldiers, but they are killed by Lucas' traps. Eventually, Lucas decides to activate a timer on Chris' bomb. Chris is forced to freeze the bomb in liquid nitrogen, disabling it long enough for him to remove it.

With the bomb removed, Chris battles his way through more of Lucas' Molded and traps. He then finds his way into a secret Connections research lab, where Lucas had killed all of the Connections researchers and plans to betray the organization. Chris manages to corner and shoot Lucas, which triggers a mutation in his body. Chris battles and eventually kills the mutated Lucas, and also stops him from transferring all of his data on Eveline to the Connections. With his mission done and Eveline's infection contained, Chris returns to the Umbrella base camp for an urgent call.

Following the path where Ethan cures Mia instead of Zoe, Zoe wanders into the swamp where she is apparently killed by Eveline. However, a pair of Umbrella soldiers find her body and discover she is still alive when they are ambushed by Joe Baker, Jack Baker's brother and Zoe's uncle. Joe initially believes Umbrella is responsible for Zoe's condition, but the captured Umbrella soldier claims that they have a cure for Zoe stored in a nearby shack, so Joe goes to retrieve it. However, he only finds a partial dose of the cure and the Umbrella prisoner is killed by a Molded before he can lead Joe back to Umbrella's base. Joe flees with Zoe on a boat until his progress is stopped by a massive perimeter wall, forcing him to search for the base on foot. Along the way, he is pursued by a particularly powerful Molded called the "Swamp Man" that keeps returning every time Joe defeats it.

Joe finds the base abandoned, but learns that the cure has been moved to a nearby paddle boat. He boards the paddle boat and recovers a full dose of the cure, defeating Swamp Man again in the process. Joe returns to Zoe, but she is kidnapped by Swamp Man before he can administer the cure. Joe gives chase into a heavily infected portion of the swamp, finding Zoe in an abandoned church. However, Joe is ambushed by the Swamp Man, and he is shocked to discover that the Swamp Man is in fact Jack before he is knocked out and thrown into the water to die.

Joe eventually washes up near the Baker mansion where he finds himself in the midst of a battle between the Molded and Umbrella forces. He recovers a high tech Umbrella power gauntlet and enters the mansion, where he faces Jack again. Joe defeats and kills Jack for good and administers the cure to Zoe just as Umbrella reinforcements arrive. Chris assures Joe and Zoe that they are here to help, and Zoe is eventually fully cured of her infection. She then receives a phone call from Ethan, and she thanks him for keeping his promise to send help for her.

Following the release of Resident Evil 6, Capcom conducted internal discussions regarding the direction of the next installment. A preliminary version of the game, developed in 2013, featured a more action-oriented gameplay, similar to that of Resident Evil 6. Taking inspiration from the 1981 film The Evil Dead, the developers figured scaling back the game to one location and using a first-person perspective to immerse players would be the best way to return the series to its roots of survival horror.[14][15] Development began around February 2014.[16] The game is built on a new engine, named RE Engine, which includes virtual reality (VR) development tools.[17] The decision to make the game first-person was made well before VR was considered;[12] VR development started in October 2015, for which a separate team was created.[18] The introduction of VR demanded that textures be more detailed, discarding flat textures and inaccurate object sizes that had previously been used.[19] A year before the game's announcement, Capcom presented to attendants of E3 2015 a first-person horror-themed VR demo called KITCHEN, which ran on the same engine.[17][20] While Resident Evil 7 had been in development long before KITCHEN, the latter was seen as an opportunity to evaluate how the RE Engine and its VR capabilities would be received by the public.[12] As a hint to the demo's relation to, at the time unannounced, Resident Evil 7, the logo of KITCHEN had the letter "T" designed so that it resembled a "7", but it went largely unnoticed.[16] In the company's Integrated Report of 2015, the Resident Evil development division of Capcom was stated to focus on creating experiences for the VR market, which included the new VR engine and games for the eighth generation of consoles.[21]

The game was directed by Koshi Nakanishi, who previously helmed Resident Evil: Revelations, leading a development team numbering at about 120 staff.[14] For the first time in the series, the narrative designer was a westerner—Richard Pearsey, writer of the two expansion packs of F.E.A.R. and one of the narrative designers of Spec Ops: The Line.[22] At the time of the game's reveal, development was around 65% complete.[16] Some of the creature models in Resident Evil 7 were first created in physical form – a number of them from actual meat – by make-up artists, to then be scanned through the employment of photogrammetry. This technology developed over half of the general assets of the game, but posed a problem in researching the setting of Louisiana because its considerable demand for equipment made it unviable for transport, which required Capcom to model by hand.[23] The game's original score was composed primarily by Capcom's Akiyuki Morimoto, Miwako Chinone, and Satoshi Hori, with additional contributions from Brian D'Oliveira and Cris Velasco.[24] Its theme song, an arranged version of the traditional American folk song "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", was written by Michael A. Levine and performed by Jordan Reyne. Levine's step-daughter Mariana Barreto was the original choice, but ended up doing the background vocals. The song went through about 20 versions until completion.[25] A soundtrack was released digitally by Sumthing Else Music Works alongside the game on January 24.[24]

In October 2016, Capcom launched a 10 part video series called The World of Resident Evil 7, teasing pieces of the game's contents.[26][27] A cross-save feature between Microsoft Windows and the Xbox One was confirmed in November 2016.[28] If bought on either PC through the Windows Store or on the Xbox One digitally, it is playable on both platforms through the Xbox Play Anywhere program,[29] making it the first game published by a third-party to be a part of the program.[30]

The internal marketing team at Capcom collaborated with creative agency iam8bit to produce an escape room called Resident Evil Escape Room Experience, in which groups of six are guided through a series of rooms by Umbrella Corporation employees. It was held at a gallery space in Echo Park, Los Angeles.[31] In London, a similar event was hosted in concurrence with the release.[32]

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in North America and Europe on January 24, 2017, and in Japan on January 26.[26] For the first 12 months of its release, the virtual reality format is exclusive to PlayStation VR.[13] Over 2,000,000 players accumulated worldwide, with over 200,000 of them being VR users.[39] The PC version was tamper-protected by anti-piracy software Denuvo, which was hacked within five days of release.[40]

Shortly after the game's reveal, a playable teaser named Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour was released on the PlayStation Store.[17] The demo takes place in a dilapidated house, which the unnamed male player character needs to escape.[41] Depending on the actions taken by the player, the teaser may have three different outcomes.[42] Capcom later revealed that the teaser was a standalone experience and not a segment of the game, which has more variety in its environments, and additional mechanics, such as combat.[43][44] By July 2016, the demo had been downloaded over 2 million times.[45] An update called the "Twilight Version" was released on September 15, 2016, and gave access to new rooms and items to find.[46] Along with the new version, Capcom also released a trailer for the game. Another update called the "Midnight Version" was released on December 3, which unlocked additional areas of the house, along with several new items to find and a puzzle concerning a riddle in the Twilight Version.[47] The demo was released for Xbox One on December 9 and for PC on December 19.[48]

A playable demo called Lantern was made available for attendees at Gamescom 2016, as part of revealing the first Resident Evil 7 story trailer. It makes use of found footage and first-person narrative as it tells the story of a young woman by the name of Mia hiding from an agitated old lady holding a lantern. The old lady is Marguerite Baker, who was first mentioned in Beginning Hour.[49][50]

The first downloadable content package for the game, titled Banned Footage Vol. 1, was released for the PlayStation 4 on January 31, 2017. Banned Footage Vol. 1 includes two scenarios, called "Nightmare" and "Bedroom", and a new game mode, titled "Ethan Must Die".[51][52] On February 14, Banned Footage Vol. 2 was released for the PlayStation 4, which includes two additional scenarios, called "21" and "Daughters", and a new game mode, titled "Jack's 55th Birthday". Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Banned Footage Vol. 2 were released for the Xbox One and PC on February 21.[53] Not a Hero â€“ a story chapter where players control Chris Redfield,[54] which was delayed from its Q2 2017 release date,[55][56] was released for free, on December 12, 2017, along with a new DLC called End of Zoe, that came out the same day.[38] While End of Zoe was developed by Capcom, development duties for Not a Hero were outsourced to HexaDrive.[57]

Due to its first-person presentation, the game has drawn comparisons to Konami's cancelled Silent Hills title and its P.T. demo. Capcom responded to this by pointing out that Resident Evil 7 was in development long before the reveal of P.T.,[58] and dispelled any rumors about staff of P.T. having been hired to work on the game.[59] Shacknews noted that Beginning Hour had several similarities with Sweet Home (1989), the Capcom horror game that inspired the original Resident Evil (1996). These similarities to Sweet Home include the plot of a film crew going to an abandoned house, a paranormal female presence in the house, and a tragic tale involving a family that once lived there.[60] Eurogamer found the element of survival horror in Lantern to be reminiscent of Alien: Isolation.[49] Resident Evil 7 was well received for the dissimilarity to its polarizing predecessor, in particular the change from action-oriented combat and effects to an approach more grounded in horror.[61][62]

The game received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic.[63][64][65] Resident Evil 7 was included in numbered lists of the best video games in 2017: 5th place at GamesRadar[74] and 5th place at Business Insider.[75] Vulture.com also listed the game among the best video games of the year.[76] The Official UK PlayStation Magazine listed it as the fourth best PlayStation VR game.[77]

Destructoid's Zack Furniss felt that the primary accomplishment of Resident Evil 7 concerned its pacing, which was praised as "masterful". Furniss' apprehensive expectations of how the story would unfold were subverted to his liking, deeming the result a blend similar to the horror and comedy found in The Evil Dead films. He found a sense of finality in the combat and lauded it for having produced lasting tension. What held more sway, however, was the priority of survival horror, with the management of limited resources meeting a positive response. Furniss considered the boss fights to be "harrowing" and welcomed the consistent surreality of the game. His playthrough with the PlayStation VR inspired unease, unpredictable jump scares and ultimately an "intuitive" experience.[66] Ray Carsillo of Electronic Gaming Monthly favored the atmosphere's constant mood of anxiety, which was partly impacted by the interiors of the main setting. The sound design was also thought to complement this sense of dread, increasing the level of player involvement. He noted the slow narrative build as the game's most substantial achievement, and likened its efficacy to that of earlier games in the series. Like Furniss, Carsillo expressed appreciation for the pacing, and opined that it brought considerable intrigue, accommodating lengthy play sessions. Playing with the virtual reality headset was "even more frightening than doing it normally", according to Carsillo, echoing Furniss' view that it made the game more immersive.[67] Writing for Game Informer, Andrew Reiner commended the "tense, unsettling, overly gory" atmosphere for providing a competent introduction to Resident Evil 7. The Baker house and the nature of exploring it posed significant interest to him, for together, they would present new aspects regarding the occupants and be enhanced by the first-person perspective.[68] Scott Butterworth at GameSpot enjoyed the narrative overall, valuing its memorable moments and the thematic consistency of the writing. He was impressed with the reliance of atmosphere as opposed to jump scares to heighten the feeling of danger. Using the Baker family to multifarious ends of gameplay was complimented as a logical extension of the established world; the interactive VHS tapes were approved of for the same reason, said to serve "beautifully as both a narrative device and a way to break up Ethan's exhausting mission". On PlayStation VR, Butterworth mentioned that, in its employment, the element of horror appeared more realistic.[69]

Leon Hurley, writing for GamesRadar, was of the opinion that, while the "gore and guts" were sparingly effective, a number of his most favorite moments had to do with investigating the "beautifully designed" Baker house. As for the VR, it was dubbed as a terrifying experience "where the mildewy atmosphere gets into your soul".[70] Giant Bomb's Dan Ryckert referred to Resident Evil 7 as the reinvigoration of earlier components in the series while at the same time yielding a fresh outlook with a yet-unrivaled story. The main antagonists bore substantial weight to Ryckert's cause for worry, and gave way to thrills when prompted to flee them. He viewed the first-person perspective as "bold", and attributed to the PlayStation VR, an earnest addition to the "scare factor".[71] Chloi Rad of IGN endorsed the pervading tone of eeriness in the game, owed entirely to the plantation, which she thought was "one of the creepiest single settings since the Spencer Mansion". Also, she observed that the game world gave off a robust sense of place with unwavering exploration. To her, the Baker family were the most compelling of the characters because of the consequent emotional strain felt in their presence.[72] Andy Kelly at PC Gamer began his review, writing, "It's a return to the atmospheric, slow-burning horror of the original". He disagreed with Ryckert's assessment that the first-person was a bold reinvention, instead praising it for being "classic Resident Evil through and through". Kelly saw the regular state of vulnerability he was faced within the game as one of its greatest strengths, giving credit to the visuals and audio for adding to the "rumbling sense of dread". He considered flashbacks via VHS tapes to be one of his favorite features.[11] Polygon's Philip Kollar applauded Resident Evil 7's return to form, declaring that "no Resident Evil game since the first has done as good a job as RE7 at making me feel scared and helpless".[73]

Conversely, Furniss observed the boss fight and ending as disappointing. He also cited issues with the PlayStation VR, including the prospect of sacrificing graphics for improved aim and immersion, as the resolution would decrease while in virtual reality.[66] Carsillo disliked the inventory system because its restricted capacity left weaponry and ammunition with the same amount of space as other items critical to story progression.[67] The lack of character development for the protagonist Ethan Winters was disparaged as well, with Reiner stating that the plot suffered flaws of inconsistency from this approach. Also subject to criticism was the required body movements while in seated VR mode, which were described as stomach-churning.[68] Butterworth felt a loss of excitement by the end, blaming the repetition of certain assignments to be carried out. He faulted enemies for exerting less of a threat than was preferred in the given difficulty level. Unlike with other platforms, Butterworth detected inferior visual performance on the Xbox One with degraded colors and textures.[69] Hurley expressed disapproval of the decision one comes across near the end of the game, calling into question its relevance by arguing that it could be quickly resolved in the event of regret.[70] Rad criticized Resident Evil 7 for its dependence on "overplayed tropes about rural America" which would eventually resemble a cartoon, and the puzzles were appraised as the sole shortcoming of the setting.[72] Kollar accused boss battles of interrupting the inherent suspense.[73]

Capcom's pre-release sales projection for the game's launch window, through the end of March 2017, was 4 million copies.[78] The game had shipped over 2.5 million units worldwide days after the release, while the demo exceeded 7.15 million downloads.[79] The modest shipment figure had an effect on Capcom's stock price, which fell more than three percent following the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[80] It was the best-selling video game in the UK during its week of release according to Chart-Track, amounting to the third-best debut in Resident Evil history behind 5 (7.1 mill) and 6 (6.6 mill). 200,000 copies had also been sold through Steam during that time.[80][81][82] It ranked first in the Japanese charts for the week ending January 29; the PS4 sales totalled 187,306 copies,[83] 58.9 percent of its initial shipment.[84] In the month of January in the United States, Resident Evil 7 sold the most out of any video game.[85] On February 1, Capcom communicated to its investors that the game had recouped its budget.[86] It remained at the top of the UK sales chart in its second week.[87] February saw Resident Evil 7 ranked the second best-selling video game in the United States, behind For Honor.[88] By April 2017, Resident Evil 7 had sold 3.5 million copies worldwide, short of Capcom's expectation of 4 million.[89] In May 2017, Capcom gave the game a lifetime sales forecast of 10 million units, citing favorable reviews, marketing and downloadable content as contributing factors.[90] From July to November, it went from 3.7 million to 4.1 million copies.[91][92]

On September 14, 2017, Capcom announced that a new Resident Evil was "already in motion".[97]


who sings why don't you and i

"Why Don't You & I" is a 2003 top ten hit by Santana. The song was written by Chad Kroeger and recorded for Carlos Santana's 2002 album Shaman, on the Arista record label.[1] The song was re-recorded in 2003 with vocals by Alex Band of The Calling, as the third single in the United States. It was released as the second single in Canada in the winter of 2003. The Chad Kroeger version was also released alongside the Alex Band version in the United States.

Why Don't You & I

Despite being re-recorded for single release, the original version is the one that was played on Australian radio stations. The original version also occasionally plays on American radio stations.[citation needed]

When Arista wanted to release the single in the summer of 2003, Roadrunner Records, the record label for Nickelback, refused permission citing concerns that Kroeger appearing on a "high-profile single" would compromise the excitement over Nickelback's fall 2003 release The Long Road and hurt the Nickelback album sales.[2] Kroeger recommended Band, another BMG artist, to re-record the song's vocals for single release. The Alex Band version omits the guitar instrumental bridge, and was also included on Ultimate Santana.[3][4]

Produced and arranged by Lester Mendez, the song reached #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 25, 2003. "Why Don't You & I" is Santana's last single to date to hit the Top 10 in the United States.

Song credits from the CD liner notes insert.[6]


who plays arturo in the young and the restless

Jason Canela (born April 25, 1992 in Miami, Florida) is an American actor[1] of Cuban descent, best known for his roles in telenovelas. He has appeared in serials such as "¿Dónde Está Elisa?" and Cosita Linda [2] Canela has recently made his debut in English-language television.[3] He is the younger brother of actor-singer Jencarlos Canela. In January 2018, Soap Opera Digest announced he had been cast in the role of Arturo Rosales on The Young and the Restless.[4]

Jason Canela

Canela was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents, Lisette and Heriberto Canela. He has three older siblings including the actor-singer Jencarlos Canela. Canela studied acting at The Lee Strasberg, Theatre & Film Institute in New York City.