907 Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)

 907 Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)

Studio Album - Heavy Rock




About the Act:

Bon Jovi are an American Hard Rock band from New Jersey, founded in 1983 and still going. Jon Bon Jovi is the singer and driving force behind the band. In all the years they have been active, they have only lost two members, one of which is their long-time guitarist Ritchie Sambora, who left in 2013.

They are well-known for being a significant arena rock act of the 80s, and in particular for their smash album Slippery When Wet.

Before forming the band, Jon Bon Jovi did various things, including being a women's shoe salesman, being in various local bands, and singing on the track "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas". The band were not very enthusiastic about the band name, which was chosen to be similar to Van Halen, but is stuck, and they got successful, so couldn't change it.


About the Album:

It was a huge hit worldwide. It was the third album by the band, and designed to be deliberately more mainstream and accessible than their previous two albums. It his number 1 in the USA and charted in many countries. It hit No 6 in the UK, but only managed No 64 in Greece. One of the tracks, "Livin' On A Prayer" is their signature song, and still gets many plays on rock radio, and mainstream radio, and is a frequent inclusion in "The Best Rock Album In The World"-tyle compilations.


My History with this Album:

Everybody I knew at the time seemed to have a copy of this album, but not me. I know the singles from the album.


Review:

I feel like many people of my age will know this album much better than I do, it became a rock classic. It is a rock classic. However, just in case you don't know it, I will try to describe it. It is rock - big sounds, overdriven guitar, anthemic songs, flashy solos, and driving beats. It is stupendously accessible, with immediate appeal and a real gutsy attitude. If you don't know this, you might know Aerosmith, or Bryan Adams, or Kiss, or even Alice Cooper. This is that type of rock. Every track is designed to be an arena showstopper, but it turns out that "Livin' On A Prayer" is the one that caught the public imagination most, which is a kind of down-home story of people down on their luck.

Musically, well, actually although the structures and harmonies are quite simple, the musicianship is good. Ritchie on the guitar does a good job of showing off, which is the job of a rock guitarist. There are some more unusual bits of arrangement and production, and in this I especially like "Wanted, dead or Alive" which has some great sounds. Jon's singing is classic Rock vocals, powerful, accurate and dramatic, with a growl when needed. The tunes are very singable, but a bit high for me.

Lyrically, it is not that deep, nothing you have to think too hard about. It's not that kind of music to be honest, some word-play ("Love is a social disease"), songs about people and nostalgia, bravado songs. The whole album is archetypal Hard Rock, but done well. If you hate rock, then you will have good reason to hate this, but if you like rock at all, this is one for you. It's consummate rock that hits the genre spot on.


8/10 


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0kBfgEilUFCMIQY5IOjG4t

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCFA6FF71C4E34E76

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_When_Wet


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