August 18, 1986 - Bon Jovi and Slippery When Wet

A little over two months since my last release, a new band joins my library when American rockers Bon Jovi released their third album "Slippery When Wet" on August 18, 1986. But who are Bon Jovi? They are a glam rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey fronted by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Jon Bon Jovi. He's joined by lead guitarist Richie Sambora, bassist Alec John Such, drummer Tico Torres and keyboardist David Bryan. This is my only full album by Bon Jovi in my library and I'm really not a fan of theirs, but this album contains some undeniably catchy music and it was a massive commercial success, reaching #1 in the U.S. and propelling Bon Jovi into superstardom. Let's give it a listen!

The album begins with a rock anthem aptly titled "Let It Rock" and Bryan opens it with some cool organ that reminds me a bit of Deep Purple, and that's some high organ praise! It's a great opening that lasts almost a full minute, then they shift into a very commercial chorus riff with Sambora leading the way on guitar and the whole band singing a very made-for-radio "whoa-oh-oh" part in the background. This leads into the first verse as Sambora plays some decent guitar and we hear Bon Jovi's voice for the first time. He has a pretty pop-y/glam-y voice that is alright but it sounds very generic to me. Once they reach the simple chorus riff again the rest of the band sings as a group (replicating the live audience's part) as Bon Jovi sings a very simple chorus. It ends with the same "whoa-oh-oh" part we heard earlier and leads into the next verse. Despite it's simplicity there is some nice guitar by Sambora, but the rest of the band isn't contributing all that much. After another verse and chorus Sambora goes off of for his first guitar solo and he does a pretty good job, spicing up this song with some pretty sweet guitar. It's an easy highlight as they move into a final verse and chorus and lazily jam out the "whoa-oh-oh" part until the song is over. The next song is the first of three massively successful singles on this first side, "You Give Love A Bad Name". The back-up singers start 3uth no music, shouting "shot through the heart and you're to blame" before Jon delivers a cool "darling you give love a bad name" and the music kicks in. They move into the main verse riff and Sambora plays some nice guitar to lead the way as Bon Jovi begins the first verse. It's a very catchy main riff and it's hard not to sing along once you know the words as this song became very popular. They build into the chorus and everyone shouts the opening lines of this song in this successful sing-along chorus. Sambora continues to lead the music with some decent guitar but the bass, drums and keyboards are all so basic they're barely noticeable. The guitar and vocals are enough to carry it though as they play another catchy verse and chorus and then it's solo time. Sambora doesn't get long, but he plays some cool stuff in this short solo and it leads right into a different version of the chorus as we hear only the vocals and drums. The drums are simple but sound epic without everything else in the way and after one go through in this style, the guitars and keyboards return and they jam out the regular chorus. The back-up singers sing a constant "whooooooa-oh" in the background as things slowly fade to an end and there is definitely way too much "whoa"ing instead of actual singing for my tastes. Track 3 is arguably Bon Jovi's biggest hit, titled "Livin' On A Prayer". Bryan starts with some light synths and Such cues up a solid bass riff before Sambora takes the lead with a very iconic talk box main riff. It's an undeniably catchy riff and it's no surprise that this album was their commercial breakthrough with all these made-for-radio hits. Between Bryan's solid synths and an actually noticeable bass line this is one of the more complete efforts and Bon Jovi sings a solid verse to boot. They segue nicely into one of the most memorable choruses you'll hear that's chock full of more "whoa"ing from the back-up singers. Despite all the whoas, it's a pretty damn catchy chorus and they hit the jackpot with this one. Sambora spices up the second verse with some snippets of epic guitar and after another sing-along chorus he gets his full solo. For such an iconic song, it has a fairly basic solo that still sounds decent but it could have been way better. From here they double down on the chorus as everyone moves up an octave and they play and sing everything even higher! Bon Jovi is really yelling and letting loose now and the bass and guitar sound solid in their higher form and they jam out this over the top chorus until the end of the song. Up next is "Social Disease" and it begins with a woman making sex noises for ten seconds before she says "that's it?" An odd, premature beginning to a song for sure and from there they cue up the main riff with Bryan playing some flashy keyboards and Sambora leading the way with a nice cool guitar riff. Jon sings another verse in his typical voice and the verse flows right into the chorus as we're told that love is the social disease. This is another song that is alright but certainly nothing too special as they play through another verse and chorus fairly uneventfully. They set up for Sambora's solo but it's also pretty underwhelming and it just leads predictably back to the main riff as they play the chorus a couple times before ending things. Pretty basic stuff. The last song on this side is "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and it too was a massively successful single. It has a dark and ominous opening by Bryan on keyboards and Jon plays the acoustic guitar we hear as he plays a slow and epic riff. Things sound pretty good and Jon begins to sing overtop, holding lots of notes for a good while and trying to match the epicness of the music. He does a decent job and the first verse and chorus is mostly just Jon by himself. Bryan adds some piano to the second verse and Sambora finally comes in for the second chorus as he plays some light electric guitar overtop. This leads to the solo and Sambora delivers with this one as he plays some cool and epic stuff. The end of it flows nicely into the next verse and then it's more "I'm a cowboy" time as they play the chorus a couple times before Jon ends the song as it began on acoustic. Another very memorable and iconic song to finish off this first side.

Side two kicks off with another rock anthem titled "Raise Your Hands" and Sambora plays a nice fast guitar riff that sounds cool to lead the way as Bryan adds some "epic" synths to the background that I think sound a little lame. As usual though, the guitar and vocals are enough to carry the song as Jon sings a decent verse overtop Richie's nice guitar. It seems to be their niche that the backup singers chant the name of the song while Jon sings the chorus. This song was clearly meant for a large live audience with it's repetitive and easy lyrics as Jon shouts out different places inbetween every every "raise your hands". After another verse and sing-along chorus Sambora goes off for his customary solo and he does another dine job with this one as he is definitely the best part about this band. After the solo they are content to jam out the chorus as Jon continues to yell different cities, even giving Vancouver a shoutout. The next song is "Without Love" and it's driven by some very lame and sappy synths by Bryan. The rhythm section is once again extremely simple and Sambora's guitar isn't enough to save this from being a very pop-y main riff. Jon sings some sappy vocals to match the mood and things get even more love-y dove-y in the chorus as this is easily the worst song yet. They play another very average and forgettable verse and chorus and Sambora plays a "guitar solo" that is really slow and simple and not very exciting at all. It's a predictable finish as well as this is a perfect example of why I don't like most Bon Jovi. Track 8 is "I'd Die For You" and Bryan plays some very 80s synths once again, but they are much more upbeat on this song and sound alright. Sambora plays a nice low guitar riff that meshes well with the high synths, but it drops out so that the verse begins with just synths and vocals. Sambora does join the verse partway through but the synths still lead and the opening riff turns out to be the chorus riff. Bon Jovi sings an average chorus and even for them it's pretty repetitive. They play another predictable verse and chorus and it follows the same formula as basically every song on this album as Sambora plays a decent guitar solo before they return to the main riff and jam out the chorus until the end of the song. This second side is certainly lacking the star power and catchiness of the first side and that continues with "Never Say Goodbye", the second slow ballad of this second side. This song is the slowest paced yet and it is borderline curable as it is extremely sappy, pop-y and contains some extremely basic and unexciting music. Jon sings another sappy verse and he sounds especially douche-y when he says "and you lost more than that in my backseat baby". I thought the previous ballad was slow and uneventfulz but this one takes the cake as it seems like forever that they sing the slow and sad chorus. After another long-winded verse and chorus it's solo time and Sambora starts off super slow but does end up shredding a bit at the end. It's not enough to salvage this song though as they predictably play a final verse and chorus to finish it off. The final song on the album is "Wild In The Streets" and like Bon Jovi love to do they open the song with a snippet of the chorus riff as Bryan plays some upbeat synths that sound decent to lead the way. Once they reach the main verse it's Sambora who takes over with a simple but alright guitar riff and Jon sings the verse in his usual rock style. The synths return for the chorus and it's another very simple one as Jon and everyone else screams the name of the song several times over. It's another sing-along rock jam and at least this upbeat style is much better than the ballads, despite it still being just average stuff. After another verse and chorus it's the last solo time and it's a solid rag-time-y solo with cool guitar and keyboards. That was unexpected but welcome, but that's the last surprise as they jam out the chorus way too many times before finishing off the album with a final rock and roll flourish.

That is the end of "Slippery When Wet" and I thought it was a thoroughly average album. The first side had some catchy hits that carry the album while the second side was much worse in my opinion. Overall I think it does just enough to justify it's spot, but only just. This is my only Bon Jovi album for good reason as aside from Richie Sambora's occasionally decent guitar, there is not much talent going on here.