Bon Jovi/Slippery When Wet(1986)

 

This Jovi post is for Tbone’s wife Christine who is Toronto going to see her favourite band tonight. Tbone for Christine’s birthday emptied out his wallet  right down to the lint in his pockets and scored her an all-inclusive VIP Package for the show!

Tbone ..you are one great/broke guy! Seriously a round of Beers N Cheers as T has totally stepped up for Christine! 

I told Christine that I would review a Jovi album but only released Jovi output from 1984-1992. Her first choice was Slippery followed by New Jersey which I told her I had already reviewed a ways back! 

Slippery it is than! Of note in this review I flat-out refuse to post the videos from this release that we have seen a billion times over! I will though post  a clip of one of those as I call em Album Gems for you’s to watch!

I will say  however that High Five Hand Slap between Alec and David in the Wanted video is the best part of any rock video ever! Haha….Well from this genre that is……

1984….

Seen the ad for the  self titled debut in Circus Magazine and I was sold on it as Jovi looked like a rock band.  Purchased this on vinyl and it’s a pretty decent debut album with some good rock tracks…

1985….

So since the debut was decent enough a followup purchase on cassette  was in order when 7800 Fahrenheit was released. 7800 was not a hot album but kinda a clunker. Outside of the opening track In And Out Of Love and Tokyo Road  the album did not deliver. The production as well was weak/sterile sounding….

1986…

Jonny and crew hire Producer Bruce Fairbairn(RIP) and Bruce’s sidekick Bob Rock and proceed to high tail up to Vancouver B.C and the album known to everyone Slippery When Wet is Unleashed in the East! South! North and West! Basically all over!

The debut single You Give Love A Bad Name is released a month before the album hits’ the shelves and the song spurred on by the video lays down the law in some pre hype album curiosity for everyone ..well that would be me and Tbone!

When Slippery is released were all hooked on its great songs/singing/playing and production…..

For the record …Tbone always preferred this cover of Slippery! Just saying! ^^^

The Jersey Mafia!

Jon Bon Jovi – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, rhythm acoustic guitar (t
Richie Sambora – lead guitar, backing vocals, lead acoustic guitar
Alec John Such – bass guitar (credited), backing vocals
Tico Torres – drums
David Bryan – keyboards, backing vocals, horns* (Credits as Lema Moon which is his nickname).

Studio musicians
Hugh McDonald – bass guitar (wrote and recorded the bass parts, uncredited)
Tom Keenlyside – saxophone
Lema Moon – horns

Well the Great Alec John Such never played a bass lick on this studio album but back in 1986 we didn’t know any different. Give props to Such though while Jon/Richie and ensemble were recording Alec was trolling Strip Bars in Vancouver and living the High Life! (Just making this up but that is how I would have done it!)

The 10 Pack……

1. “Let It Rock” Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora 5:27
2. “You Give Love a Bad Name” Bon Jovi, Sambora, Desmond Child 3:42
3. “Livin’ on a Prayer” Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child 4:09
4. “Social Disease” Bon Jovi, Sambora 4:18
5. “Wanted Dead or Alive” Bon Jovi, Sambora 5:08
6. “Raise Your Hands” Bon Jovi, Sambora 4:16
7. “Without Love” Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child 3:30
8. “I’d Die for You” Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child 4:30
9. “Never Say Goodbye” Bon Jovi, Sambora 4:48
10. “Wild in the Streets” Bon Jovi 3:54

So as you can say by the writing credits Jonny has in hands in all 10 songs  while Richie riding shotgun contributes to 9. No to be outdone and since the 7800 album did not have a ‘HIT’. Song Doctor Desmond Child is brought in the mix on 4 tracks and two of these tunes shoot the band into superstardom and never looking back!

Let It Rock starts off with a ton of Keyboard Swirls by Bryan and before I can shout “Jon Cain” Sambora blasts out of the gates along with Tico on the drums leading the charge. Let It Rock is a good opener more of a mid tempo  rock track than an all out assault. Sometimes you do not have to drop the hammer right off the top and for a few bands like Jovi they get away with it!

Ok what do you say about You Give Love A Bad Name that hasn’t been talked/written about? Let me try to rewind back to 86 on my thoughts as opposed to 2017 where we have heard this song a million times! The first time I heard it I dug it lot’s and why not?! Features Jon and crew doing capella at the start and the band roars ahead spurred on by a huge Richie riff. Just an all out fun party track. Great solo as well and great  lead and backing vocals.

Richie borrows Framptons Talk Box and one of the biggest 80’s Rock Tune’s ever is heard and at the time you quickly realize that Jon is trying to be  the Pop Rock Metal version of Springsteen in the lyric department telling the tales of people down on their luck. The pre chorus into the chorus is the money shot which made the 3 songwriters here a ton of Cash! We all have heard this tune a zillion times.

Social Disease is good ol after rip of a party tune! Love the use of Horns on this tune and you can see how Aerosmith (1yr later) and  Motley Crue (2 years later) used the same Producers/Studio/Horns and crafted  their own masterpieces at times using Brass in their tunes.

Wanted Dead Or Alive once again I’m going back to 86 and when I heard this tune for the firs time I loved it as it builds slow  with the use of acoustic guitars and morphs into a electric Sambora kicker of a solo. Like the fact that Jon wrote about touring town to town as the video showed them onstage/backstage and made us all want to see the Slippery Tour.

Side 2 blasts off with Raise Your Hands which is another fun straight ahead rocker and you can hear the big riffs layed down and Jon telling us to ummmm…. Raise Your Hands!

Without Love to my years is an obvious single but It wasn’t for some reason than again this album produced huge singles so Jovi must have felt good that he could write a song like Without Love as a single and not use it. Good song actually with a pretty decent hook in the chorus…

Ok! Track 8 is my fav one on here and that’s I’d Die For You  and it just blasts out of the gates and even though in the first verse is awash with Bryan’s Synth Fairbairn never lets the keys take over the Loud Rock Guitar! Great everything about this song and for myself it  will always hold a special place for me as this was the second song in the Jersey Show that Tbone and myself caught in Winnipeg(August/1989) and as I called it my review of the show The Olympic Bra Toss as it rained Bra’s/Panties on those dudes on stage….

Never Say Goodbye was the big power Ballad which did nothing for me. That’s ok as Power Ballads were the obligatory release point’s by the 1980’s standards  So since everyone was doing them after a while i just got nauseous with the whole deal!

Wild In The Streets ends the album it’s a rocker track but for me it’s so so but the chorus is good basically Slippery ends for me after Track 8. Still though Wild  was an ok tune if I could stumble past the previous tune which wasn’t too often!

Holy Crap this was a real long review….U still with me on this Christine??

Jonny steps up and delivers and makes a bunch of fanboys on this album as Jovi had the looks for the ladies and the loud guitars for the dudes. Great album and put these guys on career path that they even survived past the Grunge Era…

Actually I was hoping Christine was going to pick 92’s Keep The Faith but she was The Boss on this one and made the call! Keep The Faith is an album I will tackle at one point so friends thanks for reading and….

Keep The Faith….  (yeah that was pathetic)

^^^ –Actually Tbone never said he preferred that cover I’m just mucking around with him…..

Than again maybe Tbone did say it!!