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!!

 

Where Are They Now? /Paul Laine

So Bop The Blogger and Aaron asked around who wanted to do a Whatever Happened To Blog on various artists! I kinda kicked around the idea about doing one and well guess what? I joined the ranks and  after you read my stuff take some time and check out my fellow friends and their throwback artists! Here are the links….
https://keepsmealive.wordpress.com
http://mikeladano.com
https://nauticazinger.wordpress.com
https://1001albumsin10years.wordpress.com

Paul Laine is the dude I chose to yammer about! Surprise surprise he’s a Rock guy kinda…. Lemme tell ya’s all about it….

Paul Laine came out of Vancouver and released a real solid slab of AOR Hard Rock with his debut album called Stick It In Your Ear(released 1990)! Ha! Great title for a blog  also right? Right!

My interest in Laine came about by reading about his album in the now defunct Canadian Magazine titled M.E.A.T!  In the article the thing that jacked up my curiosity level was the fact that Laine scooped the Late Great Bruce Fairbairn to produce! Fairbairn man he produced all the biggie early 80s albums(Loverboy) mid 80s classics (Bon Jovi) late 80s masterpieces (Aerosmith) even into the 90s Rock  (Van Halen and Kiss). Fairbairn sadly passed away in 1999 but he left quite the catalogue of work behind and this being the reason I took a gamble on the Laine album as I knew if anything the production would be top-notch!

Laine even with Fairbairn in his back pocket still delivered a pretty decent bit of rock with the songs! Stick It In Your Ear  stands up on its own merit with the songs like We Are The Young,Dorianna, Break Down The Barricades and Is It Love amongst tracks from the 13 song debut.

When you watch the top video posted of Is It Love you will see the suits and ties of Laines record company tried to market him as a 1990 Bon Jovi and it kinda failed not due to the material mind you but the climate of music as right below Vancouver was Seattle and its filthy dirge grunge bubbling underneath ready to explode and Bam did it ever!

Is It Love and no it’s not that sap drip dry Is it Love version by C#*kSnake Er I mean Whitesnake this is power pomp rock done to a T! The money shot is the chorus and that is due not only by Laine as the writer but by Fairbairn weaving his magic at the recording console! You want hit…I will try to give you a hit kid!

Back to the video and its a hoot to watch check out the storyline and editing of it! Cut to band …cut to Dude and Hooker Chick,Hooker Chick hangs out with Boss Hog but Chick likes  Dude,Cut to Band, Cut to Boss Hog don’t like Dude,Boss Hog catches Chick And Dude  and now theirs trouble,Hooker Chick shoots Boss Hog and splits with Dude and Laine shows up at the end on the street after  Hooker Chick and Dude flea! Bandana Micheals and Poison would have slopped up over this concept back in 1990 but they made the Unskinny Bop Video instead…hahaha..

After 1990 Laine kinda disappeared for a bit  but in the early 90s he joined that cheese-mo American Act Danger Danger  and  stayed with them for 11 years! Atta boy Paul still doing what you’re doing …

Laine has even dabbled recently in a country rock outfit called Darkhorse and even has something brewin over at Frontier Records (home of all things AOR). Good on him man not giving up and ploughing forward and doing what he wants to do!

The second video posted is Laine recently in Australia playing some Melodic Rock Festival doing some of those tunes from Stick It In Your Ear and the fella looks and sounds good as his voice is still there! Trainwreck does not need apply here folks!

Thanks for reading!

Now scroll back to the top and click those links and enjoy some fine reads and writes from some Great Bloggers!

SONIC WAVES…Bon Jovi/New Jersey

I have to give credit where credit is due! For me I gotta suck it up and say that when Bon Jovi dropped New Jersey on our senses in the fall of 1988 we were all drinking what Jon was selling! What was he selling Deke you say? Well simple he was fronting one of the biggest bands In the world. I bought into Jon’s rock plan from about 1984 – 1992! After Keep The Faith the guy and his band of hired men  just flat out sucked and to that point I could do about 5 or 6 Jovi albums of  3/4’s Fillers but I cannot even get into tracking these albums down to give them a spin! Like seriously when he did that fucking goofy Hee Haw (country) record Left Feels Right? Hey if you love those albums I respect that I really do but  Geez people  the last great track you had been Dry County from Keep The Faith and then you punt the great Alec John Such from the band…ok I’m getting off topic but yeah friends New Jersey is a great rock record even today. It was produced by the great Bruce Fairbairn(RIP) and Bob Rock…….

Richie Sambora(gone) Alec John Such(canned) David Bryan (puppet) Tico Torres(no say guy) and Jon Bon Jovi(no comment) recorded and wrote some real good tunes here…..

Where’s Tokyo Road again?

LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME-the intro to this song is pretty damn cool i must say it ebbs and flows into all kinds of rock territory snippets of chants of “Hey” pop out sonically and then hope about you throw down some chill with what sounds like a hammond b3 with  Jon telling us to Lay..yada yada and then crank up the sonics the song rocks out of the gate and all is well here at Jovi HQ 1988! Sambora plays some big riffs and the drums and bass groove along real good. Granted Jovi knows the deal here but he cranks the attention of my 21-year-old brain at the time and opens the Jersey album with a real good track! Bravo Jovi i say!

BAD MEDICINE-heres some keys..and boom Richie Rich plays big Arena Rock power chords and wowzers did this song hook me back than. Jonny and company nail the chorus at the beginning of the track and I’m shooting up with some Bad Medicine myself! The song rolls with catchy verse,catchy chorus and insert muscle guitar solo for good measure and viola you have a mega hit that myself,Tbone and many million others are hooked!

BORN TO BE MY BABY- the hooks keep coming ….the band fires off out of the starters gate and throw down some Na,na,na,na,na,na! This is a good song and give it up for everyone’s favourite salaried lead guitarist R Sambora! You can see now 27 years later and even back in good Ol 1988 how big of a clog Sambora was in this band. I always dug the live version of this tune when at the end Jovi would nail down some harmonica….instant street cred! Check out the live vid!

LIVING IN SIN- you knew just knew it was coming yepper doodle folks the ballad. It’s so so in my books I mean it’s better than that God awful sap sellout song  Always that came years later. You know it’s just your typical proto type balladeer but the drums push it a bit so it doesn’t fully land in dulls ville! Interesting rock fact that when myself and Tbone caught the Jersey Syndicate World Tour of 1989 Living In Sin was the current single and they did not play it that night in Winnipeg! Wouldn’t have mattered if they had  I would  have went for a piss during it!
https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/bad-medicine-in-the-peg/

BLOOD ON BLOOD- this I guess you could say In the Jovi catalogue would be the were all for one and one for all song! The song builds it’s the kinda tune Springsteen would do if he was doing rock n roll steroids! It’s a good closer for side one and I also recall when they played this live you know they did the high fives and putting each other’s hands on each other like we’re brothers! Yeah I bought into the program and then I read a few months later that all the dudes are just hired hands! The word BRUTAL comes to  mind!

HOMEBOUND TRAIN- this song is awesome. Loud distorted guitar,distorted harmonica and real fast tune! No slouching and man this song just cooks and smokes! Tico mashes his drums and paces this track and bravo! What a way to kickstart side 2! Don’t believe me ? Crank the vid!

WILD IS THE WIND- I really like this tune it’s a well written mid tempo track that features Sambora jacked up vocally next to JON in the mix! Real good chorus and yeah man if I was the tin man I guess you could say I have a heart! Haha! This is how a kindish power ballad should be done. Why they never pushed this out as a single who knows but pretty cool never less! First power ballad vid posted here at Arena Rock! It’s official Jon Bon Jingles has taken over what’s officially left of my brain!

RIDE COWBOY RIDE- drop the needle and you can hear the cackling of the vinyl of Jon and Richies acoustics! It’s short tune like a buck and a half (1 minute 30 secs ) and boom guns are drawn into…..

STICK TO YOUR GUNS-big wall of Fairbairn sound starts this tune and it’s a good song,a slow groover of a track and Jon and company tell us all to Keep The Faith! Don’t give up and if you do take a shot of Bad Medicine!

I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU- Yep this song was huge in 1989 real huge all over Muchmusic and it padded Bon Jovi’s bank account forever! It’s a power muscled ballad and even though this tune really isn’t my thing it’s better than Living In Sin and others! Features actually some real neat axe work from Sambora! Of course Sambora carries this tune with the Boss vocally as well!

99 IN THE SHADE- gem man! End of the album Gem! This is real cool party time summer fun rock! Almost like a tune you would hear in the 50s but Jovi cooks it 80s style and it’s a romping good rocker! Real money is on the chorus of this track. I have to say man these guys were on a roll at this time which is very impressive considering they were following up Slippery When Wet!

LOVE FOR SALE- Richie and Funny Jonny get hammered on substances and roll tape with the acoustics with Tico on the snare and end the album with a feel good end of the album Gem! Love the lyrics…just simple good and goofy! Well done Captain Kidd/King Of Swing!

IN CONCLUSION- Yo! If you have been reading this site for a while you have probably been  wondering where’s the Jovi album reviews? Hahahaha than again maybe not! New Jersey came out when I was 21 and they rocked this record pretty good! It’s filled with all good things 80s! Big production,catchy songs, big singles, big(gulp) ballads and it’s all here for the pickings!  I give them credit they never did go down Cheese Wiz Avenue as much as others did (did I hear someone chirp Poison?) still I gotta hand it to these guys this is a great rock album……..just don’t get me started on after anything Jovi related after 1992!