I didn't remember what was my first metal band or song. Sometimes in 1984 I listened to Van Halen's "Jump", of course. Then I vaguely remembered that earlier I knew about Iron Maiden. But Bon Jovi was definitely the reason I decided to start my heavymetal journey."But Bon Jovi was not even a metal band...!" some of you may scream, or jeered.
Well, whatever. Billboard, Metal Edge, etc. classified them as 'metal' and put them in the same edition as Metallica, Guns N' Roses and many more - that's enough reason for me to call them a metal band.
Sometimes in 1987 I rented a video in a video rental in my old neighborhood. Hey, this is Bon Jovi, the band everyone talks about, I think. It was a collection of video clips from their album 'Slippery When Whet.' The hot pants, the hairspray... This is cool! (Come on, admit it, at that time, the outfit was cool).
"Wild in the Streets" opened the scene. It was a compilation of their footage during a tour. Then of course "You Give Love a Bad Name" - you know, the 'let's pretend we're doing live performance' type of video. How Richie Sambora played the solo, David Bryan's calm act behind the keyboards, all the things that made me want to be a rock star. Ah, and who didn't fall in love with "Never Say Goodbye?" Don't forget how Jon Bon Jovi floating around the stage (using steel cable) in "Living on a Prayer". In the end, Richie Sambora's double-neck guitar in "Wanted Dead or Alive" really lift my mood up.
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A year later my friend lent me his copy of Bon Jovi's newest album "New Jersey." If "Slippery" was mainly rock n' roll, in "New Jersey" the five explored the country and blues side of their music. If "Slippery" was more spontaneous, in "New Jersey" they seemed to put extra efforts in the mixing and final touch. "Lay Your Hands on Me" was really intended to be an opening song for a concert. "Born to be My Baby" and "Blood on Blood" offered heavy and noisy tracks. They didn't forget the formula for a commercially successful album: a ballad - here came "I'll be There for You." I really worked hard to find the guitar keys by myself for that song, and hey, I did it! Later on, I developed a special feeling for "Living in Sin."
Yes, Bon Jovi may be the cheesy type of metal band. But they were the reason why later I listened to Metallica, Iron Maiden, and so on.
My favourite tracks: Living on a Prayer, Wild in the Streets, Living in Sin, I'll be There for You.
definitions aside (personally I think they are more hard rock, but whatever... :-)), they did make some decent albums in the 80s and early 90s. Just the right balance to make it enjoyable both for the hardcore rock fans and the average audience, hence their huge mainstream success. I don't really listen to their new stuff though, seems they are turning into a country band? :-D
ReplyDeleteYes Dit. They somewhat make a distance to the hairmetal era. They went to a more pop and country-type of music. They even won a grammy award in... guess what, "Best country performance" (in collaboration with a country artist). They decided not to tour with rock band, instead they do tours with country artists. But still a band that shaped the '80s and the whole music industry.
DeleteJon actually started with a contract from a recording company after numerous solo performances, then went out to look for members of the band. So BJ is like a company with Jon as the CEO and others as subcontractors, unlike most bands that started together at the beginning before landing any record deal.
ReplyDeleteRichie has left the band recently (dunno either exit or got pushed).
Anyway, I love their earlier albums though...and will be seeing them in Dec.