TOP TEN Bon Jovi Songs
Published on February 4, 2012 by Christian Sellers · No Comments
To date Bon Jovi have sold over 130 million albums since first forming in New Jersey in the early 1980s. While their first two efforts, their self-titled debut and 7800° Fahrenheit, failed to attract the attention of the mainstream, 1986′s Slippery when Wet transformed them into superstars overnight. You Give Love a Bad Nam and Livin’ on a Prayer soon gained regular rotation on MTV, while frontman Jon Bon Jovi helped to nurture the careers of new bands like Cinderella.
Having appeared further down the line-up of 1985′s Monsters of Rock festival in England, Bon Jovi returned two years later to headline above such legendary acts as Metallica and Dio, before releasing their second multi-platinum album New Jersey in 1988. More hit singles followed, including the US number ones Bad Medicine and I’ll be There for You, before Jon ventured out on his own to score the soundtrack to the western Young Guns II.
While changes in taste and the arrival of grunge had brought an end to the careers of many of the so-called hair metal bands of the 1980s, Bon Jovi re-emerged in 1992 with a new image and sound for the underrated Keep the Faith. Following the release of the retrospective Cross Roads, which included the top ten hit Always, Bon Jovi continued to enjoy commercial success with a run of gold and platinum-selling albums, with the most recent being 2009′s The Circle.
10. BLOOD ON BLOOD
While Slippery when Wet had been heavy on the synthesisers, New Jersey saw the band venturing further towards hard rock, blues and country. One of the heavier tracks on the album was Blood on Blood which, in keeping with the likes of Livin’ on a Prayer, tells a story, in this case a coming-of-age tale about a group of friends who make a pact together. As the lyrics recalled; “Bobby was our hero ’cause he had his fake I.D. When I got busted stealing cigarettes Bobby took the rap for me Well Danny knew this white trash girl, we each threw in a ten. She took us to this cheap motel and turned us into men.” But as the years go by and each boy grows older they eventually go their separate ways, each embarking on careers and facing their responsibilities.
9. LONELY
2007′s Lost Highway saw Bon Jovi working once again with producers Dann Huff and John Shanks, both of whom had overseen the recording of their previous album Have a Nice Day. While most known for the single (You Want To) Make a Memory, Lost Highway was released around the world with different bonus tracks; Lonely, which was included on the special editions issued in Japan, Australia and the UK, was far superior to the material on the album and was unfortunately overlooked upon its release.
8. RAISE YOUR HANDS
One of the standout moments from Slippery when Wet was Raise Your Hands, perhaps best known to most for its inclusion on the 1987 sci-fi spoof Spaceballs. While professional songwriter Desmond Child had been brought in to help steer the band into more radio-friendly territories, half of the album was still written by Jon and guitarist Richie Sambora. Leaving the disappointment of their first two records behind them, Slippery when Wet was a major step forward for Bon Jovi and, despite most of the attention being on Livin’ on a Prayer, there were a few hidden gems that were never released as singles.
7. LAST MAN STANDING
“The girls who grooved to Slippery When Wet back in 1986 have gotten married and bought SUVs, but Bon Jovi have kept their arena anthems simple and sweaty,” stated Rolling Stone’s review of the band’s 2005 album Have a Nice Day. Far more upbeat and energetic than the likes of These Days, the album was more focused on four-minute commercial tracks, the best of which was Last Man Standing. “Come see a living, breathing spectacle, only seen right here,” declared the song.
6. HOOK ME UP
There are moments on 2002′s Bounce that hint at a heavier side than Bon Jovi have been repressing, something that has occasionally appeared over the years but never fully realised. Although the album received a mostly negative response from critics, The Guardian give a mention to one of its highlights; “Points for weirdness go to the death-metal chugging of Hook Me Up, a paean to a Palestinian ham-radio operator.” The aforementioned song, with its raw and gritty guitar riff and thumping rhythm section, should have been released as a single but was instead overlooked in favour of Everyday and the title track.
5. I BELIEVE
Following the release of two solo albums, Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory and Richie Sambora’s Stranger in This Town, Bon Jovi returned with what could have been a distaster; their first record since their break into the mainstream to not be overseen by producer Bruce Fairbairn, while also departing from their earlier sound and instead embracing a broader range of music genres. The opening track, I Believe, was closer to hard rock than the remainder of the album and was released as the fifth of six singles that were issued to promote the album.
4. THE DISTANCE
One can only guess why The Distance was never released as an official single from Bounce as it was by far the best song on the album, with its sing-a-long chorus and power ballad guitar riff. It is worth noting, however, the similarities between The Distance and Creed‘s My Sacrifice, which had been released as a single from their third album, Weathered, the previous year.
3. BORN TO BE MY BABY
Bad Medicine, the first single released from New Jersey, had succeeded in reaching the top of the charts in the United States and had featured a cameo by notorious comic Sam Kinison in the music video. Bon Jovi‘s follow-up was the extremely catchy Born to be My Baby which, while failing to hit the top spot, it still came in at a respectable number three. As with the band’s most anthemic tunes (such as Livin’ on a Prayer), the song is noted for its sing-a-long chorus, as well as its shot-in-a-studio promo video.
2. KEEP THE FAITH
Despite their success during the latter half of the 1980s, few could have predicted that Bon Jovi would managed to adapt and survive in the new decade, as perms and leather pants were replaced by jeans and cardigans. Yet somehow they managed to compete with the popular grunge scene when they returned in 1992 with Keep the Faith. The title track and lead single was a radical departure for the group and was based around a funky bass riff and piano. Even those who had not been charmed by either Slippery when Wet or New Jersey still appreciated the risk that the band took and the gamble paid off, with the song being a top five hit in the United Kingdom, while the album was eventually awarded double platinum status.
1. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Long before Dry County, Blaze of Glory or Wild is the Wind, Bon Jovi showed their passion for country music with the track Wanted Dead or Alive, the pinnacle moment on Slippery when Wet when the band proved that there was more to them than mere pop songs. Fashioned as a tale of a modern day outlaw who rides on a “steel horse,” Jon drew parallels between the Wild West and being a rock star. As he would explain in a later interview; “Rockers and cowboys do have so much in common, and I think Richie and I have captured that spirit so perfectly. The way we ride into town, do our thing and then leave… It is the law of the West.” Incidentally, screenwriter John Fusco would draw inspiration from the song when writing the 1988 western Young Guns.
|
||||||||
