Monday, January 27, 2020

The 1986 Listening Post - Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet



#335/2015
August 18 1986
Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet
Genre: Rock
4.75 out of 5 (I admit that I got lost during a couple tracks)



Highlights:
You Give Love a Bad Name
Livin’ On a Prayer
Social Disease
Wanted Dead or Alive
I’d Die for You


I’ve talked before about my theory that Bon Jovi is a great appropriator of contemporary popular motifs. He’s doing here in spades. But what he and Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock have done is synthesized the Def Leppard stadium rock sound and wrapped it around some delectably infectious Rawk songs. 
It’s impossible to hate (for me at least) the monster track "You Give Love a Bad Name" which ws was originally written for Bonnie Tyler under the title "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" with different lyrics. Remember that? Yep. Child new it was a hit and rewrote his own track to make it this Godzilla tune. 
I do not begrudge anyone trying to sell records and I’m not cynical enough to trounce those who do it in a way that makes me want to air drum in my car on the freeway. 
Did Jon take the Springsteen story song idea and craft it into a global phenomenon? Yes. Is it a party on a 45? Yes. If you can hit those notes, Karaoke night is yours. If you can’t it’s all laughs til the next person gets up to warble. 

I am an unapologetic lover of this made to be played in front of 30,000 people record. 


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