This follow-up to the classic Bon Jovi debut offered more of the same, good hard rock with mammoth AOR overtones, but still containing the pop edge.
Written by: Dangerzone
ARTIST: Bon Jovi
ALBUM: 7800° Fahrenheit
LABEL: Mercury
SERIAL: 824 509-1 (LP), 824 509-2 (CD)
YEAR: 1985
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Jon Bon Jovi – vocals * Richie Sambora – guitars * Alec John Such – bass * Tico ‘The Hitman’ Torres – drums * David Bryan – keyboards
TRACK LISTING: 01 In And Out Of Love * 02 Price Of Love * 03 Only Lonely * 04 King Of The Mountain * 05 Silent Night * 06 Tokyo Road * 07 Hardest Part Of The Night * 08 Always Run To You * 09 To The Fire * 10 Secret Dreams
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
I was watching VH-1’s ‘Classic Albums’ episode about ‘Slippery When Wet’ a few weeks back when the narrator persistently claimed Bon Jovi were undergoing a personality crisis when this came out. Were they a rock band? AOR? How about both? Hardly confusing.
This follow-up to the classic Bon Jovi debut offered more of the same, good hard rock with mammoth AOR overtones, but still containing the pop edge. Of course it did not catapult Jon and the boys into the big time just yet. That came over a year later so Bon Jovi would open for the likes of .38 Special in the meantime.
The Songs
As good as this is, it sounds rather dated compared to ‘Slippery When Wet’. The production values were not quite there yet. The songs are driven by Bryan’s keyboards, the man using every trick at his disposal from the mid 80’s book of synth virtuosity.
‘In And Out Of Love’ is basic 80’s rock, more along Ratt lines, only more melodic. ‘Price Of Love’ sees Sambora raise the aggressive riffing a notch, and this remains his most fiery work to date.
‘Only Lonely’ is true AOR, although slightly heavier than the average AOR outfit. ‘King Of The Mountain’ is a limp anthem while ‘Silent Night’ ventures into synth-ballad mode. Acceptable. ‘Tokyo Road’ is reminiscent of the debuts ‘Get Ready’ in sound, automatic class then.
‘Hardest Part Is The Night’ is vintage mid 80’s soundtrack material. Classic lyrics, ‘in the heat of the street of the city’, mixed with desperate melody lines make it a standout. Nice metallic intro to ‘Always Run To You’ and the rebellious anthem ‘To The Fire’ informs us ‘the youth of America cried, can you help me?’
In Summary
Simply put, this is an amazing piece of melodic hard rock. Derided for years by critics (and the band?) it is misunderstood. It’s just a band mixing AOR with heavy rock. First rate performances from all, notably Bon Jovi’s raw vocals.
As good as ‘Slippery’ is, something changed with the sound, maybe the band had already grown up. I have not favored Bon Jovi since 1988, but still enjoy the band who were once a promising AOR force.
Video
In And Out Of Love
Only Lonely
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
