MattA75's Full Review: New Jersey [Remaster] by Bon Jovi
With the release of their third album, Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi became one of the biggest bands on the planet. Thanks to the singles Livin' on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name, Wanted Dead or Alive, and the high school prom ballad Never Say Goodbye, Slippery became required listening for anyone growing up in the mid to late 1980s.
After touring in support of Slippery, the band decided to capitalize on their high flying sales and head straight back into the studio to record their fourth album, 1988's New Jersey. The album hit the charts running at #1 and spawned no less than 5 hit singles. When I was eight and nine years old, I thought this tape (as that's what I had) was the stuff that came straight from the rock God himself. But looking at it now, and despite the fact that it sold almost as much as Slippery, a closer analysis of the album reveals its weakpoints, especially in comparison to its predecessor.
The album starts off extremely strong; the first five songs are certifiable Bon Jovi classics. I've never liked the ridiculously long drum and vocal intro to Lay Your Hands on Me (what was the second single from the album), but aside from that, I'd say it might just be my favorite Jovi song of all time. The song is a pop-metal anthem of the highest order: pounding drums, a head banging guitar riff laid down by Richie Sambora, and choruses that sound so layered you feel like you're in a crowd of 15,000 as you shout along the lyrics yourself.
This is followed by the first single that was released from the album, the solid anthem in its own right Bad Medicine. All I can think of when I hear this song is the appropriate scene in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Jay's line "I think I just filled the cup."
Many critics have dismissed lead singer Jon Bon Jovi of being a little too obsessed with fellow New Jersey-ite Bruce Springsteen, and a song like Born to Be My Baby (which was another hit single) almost feels like it could've made Springsteen's own Born in the USA album, with it's rocking yet very poppy sheen.
For all the guff that was thrown the way of Never Say Goodbye for being too juvenile, not enough credit was given to Jon for writing the brilliant Living in Sin. Sure, it's a power ballad, but lyrically it's rather socially conscious and as a whole, it's just a very well put together song. The same could be said for another one of the hit singles from the record, Blood on Blood, which is a decent enough showcase for drummer Tico Torres as well as Jon's under-rated pipes.
It is unfortunate that at this point, the album begins taking a serious turn downward in terms of quality. Homebound Train is a bit bluesy at first, before becoming a song that quite frankly sounds like something Warrant would record in the next couple of years. The guitar riff is too streamlined production wise and it just sounds cheesy. It also doesn't help that it clocks in at over five minutes in length. The same can be said for many of the other album tracks that make up most of the balance of the record. Creatively, I guess you have to give them credit for writing songs that are in such stark contrast to the first half of the record, but more times than not it feels like that's all the band is really shooting for.
Wild is the Wind sounds like a Slippery rehash, while Ride Cowboy Ride isn't bad, but it isn't nearly long enough. The one saving grace of the second half of the album is the only song to be released as a single from this side, I'll Be There For You. Personally, I always thought this would've been even better if Richie sang lead as he has done for many of the recent live performances of it. I love the blues burn this song has going on, and in many ways it is more of an indicator of where the band would head musically in the 1990s than any other song on this disc.
Despite the presence of six absolute classic songs here, the other six songs range from decent to just plain bad. Quite frankly, much of the second half of the disc bores me, and I don't even really feel any nostalgic eight year old connection to the second half the way I do even with certain other album sides from the same time period.
That being said, I still recommend the album, although not as heartily as others might. It's definitely not their best (that honor goes to 1992's Keep the Faith), but it's not quite their worst either (that honor goes to 2000's Crush). It just falls somewhere in between the two.
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