Like it or not, this is also a classic. A big one of the 80’s just like U2’s “The Joshua Tree”, Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman”, Queen’s “A Kind of Magic”, Van Halen’s “Women and Children First”, etc. After all the 80’s weren’t that bad, isn’t it? Actually sometimes I miss my vinyls collection, the CDs just not the same, not to mention the mp3s.
Their previous two albums, “Bon Jovi” (1984) and “7800° Fahrenheit” (1985) didn’t sold bad and the band toured with bands such as Scorpions and Ratt in the US and Kiss in Europe and make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Donnington’s Monsters of Rock. The debut album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 album chart in U.S. and a year after its release it was certified Gold while “…Fahrenheit” peaked at #37 on Billboard 200 and certified Gold in U.S., but Bon Jovi had much higher commercial ambitions.
Paul Stanley recommended Desmond Child to help them out with the songwriting – Desmond being responsible for one of the biggest Kiss hits: “I Was Made for Loving You” – and the result was three songs “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Without Love”. Ironically, Jon Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to include “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the album, believing that it was not a good enough song and it became one of the band’s most popular and well-known songs.
It was a play to win situation, and 25 years ago, these guys made it through, the 10 songs of “Slippery When Wet” quite rocks. But you can’t start a fire without a spark, isn’t it? “Slippery When Wet” was the best-selling album of 1987 in the United States, and eventually reached Diamond certification by the RIAA and current sales stand at 12 million copies, making it the 48th best-selling album in the United States.
Released on 18 August, 1986, the album became a massive success commercially. Between 1986 and 1987, “Slippery When Wet” produced an amazing string of hit singles, including three Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, two of which “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin’ On A Prayer” reached #1, making Bon Jovi the first hard rock band to ever have two consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 chart hits. The third single “Wanted Dead or Alive” peaked at #7, making “Slippery When Wet” the first hard rock album to spawn three Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hits.
The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Bon Jovi’s first number-one album in United States. The album also had impressive staying power, with 38 weeks inside the Top 5 of Billboard 200, including 8 weeks at #1.
In the UK, Slippery When Wet peaked at #6, spent a total of 107 weeks inside the Top 75, 23 of them on the Top 20. It became Bon Jovi’s biggest-selling studio album in UK, receiving a 3x Platinum certification by the BPI. The album also achieved Diamond status in Canada and 6x Platinum status in Australia.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk&w=500&h=305]
The album went through various name changes during its inception including “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and “Guns N’ Roses”. Bruce Fairbairn was chosen as the main producer of the album, with Bob Rock as the mixer and the album was recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Probably Bon Jovi weren’t nearly as hard-edged and wicked as Mötley Crüe, neither technically sparkling as Van Halen, but “Slippery When Wet” have something quite magic and have that absolutely awesome “let the good times roll” feeling, so… Let It Rock!
Track list:
01. “Let It Rock” (Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora) – 5:25
02. “You Give Love a Bad Name” (Bon Jovi, Sambora, Desmond Child) – 3:44
03. “Livin’ on a Prayer” (Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child) – 4:09
04. “Social Disease” (Bon Jovi, Sambora) – 4:18
05. “Wanted Dead or Alive” (Bon Jovi, Sambora) – 5:08
06. “Raise Your Hands” (Bon Jovi, Sambora) – 4:16
07. “Without Love” (Bon Jovi, Sambora, Child) – 3:30
08. “I’d Die for You” (Bon Jovi, Sambora) – 4:30
09. “Never Say Goodbye” (Bon Jovi, Sambora) – 4:48
10. “Wild in the Streets” (Bon Jovi) – 3:54
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZHPOeOxQQ&w=500&h=305]
And you can vote for Bon Jovi’s 1989 performance of “Livin’ on a Prayer†/ â€Wanted Dead or Alive†as the MTV Video Music Award’s most Iconic performance of all time @ MTV.com poll
And it’s aviable a Special Edition on iTune of “Slippery When Wet”
