Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
1986
Album Summary
Slippery When Wet is the third studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released on August 18, 1986, by Mercury Records in North America and Vertigo Records internationally. It was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, with recording sessions between January and July 1986 at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The album features many of Bon Jovi's best-known songs, including "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". The album has been called the album that "[turned] heavy metal into a radio-friendly pop format", and is also commonly seen as "a breakthrough for hair metal".Slippery When Wet was an instant commercial success, spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and was named by Billboard as the top-selling album of 1987. Slippery When Wet is Bon Jovi's best-selling album to date, with an RIAA certification of 12× Platinum, making it one of the top 100 best-selling albums in the United States.
WikipediaCan't really take this seriously. This era of pop/hair "metal" is one of my least favorite subgenres and one which I don't really understand. Maybe I just need to loosen up? I don't know. I mean the choruses are catchy for sure. But to me it sounds so superficial, and maybe that's intentional? I understand how this could make sense to kids and teens in a certain context but I feel like it doesn't age well outside of that context. It's like kids dressing up and playing rock star and I guess there's a certain amount of sincerity/directness and simplicity to that. I mean I grew up when this was wildly popular and I was never attracted to it then nor do I have any nostalgia for it.
One of my absolute favourite things in the world is how much hipsters loathe 80s Bon Jovi. Here's an analysis: Musically, this album is basically just hair metal/arena rock. Big ole guitars and drums, riffs and hooks, gang vocals in choruses, crisp production, etc. REVERB. Songs mostly follow convention, chord progressions are nice and predictable, even the track list does that thing where every few songs there's something that passes for a ballad. Image-wise, it looks like hair metal again, or maybe a bit like new wave/80s pop a la Duran Duran. Lots of shoulder pads, hairspray and FLAIR. There's a solid chance that they had style consultants PAID BY THE BIG BUSINESS RECORD LABEL!!!11! Lyrically it occupies the same kinda space as stuff like Bruce Springsteen: sentimental numbers about idyllic Middle America, songs about brotherhood and sticking up for your mates, then love songs about rooting chicks in the back of cars and having no money but that's ok because WE'RE GONNA LIVE ON LOVE ALONE BABY, etc etc. Cheeeeeeeese. So the hair metal sound, the "corporate 80s rock" outfits and the Americana themes just all add up to something that becomes hipster kryptonite. I guess they hate the perceived inauthenticity of it all? Maybe they hate that it's a good bit of fun? Or maybe simply because it's such a "white dude thing" and that's an easy target for hipsters. Either way, fucking lol. As for my thoughts: I was only 2 when this album came out, but I had a phase in the early 00s where I was totally into Bon Jovi and a bunch of other 80s hair metal bands. It really is a lot of fun. It's great for driving up the highway to, slammin' beers in the sun to, butchering at karaoke night... it's just genuinely fucking cool. And hat off to Richie Sambora, he's the real star of the show here. Desmond Child as well I guess lol. If I was rating this in comparison to the BJ catalogue (or even hair metal in general) I'd probably only give it a 3 or 4, but as an entry in this book and having just read what I KNEW would be the usual oblivious moaning about how fake and cliche it is in other reviews, I'm giving it full marks. 5/5.
These songs are so stupid and I hate his voice. This is the pinnacle of annoying 80's rock. The only thing saving this from 1 star is that some of these songs might be tolerable with a different singer.
What would the world of Karaoke be without Bon Jovi..........? Better. It would be infinitely better. This album is washed out, dated, and embarrassing. I try to imagine the people who still listen to this recreationally and am instantly awash in a sea of peroxide, silicone, and yager. Gross.
Look, Bon Jovi sucks, 80s hair metal sucks, synthersised stadium rock n roll sucks. But everyone has had that moment when they're at 1st year university and the cool older kids all know the words to Livin on a Dream and for a weird 18 months you get tricked into thinking that it's ironically cool in a daggy retro way. If you have taste you realise bon Jovi is shit around prac year, but it's a wild ride while it lasts. 3/5 based on that alone.
I thought I’d enjoy this, as I’m quite partial to a 80s cheesy number. But ultimately it’s just not very good, the rest of album didn’t have many hooks which stood out after the 3 big singles. Tempted to give a 1, but the biggies make that unfair so gets a 2. Bon Jovi, you give 80s cheesy rock a bad name bruv.
Confirmed my dislike of Bon Jovi. Just cheesy cringeworthy pop metal. Can't really stand it
In retrospect, writing a glowing 5 star review of Springsteen’s “Darkness at the Edge of Town” that doubled as a homage to New Jersey, my home state, was…a mistake. There’s no doubt that the generator saw that review and is now challenging me. “Oh, you love New Jersey, huh??? New Jersey’s the best place in the country, is it? Well, let’s see you defend this New Jersey-shaped turd.” I can’t and won’t. Bon Jovi is a blight upon the Garden State. You can make that my epitaph. This album cover is literally a photo of a trash bag. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about Slippery When Wet, then nothing I say will change your mind.
Ive listened to this album at least a dozen times, and is definitely one of the best rock albums written. So many classic tracks, and even the ones that aren't are great. The only issue with the album I have is it's direction. You get some rock songs like "raise your hand" and "dead or alive" but others are pop rock. Still, no musical issues with this album whatsoever.
“Slippery When Wet” by Bon Jovi (1986) First a word about that album cover. American listeners got a toned down version. But the original cover (which I’ve included here) is better suited to the artistic thrust of the music. Prudish marketing decision again gets in the way of the art. The opening track sets the stage for highly competent stadium rock. References to Bach (“Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”) and The Doors (“Break on Through”) provide evidence of thoughtful glam rock (if that’s not a contradiction in terms). The album satisfies. High quality performances by vocalists, keyboards, and guitar. Rhythm section is solid, if not particularly creative or adroit. Lyrics are actually very good. A good rock album. 3/5
Flashy, big hooks, fun. Think the keyboards sound dated but even I, a somewhat jaded music nerd who never really cared for Bon Jovi, have to admit a large majority of songs on this record absolutely still kick ass. "Social Disease", which sounds like Huey Lewis trying to go glam, is the only real miss here. Favorite tracks: "I'd Die for You", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' on a Prayer"
arggh, didn't finish this one - I acknowledge the importance, but too much exposure for it to be fresh
Only Sambora's guitar playing saves this from being 1 star. Pretty terrible.
😩… Die stilistische Nähe von Richie Sambora zu Erik Johnson war mir vorher nicht aufgefallen, was zu einem Gutteil daran liegt, dass ich mich stilistisch mit Sambora noch nie auseinandergesetzt habe und mit Johnson nur nach ein zwei Hör- Eindrücken. Zum Album: eine Platte aus den tiefsten Achtzigern mit den bekannten und erwartbaren Gitarrensoli mit zu vielen Noten und zu wenig Musik. Die songschreiberische Finesse bewegt sich auf überschaubarem Niveau, die beiden bekanntesten Songs Living on a Prayer und You Give Love a Bad Name sorgen zumindest für so etwas wie Schunkel-Nostalgie, mehr bleibt dann von diesem Album auch nicht übrig und auch nicht zu sagen. Niemals mehr als 2 Sterne.
I'm still not a fan, but I tried to listen to this with an open mind. Ultimately, it's just dumb fun.
Classic 80s rock, but sounds pretty dated now. Wasn't a fan of Bon Jovi back in the day and they haven't grown on me.
A little surprised a panel of music critics put this one in. For me, a couple of novelty megahits drag this album into the 1001 list. There's a lot of filler, so I'm scoring this largely on the popularity of two or three songs above anything else. I quite like those songs but they mostly remind me of cheesy nightclubs. 5/10
Bon Jovi ROCKS!!! 🤘 In like a sort of Gen X, classic rock radio kind of way. They play a commercial for Naproxen and your local mattress store before coming back with "15 minutes of non-stop ROCK!" and they kick it off with Livin' on a Prayer. What I'm saying is that in the wide world of rock music, from Deep Purple to King Gizzard, Bon Jovi is kind of lame. A little fun, but also a little lame. It feels like Jovi is performing rock, but is never really hitting the mark. Oh, and the b-sides are b-sides. It probably has a reason to be here.
Shitty synth patches and drum machines destroy whatever impact this music might have had. And let's just say that David Gray's voice is an acquired taste. The compositions are utterly undistinguished as are the arrangements. Bland and forgettable middle of the road pop. I can't speak to the lyrics because I couldn't get past the music.
If you view this as a bit of fun and not to be taken too seriously, it certainly passes.
Hook-driven pop music with a hair metal edge (mainly in guitar riffs and solos), because it was the popular genre at the time, loud drums and big crowd-like back vocals tailored for the arenas don't necessarily make a good album. Bon Jovi's big breakthrough album was a smash hit when it came out, but it really hasn't aged well. A lot of the hits from this album (Livin' On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name) are still played regularly on Classic Rock radio stations nowadays (2021) in my hometown and we're kinda saturated tbh !
A few musical tricks, competent soloing and "Raise Your Hands" having a good riff saves this from total musical failure. I thought punk had gotten rid of this kind of music
How an rock album can be so featureless? Total impotency. But "Wild In The Streets" somehow saves it from getting 1/5. However, I can understand why this album is among the 1000.
Only gets two stars because I heard several of these songs on the "80s, 90s, and today" radio station on repeat when I was a kid in the car. 'You Give Love A Bad Name' is a killer track, but the rest is bland, repetitive, overproduced fare that should have been left in the 80s.
Oh man, I can't believe how bad this actually is. I'm tempted to give it one star but I'll give it 2 because I think I actually like Livin' on a Prayer when I was kid.
Ugh. I. _HATE_ Bon Jovi. Damn you, rabbithole, for making me listen to this. As some of us are from NJ, and grew up during the Bon Jovi hysteria, you could not avoid Bon Jovi, he was everywhere. And listening to this album made me remember why I hated him. The lyrics are so insipid (although not as bad "only time will tell if we stand the test of time," BUT THEY COME CLOSE!!). Every cliche is in the lyrics and it makes me cringe. And the music? It's a blueprint for every 80s and early 90s "hair-metal" band would do. It's all there, the rockers, one or two songs to pull out the lighters. Gah. Nothing special to these songs at all. The production is skilled, but the keyboards, drums, nothing spectacular AT ALL. What they do here they do well, so they are lucky to get two stars.
Every single person in their 50's has definitely had at least one terrible sexual experience with this playing in the background. Thankfully I'm not in my 50's. This album is fucking rotten.
Meh. Cheesy, poppy arena rock. Some of the songs are kinda catchy, I guess, it's not grating or offensively bad, just mostly boring.
Some good rock n roll songs on here but he ain't fit to lick the boss' boots.
I would die happy if I never had to listen to this album again! For many (definitely NOT me!), this is a defining album from the 80's. If you had to buy one Bon Jovi record, this is the one with the hits that are on constant rotation on "classic rock" radio stations that still play the crap out of this record. Besides the middle-age woman that still believe Jon Bon's hair is magical and karaoke singers that think they're cool drunkenly shouting, Living On A Prayer, who else still listens to this schlock? What's wrong with people? Expand your tastes, there are so many, many, many better albums and bands from the 80's!
very good album. so many absolute slaps throughout that i already knew and more that ive just found. easy 5 star
An album consisting mostly of my favourite bon Jovi songs, how can this be less than a 5?
Wat moet ik hier nu van zeggen. Ik heb nooit iets gehad met Jon Bon Jovi, al ken ik zijn bekende nummers wel natuurlijk. Het is gewoon een goede band. Geen overdreven bewijsdrang maar lekkere nummers met een melodie en toch dat stoere rock geluid. Ik vind de zanger ook goed met zijn beetje rauwe stem, maar lang niet zo irritant als Nickelback. Ten slotte de nummers zijn stuk voor stuk steengoed. Niet zoals bij veel albums en paar hitjes en de rest klinkt bekend naar. Ineens was het album al af. De tijd gaat snel als je lol hebt. *****
Fantastic album - lots of great hits on this and an easy listen. 9/10.
Some great metal-ish music! Don't like the album cover but the songs are cool :) Favorite Track: Livin' on a Prayer In one word: Slaps
It it's time, it was smooth enough for connoisseurs and rough enough for ruffians.
This is the first CD I ever owned by my first "favorite band." Dad got it for me as part of his 'welcome" to Columbia House membership after he bought his first CD player. That was a big deal in our house because it sort of reinvigorated my dad's music consumption at an age that I was impressionable and interested in music for the first time. When I was 5-6 years old, I LOVED hearing "You Give Love a Bad Name" on the radio. My favorite pizza place at the time had a juke box with "Wanted Dead or Alive" B/W "Livin' on a Prayer." Man. Those were the days. $0.25 for those two songs to go with my 7-Up and pizza. So, obviously there is a lot of nostalgia here. But objectively, I think "Slippery When Wet" is one of the pinnacle moments of the 80s glam/hair rock. It's a well-constructed record, I like the pacing, and there are some big hits here. As far as I know, the members of the band haven't been taken down in any "me too" accusations, which is remarkable given the excesses of the time when they were touring. And, John Bon Jovi has turned out to be a real stand-up dude.
‘86 KIX! This came out a few months after I graduated, but it remains inextricably tied to that time when I graduated from high school. Hair metal at its most refined! I fell in love with “Livin’ On A Prayer” from the first time I heard it. But this album is an embarrassment of hits. “Let It Rock,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” “Raise Your Hands,” “I’d Die For You” and “Never Say Goodbye” defined the sunset of my teens and remain incredible hits! And hearing the deeper cuts “Without Love” and “Wild In The Streets” I go right back and can sing along even though until a few minutes ago I hadn’t hear them in 30 years. Several of the songs on this album have stayed in the rotation over the last 30 years. But listening to it now I realize that I’ve forgotten more great Bon Jovi than I had been listening to. Now I have to figure out how I’m going to see this group live in concert for a long-overdue in-person Bon Jovi experience. But whether or not that ever happens, SLIPPERY WHEN WET is back and in permanent rotation. I haven’t had this much fun since I got snowed in at the Elks’ convention!
This was a fun blast from the 80s. An album with so many sing-along singles but also just an awesome rock album.
What a great album. 3-4 of Bon Jovi's biggest hits are on here and the rest of the songs are also not far behind in terms of quality. 80s rock at its finest
The album that made hair metal an iconic moment of the 80s, combing pop with metal, with megahits that dominate radio and karaoke to this day. Production is spot on, BJ’s voice is great, Sambora is amazing, the album is the perfect 80s rock album
Nice throw back to the big hair era - some real well known tunes on there and some lesser favourites
O segundo melhor álbum da Bon Jovi (em primeiro para mim está o New Jersey) que contempla o melhor momento da carreira deles, o ápice. Aula de hard rock, voz impecável do Jon, solos marcantes do Richie... Que fase maravilhosa! Never Say Goodbye está entre as maiores baladas do hard rock sim e com certeza.
Aaaahhhhhhh maaaan I love Bon Jovi! What a record! It always gets me feeling frisky and in the mood to watch Power Rangers. There is no greater love in this crazy world than the beauty in Bon Jovi's voice and lyrics. Amen. I'm listening to it again right now.
The good songs on here are sooo good. I grew up listening to the classic hits off of this album and they have nostalgia for me now. I don’t dislike any tracks and I’d say I like all of them, some I wouldn’t put on by choice but I definitely wouldn’t turn off. His voice is incredible and it’s such a good energetic album. I love me some classic rock action
YES. YES. YES. this album is everything I wanted and more. ‘80s rock is awesome. love bon jovi.
Sarà pop? Sarà fatto "apposta" per piacere? Sarà poco profondo? Fa niente! Ha 'You give love a bad name', 'Livin on a prayer' e 'Wanted dead or alive', che possono tranquillamente giocarsela come migliori di canzoni di sempre, contornate da un sacco di hit, che non a caso continuano a essere suonate nei live come 'Let it rock', 'Raise your hands' (<3) e 'Never say goodbye'. Influisce anche il fatto che siano il mio gruppo preferito.
I certainly recall how this album dominated in the 80's. It's rock with a heavy flourish of pop that at times seems a bit dated, but i certainly can appreciate the 3 bangers on this album as well as a lot of the other strongs are strong. Even though i hadn't heard many of these songs before, i didn't think of any of them as filler. A landmark album.
Absolute banger of an album, maybe it's just nostalgia from listening to this growing up, but I love it.