Influential Albums: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Welcome to the debut edition of Influential Albums. Influential to who you may ask. The answer is simple, me. This column will spotlight albums which have had an influence on me as a music fan, or stand out as classics and potential classics. You may agree, you may not agree, but that really isn't the point. The purpose is to share my thoughts on these albums that have shaped me through the years as my tastes have grown, expanded, and matured. I have gone through phases, some good, some bad, always for me. The first album is from 80's icons Bon Jovi, it is their breakthrough 1986 album Slippery When Wet, which has sold 12 million copies to date.


I was late getting into music, it wasn't until I was in high school that I started to listen to music regularly, much less single out certain artists, and it wasn't until college that I really branched out to the different styles that music has to offer. Still, as much music as I listen to, there is always more to find, and styles that I haven't explored. But that is neither here nor there. Let me take you back to a different time, before I was a regular receptor to large quantities of music with leanings towards the heavy.

It was 1986, I was not what you would call a connosieur of music, but I had tastes that were beginning to develop. Then there was the day that I heard "You Give Love a Bad Name," and I knew that I liked it. It was that same year that I was offered the choice of getting a Mets jacket (I also discovered baseball in a big way that year) or getting the Slippery When Wet LP (on vinyl of course). Being the logical kid that I was, I went with the vinyl, because not only was I a budding fan of the band, but I knew that it would last longer than a Mets jacket that I would surely outgrow. Yes, I actually remember that thought process as I contemplated which to take.

I brought the LP home and eagerly listened to it many times over until the catchy pop rock tunes were ingrained on my young brain. I tell you, candy and catchy tunes were a dangerous combination in those days. Imagine a pre-teen bouncing around his room lip synching "Let it Rock" leaving sticky fingerprints around the room, it was a sight that every mother dreads. Still, there was something about this album that I found terribly appealing.

Listening to it again more than two decades later, I still find the album to be a lot of fun. I recognize now that they may not be the most subtle of songs, but man if they don't have a way of getting into your head and taking you for a ride back to those simpler days of youth.

Slippery When Wet is pure pop, free of any notions of greatness, an album that possesses an innocence that is infectious, that blends easy to remember lyrics with catchy hooks and strong melodies. You know, I could go through all of the songs, but there are really only a few that really matter, and I think you know which ones they are.

Open with "Let it Rock" and its organ/guitar intro leading into the first of many catchy tracks. Not the best, but definitely a sing along song that gets everything started right without shooting their best. Track 2 is probably their biggest song, one that everyone and their mother knew, and could sing along "You Give Love a Bad Name," pair that with "Livin' on a Prayer" and you have a guranteed best seller. Now, on the back side toss in the road song "Wanted Dead or Alive" and the ballad "Never Say Goodbye" and it is nearly impossible to lose.

The songs were completely without pretense or any sense of irony. Simply put, they are a collection of fine pop tunes that were at the right place at the right time. Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and the rest of the big haired band struck a nerve with me at the time and helped bring me into the world of music. Look at them as my gateway drug to other bands that toes a slightly more controversial line. Bon Jovi is the rock band you could listen to with mom, they were safe, well produced and nicely executed, but safe nonetheless.

There is no denying the fact that this album made an impression, and I am sure that it was not just on me. Sure, I gre out of the Bon Jovi phase in a few years, but they never left my mind completely.