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"New Jersey" Review 31 December 2001
Bon Jovi's best storytelling from the 80's.

Perfect 10.

A review by Sanjeev Singh / BigCasino@webmail.co.za

Bon Jovi's fourth release, "New Jersey" sees the band evolve or improve as song writers with mature material wonderfully blended with their exuberant youthful energy. I think at best this album can be described as a continuation of "Slippery When Wet", yet not merely a Slippery When Wet sequel.

The record starts with the infectious "Lay Your Hands On Me", displaying incredible rythym and heart pounding beats. Like the previous album, which contained not one but 2 massive stadium hits in "Livin' On A Prayer" and "You Give Love A Bad Name", the song "Bad Medicine" accompanies the album opener quite nicely, to say the least. With a false or dummy ending, the song is a refreshing take on the groups' collaborative craftsmanship in their music.

In fact, as you listen to the album, you find that all the songs here are amazing, with the hunger to hear them all live! "Blood On Blood" symbolises the majesty of close friendship, like brotherhood. This song helped influence the notion that this just isn't your average rock band with wild hair! No sir, this was a band that the man on the street to the guy who owned that flashy car could relate to - all it ever is is honesty. A personal favourite is "Living In Sin", one of Bon Jovi's best ballads to date. Written entirely by frontman Jon Bon Jovi, the song must had surely become a teen anthem for many couples out there who were forced to go throught the motions, while "99 in the shade" has got to be one of the ultimate songs of summer! Love it!

But perhaps the 2 songs that make this album so distinct are "Wild Is The Wind" and "Stick To Your Guns". Both have amazing music, and an interesting story is that they were both being saved for the next album...until the moment when the group invited the ordinary people out there (kids hanging around the studio, baby sitters, fan from the street) to sample the songs and choose their faves. It's not surprising that the above 2 songs were their picks for the album as well. Listen to them, and you'll appreciate why.

All in all, take Richie Sambora's guitars, Tico Torres' drums, Dave Bryan's keyboards, Alec John Such's bass and Jon's persona and voice, and you not only have Bon Jovi, but what you get is satisfaction guaranteed!

I'm not gonna rate the songs, because in my humble opinion, they all deserve top spots. Not surprising then that many fans consider "New Jersey" their favourite BJ album.

Sanjeev Singh


Rating: 10/10

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