Silent Night – The first real Bon Jovi power ballad is a relatively low key affair compared to how overblown the power ballad as a type of song would become. Having it driven by a repeating, very obviously fake synthesized string pattern and acoustic guitar is an interesting idea: on the one hand it adds to the stripped down intimate atmosphere of the song, and contrasts nicely with the rest of the songs on the album; but on the other it has the effect of immediately making the song sound dated to the contemporary listener. Jon plays an absolute blinder on this song, nowhere else on the album does he sounds quite this emotional, and as I’m assuming that the song is about him and Dorothea being torn apart by his new life, that’s perhaps not surprising. Richie also adds considerably to the power of the song, giving the riffs a rest and substituting them with a gentle acoustic guitar, with slashing chords used for emphasis in certain points … the combination of Jon’s voice and Richie’s guitar in the “Just turn and walk away” bits is so powerful. Lyrically heartbreaking, there’s an absolute hopelessness here that is very rare in Bon Jovi songs. Continues with the weaponry theme: “Held up in love without a gun”. Richie’s guitar solos are also particularly effective, showcasing a newfound sense of subtlety, and sounding unlike anything we’d heard from him to this point. Indeed, the song as a whole, for better or worse, sounds unlike from any Jovi song we’ve heard from them either before or since.

4/5