New Jersey review: They say that to really free the body, you've gotta free the mind

It's taken me a fair while to get around to starting this, but here we go:

NEW JERSEY

Overview -

Fast forward two years from the release of the mammoth selling Slippery When Wet, and take look at the sole photo of the band included in the New Jersey album packaging. It shows a band who have been through a lot together. Gone are the smiling faces and bright colours from the SWW packaging. Here, the band members wear nothing but black and denim. The smiles are replaced by serious faces. The setting appears to be a beach (possibly in keeping with the original Sons Of Beaches title of the album); but rather than being a sunlit beach, it appears to be an evening setting, with the lighting reflecting the mood shown by the band’s appearance. And if you read into such things, there’s a hell of a lot more symbolism in it too … Richie and Jon at opposite ends of the photo; Richie and the rest of the band seeming to be a close knit group while Jon stands separate; Jon’s apparent unwillingness to face the camera, hiding behind his hair and a massive Bon Jovi – New Jersey overcoat.

It seemed that another mammoth tour had once again taken its toll on the band. Like with 7800 Fahrenheit, the pressures of touring and life in the rock n’ roll circus were creating cracks in the band. This time, there was also the added pressure of creating a follow up to SWW. However, in just two years, the hard rock scene had changed again. On the one hand, a number of imitators had sprung up since the release of SWW, peddling pop-metal and power ballad combinations. On another, bands such as Def Leppard and Whitesnake had polished up their sound too, to great commercial success. And on yet another hand, a new “sleaze rock” had been rapidly gaining popularity, with bands such as new bands such as Guns N’ Roses, and the return of old favourites Aerosmith and Motley Crue. With all these pressure, could Bon Jovi make a new album that would stand up not only to their peers, but also their own breakthrough album?

In short … yes. They could. It seems that the poet really does need the pain.

Sticking with the same team that had made SWW such a hit (Bruce Fairbairn, Bob Rock, Desmond Child), the band proceeded to write enough songs to fill a double album, but due to record company pressure were forced to choose only enough for a single album. The result is a set of incredibly strong songs.

Although the glossy production and anthems from SWW remained, here it seems that the band wanted to show that there was more to them. So we are treated to a sound which combines the best of each of their previous albums … the wild, somewhat haphazard instrumentation from the debut; the darker-tinged atmospheric heaviness of 7800; and the overall style of SWW. The album also comes across as a lot more experimental: with long atmosphere building intros (Lay Your Hands On Me), guitar and organ duels (Homebound Train), flamenco guitar (Wild Is The Wind) recording in mono (Ride Cowboy Ride), and recording during a drunken party (Love For Sale). Each of the band members is at the top of their game here, with Jon’s voice sounding as unrestrained as it ever would; and the other band members each managing to both shine in their own right and still somehow hold together as a unit (listen to the intro of Blood On Blood, it sounds like it’s going to fall apart into a big mess at any second, and yet it’s still utterly brilliant).

Only 5 years into there career, and Bon Jovi had already delivered not one but two all-time classic albums: the massive selling Slippery When Went; and this stonewashed denim clad hard rock masterpiece.

Nice.

Am looking forward to your take on the album tracks, as I feel this album has possibly some of the strongest non-singles on there and that theres more to this album than Bad Medecine et al. Unlike Slippery - which has the ''big 3 - or Holy Trinity'' which arguably make the album what it is, this is a better album overall to me.


andi

Awesome review. Will definitely be buying this one next now.

IMO NJ is a lot better than SWW, because Slippery has the "3 big singles" (of which I only find 2 to be great) and one excellent album track (I'd Die For You). NJ has some of the best album tracks the band ever wrote, the band's first great ballad, and the single-tracks also kick ass.

New Jersey is pure awesome.
I know that sounds simplisic or whatever, but New Jersey is THE Bon Jovi masterpiece. It refined what was still raw on Slippery, had 5 top en hits, and almost every album track could've been a single.

After all these years it is the only BJ album I don't skip a song on. I still shake my head ,that IMO the best song on the album wasn't a single .... Wild is the Wind.

Lay Your Hands On Me – It’s practically impossible to ignore that introduction. Fading in with an absolutely cavernous, stadium sized repeating drum pattern; and texturing it with layers upon layers of instruments as it progresses: chucking in a rumbling synthesized bass; screeching electric guitars; drum and cymbal fills; whooshing sound effects; a synthesized organ; and repeated shouts of “Hey!”. Finally, on top of this atmospheric build up, we have Jon quietly speaking the immortal opening line “They say that to really free the body / You’ve gotta free the mind / So come on, check this out”, promising that the album which is just beginning is going to be truly special.
One last shout of “Hey”, and the instruments all disappear leaving just a synthesized organ and a cymbal pattern. Then, when the vocals come in, for a moment it’s all a bit confusing … for a few seconds, it sounds like a gospel song, with Jon the preacher leading a choir. And then, with a shout of “Come on!” the humongous (and spectacular, one of Richie’s finest) guitar riff and drums crash in, and you realise that what you’re listening to is definitely a hard rock song. But with elements of gospel. And it is utter genius. Jon takes the role of a rock-n-roll preacher, telling his disciples they can be set free if they only “lay your hands on me”. While Dave’s organ keeps the gospel feel, Richie surpasses himself: throwing out riffs and licks all over the place; while being content to limit himself to just chords for the chorus in order not to detract from the vocals and organ. Following a rhythmic and unwinding guitar solo, the instruments are one again stripped back to just the organ, cymbals and bass; and as the drums and guitar are slowly layered on again; Jon conducts his sermon, urging a crowd rendition of the chorus. An explosive opening track, and in my opinion one of the very definitions of hard rock. The original Hard Rock Hallelujah.

5/5

Great!

(...)

One of the all time best BJ songs.
It's not a lyrical masterpiece, but it's not supposed to be.
It's a kickass, crowd-pleasing, sing-along rock and roll song.
I really want to hear it live

Oh, I remember! I remember coming home that afternoon, the 22nd of September 1988 to be precise, with a brand new copy of New Jersey under my arm, and immediately placing it on the turntable, while snuggling up in the armchair with the headphones on. Lay Your Hands On Me started and in no time had sucked me into the record with that gorgeous intro...

"This is surely the record of the year" I wrote in my diary that day, after just one listen. And it may well have been!