Right, well obviously Slippery is the most famous BJ album, an absolute hard rock classic. This is, I suppose, the moment where BJ really began their road to the 100 million they've sold today. The form that most people associate with the band, classic hard rock/hair metal/pop metal ... blue collar style anthems in a metal style. Make no mistake, this is anthemic- sing along choruses, air guitar solos... in a way its also kind of shallow, it's not music that makes you think, more that makes you get up and rock! And thats not necessarily a bad thing, but at times it does seem like its all style with very little substance.

Jon has finally found the voice in this album, or they've finally got the production right or whatever…. Either way, Jon has found the maturity / edge on his voice that only rarely showed on the previous albums. Richie’s guitar takes on a slightly more commercial form, with riffs and solos that get stuck in your head. Also, Richie finally unleashes his voice on this album, allowing for the fantastic harmonies that have largely shaped the bands sound since. Dave’s keyboard playing has been toned down a bit, its not really at the forefront of many songs, and the synthesiser sound has mostly been changed and experimented on here. However, to make up for that, Dave gets probably one of his main shining moments as the first thing you’ll hear on the album, the fantastic Pink Flamingoes intro. Tico’s drumming is solid as ever, in the same way that it often is, complementing the song without drawing too much attention to himself. As usual, none of Alec / Hugh’s (depending on what you believe) work really stands out to me, except perhaps on Livin’ On A Prayer.

Let It Rock: Great hard rock intro from Dave. A statement of intent of sorts, although it’s not really as in-yer-face as some of the rest of the songs, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A brilliant riff, and a fantastic technical solo. Some cool lyrics, not exactly deep or anything, but they fit the theme well. Nice vocals, a good song all in all.

You Give Love A Bad Name: Ahhhh, you all know this one anyway! Great shout along chorus, cool riff and solo, classic hard rock song. How many times has it got you rocking?!

Livin’ On A Prayer: One of the band’s shining moments. Absolutely magical in all respects. From the opening synths and bassline, through possibly the best opening line ever “Once upon a time, not so long ago”, to the scream along chorus, through the catchiest guitar solo in history, right to the fade out at the end. The essential song for every party. It’s actually got quite thought-provoking lyrics as well, but they are largely ignored, and it’s easy to see why. Like most people here, I’ve probably heard it a few too many times for it to still have quite the same effect, but admit it, you still get a little shiver up your spine every time you hear the opening, don’t you?

Social Disease: Man, what an opening! Ahem, that aside, what follows is a very horny sounding hard rock song. I like the adlibbed lines: the “Doctor Bongiovi…” and the “Nothing a shot won’t cure” thing, but apart from that, this song does very little that others on the album don’t do better.

Wanted Dead Or Alive: Classic song, the band’s “national anthem” fantastically written, great lyrics, probably the most thought out lyrics on the album, the whole thing being a metaphor for being on the road. Clearly one of the best acoustic riffs ever, an amazing solo, fantastic chorus – THE HARMONIES! The Jon / Richie harmonies make this song! And the bridge! After the solo, one of the best sections of any song ever! Great, great song

Raise Your Hands: Cool guitar work, amazingly clichéd lyrics, it’s a cool song for rocking out to, but as is the case with most of the album, there’s not much depth to it. Good outro though, with Jon giving the shout out to random places.

Without Love: Probably my least favourite song on the album, although it’s not too bad. Its actually probably deeper than many of the songs on the album, I like the lyrics quite a lot, and the chorus has a nice melody. My problem with it is its just a little too poppy, and doesn’t really fit onto the rest of the album IMO. Worth a listen though

I’d Die For You: Good song! Great guitar work, passionate lyrics, great vocals, good guitar work, etc. etc. A bit more depth that most of the other songs, and a bit harder as well. Cool “Runaway-esque” keyboard intro, I’ve actually heard it described as the sequel to the aforementioned song, so there ya go, interesting thinking point there.

Never Say Goodbye: The album’s only ballad, and quite a hard ballad at that. Some really good lyrics, and I feel this is gonna be one of those songs that really touch me over the next year, as I prepare to leave college. It’s not for me one of the album’s best moments, but it is a very good ballad, with a very touching message. Great vocals from Jon especially, and a ‘hard, yet weeping’ guitar sound (me using technical terms, there, ha!) make this a good song,

Wild In The Streets: I’ve run out of motivation to write this review, so I’ll keep it shortish. Cool song, not much depth, good chorus, good guitar solo that sounds to me like a banjo (?), good applause noises at the end, quite god end to the party.

So there ya go. A party album essentially: cool catchy and fun, but little in the way of depth, emotion, experimentation, diversity. It did provide the template though. I’ll give it either a 9 or a 10 out of 10, I can’t decide which.

Keep On Rockin'