You Give Love A Bad Name - The band's breakthrough hit single is a strutting pop metal anthem. Instantly punching the listener in the face with its opening acapella shouting of the chorus, the quality of the vocal recording immediately stands it out from their previous attempts to create such a song. The drum and bass also stand out as particularly prominent here: with the bass at times stealing the attention from the guitar; and the rock solid drumming driving it all the way to the finish line, pausing only for the classic "air-drumming, hands clapping above the head" breakdown following the guitar solo. Dave continues his supporting role here; Richie contributes an effective pop-metal riffing style; and Jon sounds on top form, coming across as both sneering and seductive; while the backing vocals again manage to lift the song - especially apparent in the chorus and outro - even higher. Of course, in terms of writing the song wouldn't be out of place on either of the last two albums; but here it manages to sound bigger and better than any of their songs from this template have before.

4/5