7800 Review: Young and wired, set to explode in the heat
 

This is my review for 7800 Fahrenheit. I think it's going to turn out even longer than the first ... even greater apologies for that, but even greater thanks if you do read all of it! Again, I'm going to split it up into seperate posts - one for an overview, one for each song, then one for a conclusion - in order to make it more manageable. Comments and thoughts are welcome, I'm hoping these might spark off some kind of debate or discussion or something

OVERVIEW:

Barely a year after the release of Bon Jovi’s debut album came the follow up, 7800 Fahrenheit, although it was clear from the album that it was a year that had very much taken its toll on the members of the band. A year of near constant touring in support slots for various bands, and the effects that that had on the band members’ relationships would be the focus here.

Musically, the album adopted the same basic template as its predecessor: a metal sound welded to blatant pop sensibilities and melodic, anthemic songwriting; in the vein of Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen. However, it was not an album which stuck rigidly to this template; instead it took it as a starting point and expanded its sound from there. The wild, potential trainwreck instrumentation of the first album was reigned in slightly, as the songwriting became more cohesive; and the songs began to sound more stronger as a whole and more complete, rather than just featuring flashy playing for its own sake; although it could be argued that this caused it to lose something of the sheer adrenaline rush that the debut provided. The effect of this is that Richie’s guitar is a bit more toned down; with riffs and chord structures being more common than extended licks. The pop metal formula of the debut was also not strictly adhered to: this album is the sound of a band experimenting with its own identity; and as such we hear hard rock songs with huge riffs; synth driven power balladry; songs with more of an attitude and laid back groove than previously; and dark synth pop metal.

Lyrically the album is a marked improvement on the debut; with the songs featuring not only more developed, thought out and confident (with more songs being written by Jon alone, and Dave and Tico taking a greater writing role than they ever would again) lyrics; but also a sense of being more wordly and informed. Thematically the album goes down a few roads; the main one seeming to be that the kids from the streets of New Jersey who recorded the debut album have been thrust, unprepared, onto the world stage, and are finding out that it’s not all they dreamed it would be. This disillusionment seeps through the entire album; and while I’m not saying that the entire album is based on being on the road, it is possible to interpret a lot of the songs in that way; especially when you consider that the only artwork inside the booklet is a collage of pictures from the road. Tying in with this is the theme of love going wrong: Jon and Dorothea had split up prior to the album’s release, on account of the pressure the touring put on their relationship; and it seems as though the other band members were going through similar troubles.

Stylistically, the album seems to take its cues from the dual images of fire/heat and offensive weaponry. The title refers to the melting point of rock; and this imagery is present in a number of songs; as well as the album artwork (the front cover appears to show Jon with his face in shadow and his hair becoming flames; while the back cover shows the band looking very glam indeed with flames around them, and similarly all of their hair seeming to meld into the fire … whether this has any deeper symbolic meaning; or if someone just thought of combining the band and fire I don’t know). Almost all the songs also contain a reference to an offensive weapon of some kind, normally either guns or bombs; giving the album an air of aggression.

By and large, this album holds the dubious position of being regarded as the band’s worst by both the band and the fans. This is probably based mainly on three things: the production; the prevalence of synths; and the fact that the songwriting wasn’t as strong as it would be on late albums. The production; handled on this album solely by Lance Quinn, who co-produced the debut with Tony Bongiovi; is very much in the “love it or hate it” mould: it is raw, heavy and unpolished; with each instrument sounding particularly forceful and vying for the listeners attention. To some this appeals, to others it annoys. The vocals are also subject to the recording: although Jon’s vocals have matured (particularly noticeable in his decision to ditch the falsetto from the first album) and gained greater emotional weight; the recording of the backing vocals means that they often drift and are robbed of any real impact. Also, the synthesiser is very prominent on this album, being the main driving force behind some songs; which has the effect of dating the album firmly in the 1980s.

In & Out Of Love – The album starts quietly with a repeated shout of the songs title, getting louder until a drum fill ushers in a swaggering hard rock riff. The song as a whole is an immediate departure from the first album; toning the synths down to a supporting role for the chorus, emphasising the riff and the bass, slowing things down a bit, and just generally coming across with more of an AC/DC style groove than they had before. Lyrically it pretty obviously relates to being on the road; and as such the title could take one of two meaning: either being in and out of love with that lifestyle; or with the people that they knew before and meet along the way. A bomb reference (“Young and wired / set to explode in the heat”) and a fire reference (“You’ve been burned / baby lessons learned”) help to set up two of the dominant themes for the rest of the album. The conversational interludes, while a bit strange and random, help to give the song character, and would be a semi-recurring theme later in their career, especially bookending demo recordings. All in all, this is a solid hard rock opener which manages to provide an effective bridge from one album to the next.

3+/5

Price Of Love – A building drum roll introduces a wildly exciting riff, which is especially effective for only appearing at the very beginning and end of the song. The main bulk of the song alternates between restrained guitar and synthesized “strings” plucking during the verses; and slightly more pedestrian riffing in the prechorus and chorus; with a very atmospheric breakdown and guitar solo; and a repeat of the intro riff in the outro bringing the song around full circle. Lyrically it stands head and shoulders above anything on the debut. Another reference to offensive weaponry is found here: “And you’re left holding the knife”. Also carries on the theme of disillusionment, this time with the mythical perfection of love. This song displays a newfound depth in terms of Jon’s more mature vocals, the more subtle and varied instrumentation, and more developed lyrics; while still managing to be an adrenaline pumping hard rock song. An album high point.

4/5

In terms of quality (YES) probs indeed their worst, even bounce can't beat that but hey 20 years more experience there....

Anyway good album, next to TD imo their most creative one, and I prefer it to their debut, crush & bounce - I actually listen to 7800 every once in a while - big negative point is the contrast between the songs, some really good ones, few really crap ones

I kinda feel the same way about it myself. There's the few good ones and then the crappy ones. I wouldn't say it was necessarily their most creative record next to These Days, but I can appreciate what they went after. I'm glad it wasn't a complete rip-off of the debut.

Ryan

I know people bash this album but I have always defended it. Yes - it's a product of its time rather than being timless but it has so much emotion it really speaks to me. Some people think it's depressing but I say that anybody that has been in an agonizing relationship can relate. And I don't care how young - or old - you are, most of us have had a relationship like that at one time or other.

Kathleen

It definetly is an opinion divider, that's for sure

Only Lonely – Sticking with the theme of the difficulties of love, this song’s intro gives the impression that its going to be very synth driven, but it’s only a couple of seconds before the power chords kick in alongside the synths, and not much longer before the synths are relegated to their normal supporting role. The pace of this song is slower, but still carried by a pounding guitar/drum/bass combination; it could be described as a heavy rock ballad. There are so many great moments in this song: the moment that the pulsing rhythm of the guitar bass and drums kick in simultaneously; the fantastic bridge with the return to prevalence of the synths and the drum rolls leading into the guitar solo; the prechorus after the solo with the cut out and quick rebuilding of the drums with Jon’s emotive “cutting wounds that run SO!” over the top, and so on. The lyrics are even stronger than on the last song; and carry on the bomb theme: “I’ve got this timebomb ticking in my head / This time I think she’s gonna blow”. The emotion of an endless cycle of heartache building up inside the narrator is fantastically communicated through the music building from synthesized intro to the dangerous sounding bridge, great lyrics and the heart that Jon pours into it. Possibly the best song on the album, and in the hands of a better producer might have been even stronger.

4+/5

King Of The Mountain – Just when you think you’ve got the album figured, along comes the bass and drum intro to this song with a funky guitar riff to match, and what you have is Bon Jovi’s first attempt at funk-rock. Musically the particularly striking thing is that, aside from the aforementioned riff and an inventive guitar solo, the driving instrument on this song is actually the drum, with fills all over the place. The call to arms to the downtrodden theme is far from one that the band is unfamiliar with, but this is the first time they really tried it out, and it seems oddly over-earnest and out of place here; the song seemingly trying to be both meaningful and fun, but mainly coming across as a bit awkward. What also doesn’t help is that the production on this song seems to be even worse than on the previous songs, especially on Jon’s vocals; as ever he puts in a fine performance but is left sounding rather flat. It’s not a bad song by any means, but is something of a “culture shock” … the poor production and attempt to experiment in two different directions at once coming off a bit overbearing.

2+/5

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

Silent night is one of my favorite on the album - it is so obviously personal. They don't get that personal these days and that may be why it feels like some of the emotion is missing. I don't think it's a particularly great song but as you said - very different from what came before and most of what came after too. I think that song in particular gets it's message across in the emotion department rather than the musical department.

Now I gotta go listen - and for some reason I always crank this one up.

Kathleen

Hope you enjoyed your listen :D

Tokyo Road – Absolutely genius opening, with only a spine tingling music box and a female voice singing what appears to be a Japanese nursery rhyme which sets the song up beautifully; but it isn’t too long before a typical riff kicks it aside. The story to this song is a bit unclear to me: it seems to be about the protagonist being sent to war in Tokyo, but quickly becoming disillusioned with it, and instead of fighting having the time of his life getting drunk and screwing prostitutes. The thing is though, unless the war is World War II, it can’t be a real war, unless the point is that the protagonist comes from Tokyo and has been sent to war elsewhere, which is possible I suppose. Or it might just be another metaphor for being on the road; in which case the whole Tokyo concept just confuses me. Anyway, as a whole, this song is a bit lacking. It follows the hard rock sound of In & Out Of Love, but is far too mid-paced to make it work properly. The lyrics in general aren’t great either: although there are some clever phrases (“Snorting whisky, drinking coke”); as a whole the writing seems rather undeveloped. The vocal production is again substandard, especially noticeable on the flat backing vocals in the chorus; which is a poor chorus anyway. The guitar isn’t too special either: there’s a lot of bending and an outro solo that are pretty good; but for the most part the guitar is uninspired, with the tone and the tempo being completely at odds. There are however two absolutely great bits in this song: the introduction; and the incredibly atmospheric bridge with tinkling synths, huge drums, mesmerising guitar, and an intimate vocal performance from Jon as though he’s just telling you this story in a bar somewhere. It’s difficult to review songs like this: they’d be fairly poor; but a few moments of genius make it hard to rate them as such, so I’ll split the difference and call this an average song.

3/5

Hardest Part Is The Night – Opening up with a very short and simple, yet awesome riff which is completely unlike anything else on the album; this song is actually more synth heavy than the rest of the album, although it doesn’t come across as overdone: the synth and guitar manage to complement each other perfectly. The strength of this song is not only that it’s a great hard rock song (all traces of pop-metal have definitely vanished here), but also that it also manages to be dramatic and harrowing, in much the same way that Aerosmith’s Janie’s Got A Gun would be four years later. Two major highlights are the building, multi-layered guitar solo which sees Richie at his most experimental; and Jon’s wordless vocal outro. Driven by atmospheric synths, unflashy yet perfectly judged guitar, and a relentless bassline; and with lyrics that highlight both the difficulties (“a young boy hides the pain”) and lures (“darkness fades, he’s the prince of his city”) of street life, while possibly relating it to being in a touring band (“these four walls they could tell you some stories / about lying and dying and fame / there’s a price that you’ll pay for the glory”); this understated gem is absolutely an album highlight.

4/5

Always Run To You – Opening differently from most of the other songs, with a drum solo and a riff which doesn’t so much kick in as slide in; this is another dramatic heavy rock song. Probably the most interesting thing about this song is the synths: building up behind the prechorus, before breaking down into a simple pattern for the chorus; they are subtle yet really add to the intensity. Also noticeable are the heavy bass and loud drumming. The guitar, in comparison, is relatively restrained here, for the most part just playing repeating riffs; although the bridge solo is particularly effective, and the outro solo closes the song well. There are some reasonably decent lyrics here too; for example the opening (“the clock strikes ten / out on the streets again”) which contribute to the overall mood of the song; and another gun reference (“and when I give her the gun / you know she feels so right”), as well as what appears to be a drug reference (“we’ve done more white lines / than you’ll know”), and a reference to being in trouble with the law (“I stand accused”) ; all of which effectively builds up imagery of living on the streets; always in trouble with someone, be it the law or a rival gang member, and only having one person to run to. The chorus is particularly distinctive: it is sung in a very high register, which, while providing an instant hook, is a bit overbearing. Overall, this is an effective song: solid, but going by without making a huge impact; the medium pace of it sometimes failing to keep the attention.

3/5

AMEN KATHLEEN!! ;)

(I Don’t Wanna Fall) To The Fire – The most obvious continuation of the fire theme, and coming somewhat out of left field, this song opens with a hypnotic synth riff which carries on throughout most of the song and provide its main driving force. The atmosphere created on this song is astounding; just take for example the way the intro builds: first the synth riff; then the drums, with that massive 80’s sound, and with the bass drum being particularly prominent in this song; then another layer of synths and some percussion begin at the same time; then the guitar; and finally Jon starts singing over the top of all this. Another fantastic moment is the guitar solo: sounding particularly effective against the synthesized backdrop; it’s infact more of a duel between the synths and guitars; with Jon doing some awesome rock screams underneath it. Jon’s vocals are phenomenal; with the aforementioned screaming and forceful performance; and towards the end varying what looks on paper to be a repetitive chorus by changing emphasis and words to some lines. The lyrics are surprisingly mature; and understated yet effective. I’m not sure how to interpret the theme of the song: it could just be another state of the union – youth of America (a line that is mentioned at one point) – rallying call to arms type thing; but bits of it seem to suggest that it might be another war song, perhaps about the Vietnam War: lyrics such as “we would take no prisoners / cos there was nobody giving in / they came walking through my jungle / and met an angel about to sin” seems like it might be about the killing of innocents by soldiers in Vietnam, I don’t know. Anyways, overall this is a great dark, multilayered heavy synth rock song; sounding more alternative than the band perhaps ever would do again. I can see why a fan of more contemporary music would dislike it though: not only is it completely unlike anything else in the band’s catalogue; but the production is very very 80s; which could put some people off.

4/5

Can't really follow your rating tbh.
If you rate for example, To the Fire 4/5, then all songs from next albums should get 5/5 without too much trouble...

This is my favorite song on the record. I totally agree with your anlaysis on this record. Keep writing.

deb

Not really ... I like To The Fire as much as I like a lot of the songs from Slippery. I'm not going to be able to review Slippery for another couple of weeks or so anyways, due to the CD being at home

Thanks Deb :) Glad some people are enjoying these reviews!


Secret Dreams – The final track on the album opens with a workmanlike solo guitar riff, before the intro gives way to a stabbing synth pattern backed up by rhythm guitar. The very first two lines: “Riding high / then shot down / I load my guns to fire another round” bring an end to the album’s obsession with weaponry. The lyrics here aren’t too bad, and are brought to life by the conviction that Jon sings them with; but there’s very little that stands out. Musically, the song is very repetitive: almost completely being covered by a very short riff for the verses; and a repetition of the synth section of the intro for the chorus. What is quite nice about it is the little sound effects that are all over it: tinkling synths in the chorus; rolling cymbals at one point; it does add to the song well. The guitar solo is decent enough, but sounds almost to be completely divorced from the song as a whole. Much better is the later breakdown before the final chorus: it provides the only moment of difference in an otherwise fairly one dimensional song. The song suffers from the problems that a few other songs on the album do: for one the pace is far too slow for a riff–heavy rock song; and for another the chorus comprises mainly of poorly recorded droning backing vocals. An unfortunately nondescript closing track for the album.

2+/5

Overall – A year of fame had clearly had an effect on the band’s sound. While the fire and spirit were very much still present; this album was the sound of a rapidly maturing band. More considered, more weighty, more cohesive, less frantic, less polished, and more willing to experiment. Some of the experiments were misfires of course, but a lot of them worked. Moving away from the pop metal sound and into harder rock territory was a brave move, and largely a successful one; although too often the pace of the song is just too slow, or the riffing too repetitive for the song to be as exciting as it should be. The production is also problematic; especially in terms of the backing vocals, which are given too prominent a place in the choruses of too many songs for them to sound as flat as they do. As a result of the production and prevalence of synthesisers, this is an album which is firmly a product of its time; but in a way this helps to give it character. Overall then, I’d say that it’s an album of hits and misses; however, the strong material is very strong. As a whole, it’s a very ‘real’ album, and it’s mainly this honesty; together with the fact that the songs hold together well, both in terms of repeated themes and a sonic unity of songs; the band’s willingness to experiment; and the overall atmosphere and intensity that are created that add up to make it what it is: a flawed ‘diamond in the rough’ of an album; and the next step in the ladder towards greatness.

8/10

Essential tracks: Price Of Love, Only Lonely, Hardest Part Is The Night

Incidentally, I wonder what happened to that other guy (or girl) who was writing the reviews?

I've always liked Secret Dreams. As stupid as the lyrics may be (sorry, but I fail to see how some of them are "mature", Hardest Part Is The Night probably but apart from that? IMO, Runaway has better lyrics than Price Of Love, too), they've actually hit me at a certain time. That chorus sure is catchy, too. To The Fire and (to a certain extent) Always Run To You never did anything for me, though.

Cranking up a bootleg from 1985 now... Walrus, as you obviously like that album, are you into the late 80s stuff from Survivor as well?

The only Survivor I've heard is Eye Of The Tiger, what else would you recommend?

I guess I don't see maturity in songwriting as meaning it needs to be about weighty themes ... I'm guessing you tend to think that way, seeing as you list Runaway and Hardest Part Is The Night. In my opinion, a love song can have mature lyrics if they are developed and considered enough ... something like, for example ...

It was all so simple when
You were to be queen and I'd be your king
I guess those dreams got lost
Cause baby you're still you and I'm still me
Now letting go
It's always the hardest part to fight
When we both know
We're just two more victims of the night

... is pretty mature I reckon.

Burning Heart (I'm pretty sure you know that one as well - from Rocky IV)
Popular Girl
Broken Promises
Burning Bridges
Desperate Dreams
American Heartbeat

There are more good songs, but these have a feeling similiar to that album, even though the guitar is WAY tamer. If you can't find 'em anywhere, drop me a PM.

There are definitely songs about love that I think are mature, it's not because of that... it's just that with such a well-covered topic, it's easy to fall into the "meh, heard it all before" category. That's also why I listed the otherwise not THAT subtle Hardest Part Is The Night among the better ones.

Songs about love I like lyrically:

The Offspring - Denial, Revisited
Most of the Stones ballads
Skid Row - I Remember You
Guns & Roses - Don't Cry

And that being said, I still don't know. To me these lyrics are kinda... naive I guess? Now I know, they reek of desilusion and all, but isn't this kind of desilusion what most people face before they hit 17? It is something people can relate to, sure, but it's hardly original or cleverly put. Maybe I should add that I find most of BJ lyrics to be cheesy (no, I don't hate the band), especially some of the TD lyrics, because they just seem... melodramatic I guess? These make me go "Man, those metaphors sure are a bit pompous and cheesy, eh? King and queen?"

But I do agree that these lyrics are definitely better than, say, Get Ready. But they're on par with Shot Through The Heart.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have a look sometime

I'm not trying to say that these are the most mature lyrics they've ever written, just more so than the first album really. There's very little that hasn't been said already, and I find that it's those grand metaphors that tend to be more memorable, although things put in very plain black and white can be too, definetly

Only Lonely is definitely one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs. Like you said, there's just so much pain and emotion poured into it, it just comes out so beautiful. What I like about this song is that it has to do with Jon and the band and not someone else. With that said it's obvious the story is more personal resulting in a better performed song. The itself is also very beautiful. You see the emotion when Jon's singing into the mic.

There was actually an interesting interview that made reference to this album and Jon's relationship split with Dorothea:
I really don't understand why many people consider this album their weakest. Sure it wasn't there best, but there are some very powerful tracks on this album.... Oh well suppose it's all opinion.

Another great review Walrus. I love how you interpret the lyrics and the instruments every track contains. I'm going to go and read the Slipper When Wet review now.

Yep, easily my favourite on the album!