Slippery When Wet [LP]

by Bon Jovi

Overview

Slippery When Wet wasn't just a breakthrough album for Bon Jovi; it was a breakthrough for hair metal in general, marking the point where the genre officially entered the mainstream. Released in 1986, it presented a streamlined combination of pop, hard rock, and metal that appealed to everyone -- especially girls, whom traditional heavy metal often ignored. Slippery When Wet was more indebted to pop than metal, though, and the band made no attempt to hide its commercial ambition, even hiring an outside songwriter to co-write two of the album's biggest singles. The trick paid off as Slippery When Wet became the best-selling album of 1987, beating out contenders like Appetite for Destruction, The Joshua Tree, and Michael Jackson's Bad. Part of the album's success could be attributed to Desmond Child, a behind-the-scenes songwriter who went on to write hits for Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, and Ricky Martin. With Child's help, Bon Jovi penned a pair of songs that would eventually define their career -- "Living on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" -- two teenage anthems that mixed Springsteen's blue-collar narratives with straightforward, guitar-driven hooks. The band's characters may have been down on their luck -- they worked dead-end jobs, pined for dangerous women, and occasionally rode steel horses -- but Bon Jovi never presented a problem that couldn't be cured by a good chorus, every one of which seemed to celebrate a glass-half-full mentality. Elsewhere, the group turned to nostalgia, using songs like "Never Say Goodbye" and "Wild in the Streets" to re-create (or fabricate) an untamed, sex-filled youth that undoubtedly appealed to the band's teen audience. Bon Jovi wasn't nearly as hard-edged as Moetley Cruee or technically proficient as Van Halen, but the guys smartly played to their strengths, shunning the extremes for an accessible, middle-of-the-road approach that wound up appealing to more fans than most of their peers. "It's alright if you have a good time," Jon Bon Jovi sang on Slippery When Wet's first track, "Let It Rock," and those words essentially served as a mantra for the entire hair metal genre, whose carefree, party-heavy attitude became the soundtrack for the rest of the '80s. ~ Andrew Leahey

Product Details

Release Date:	11/04/2016
Label:	Island / Virgin Emi
UPC:	0602547029218
Rank:	1390

Tracks

1. Let It Rock
2. You Give Love a Bad Name
3. Livin' on a Prayer
4. Social Disease
5. Wanted Dead or Alive
6. Raise Your Hands
7. Without Love
8. I'd Die for You
9. Never Say Goodbye
10. Wild in the Streets

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bon Jovi   Primary Artist
Alec John Such   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Tico Torres   Drums,Percussion
Tom Keenlyside   Horn
Bruce Fairbairn   Horn,Percussion
David Bryan   Noise,Vocals,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Jon Bon Jovi   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Richie Sambora   Guitar,Vocals,Talk Box,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (Synthesizer)
Lema Moon   Horn

Technical Credits

Desmond Child   Composer,Lyricist
Obie O'Brien   Mixing,Supervisor
Bob Rock   Mixing,Engineer
George Marino   Digital Remastering,Digital Remastering Engineer
Bruce Fairbairn   Producer
Harry Weinger   Supervisor
Jon Bon Jovi   Composer,Lyricist
Ryan Smith   Mastering
Richie Sambora   Composer,Lyricist
Tim Crich   Assistant Engineer
Matt Teacher   Pro-Tools
Mark Weiss   Photography
Mike Rew   Pro-Tools
Wayne Isham   Video Director
Mike Lawson   Pro-Tools
Curt Marvis   Video Producer
George Corsillo   Design
Bill Levy   Artwork,Art Direction