Customer Reviews

7800 Degrees Fahrenheit

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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For all you Bon Jovi lovers out there this is a great cd to start with. Their first cd was extremely good material but this cd seems geered more to their style. It shows a very young Jon Bon Jovi finding his writing style and the power within his voice shines through more with this one. It's a great cd and I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

Bon Jovi's sophomore effort,released in 1985 following their self-titled debut the previous year,was not much more acknowledged than the first album. This album spawned only one Top 20 hit,IN AND OUT OF LOVE. After the 1986 release of SLIPPERY WHEN WET,pop/rock music fans started paying more attention to the band and in no time,that album was selling like hotcakes.

This is not the Bon Jovi Good Time Rock 'N' Roll Hour, that's for sure. Jon wrote this album while reeling from a breakup with high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley (who in a later decade would finally become Mrs. Bon Jovi). There are plenty of anthem-like songs here, but none of them have that party ring to them because the boys in the band are all sweating it as this is a sophomore effort, they are trying to stay above water and become a success, and they have to prove themselves as a hard-rock act. They have to provide a hit single, which they thought they had in "Only Lonely" but as it turns out, it is too somber to rock out to and to rockin' to impress teeny bopper girls (unless they are already die-hard Jovi fans in love with Jon's baby blues). Still, the album is well-written, the production is slick and the band shines on this, Bon Jovi's grittiest work. So grab a beer or a box of Kleenex and sit back with Jon as he tells you all about where it hurts. You'll relate!

This is not the band, you think you'll get, when you already got "these days" or "destination...." this is the classical 80's pop rock, not deep, bout loud. This was my first self-bought album, that's the main reason why i like it. Plus, it contains the best bon jovi song of all times, TOKYO ROAD. Fans, forget the charts orientated new stuff, get the REAL rock here!

The sophomore Bon Jovi release is a major thud back to earth. The first was rickety to be sure but it laid a certain blueprint for how the bands genre would sound for the rest of the decade and some of it's issues could be forgiven due to it being the bands debut. And youthful enthusiasm can overcome a lot in the world of rock music.

Admittedly the band were fairly clever in album arrangement, the music may be mostly third rate teen idol rock posturing but the band even at this early stage knew a thing or three about track sequencing and the overall pacing of an album. The first track, In And Out Of Love is considered one of the bands more interesting semi ballads and side two (in the old days talk) kicks off with Tokyo Road which for some strange reason was considered a good tune.

The production values and even the cover art are pretty much of their time, even more so than the debut and in fact in a Classic Rock article on the band there was a photo of the band circa 7800' and the caption was Bon Jovi: the poodle years. Having said that the band were on a major and being managed by Doc McGhee so they must of been doing something right!

Trying to listen to this CD from one end to the other is pretty hard given how badly the fairly lacklustre rock songs on it have aged. The twee lyrical concens, the pandering to be the next teenage rock dream and at the end of the day the fairly thin and reedy production values all combine to hobble this release.

For completists only, especially since In And Out Of Love was included on the Crossroads best off collection of later years.

This is the ultimate 80's hair metal band, and if you like this era, this CD is a must have...loud guitars, pounding drums, and of course, lot's of hair...