Slippery When Wet [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Bon Jovi | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B00000I07P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,406 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #22 in Music > Classic Rock > Glam
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Track Listings

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my life...seriously, May 9, 2007

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slippery When Wet (Audio CD)

Everyone has that one album that they can credit with changing the way they listened to music. Some are fortunate enough to have experienced this great awakening to Are You Experienced or The Doors. For others it was London Calling, Ramones, or even Black Sabbath. For me it was Slippery When Wet. That's right, Bon Jovi changed my life. I realize on some level that I should probably be embarrassed about that little fact, but the truth is I love this album every bit as much now as I did two decades ago.

I still remember like it was yesterday. I was 11 at the time, and didn't really care about music one way or another. I did however think that Transformers were quite awesome, but I digress. I was flipping channels and came across the video for Livin' on a Prayer. I wish I could accurately describe the impact that silly, you and me against the world love song had on me. It was like all of the tumblers of a combination lock sliding into place inside my head. I knew I had to hear more, but that wasn't going to be easy. My mama didn't dance and my daddy didn't rock & roll, so to speak, so I had to track down the cassette through a friend. If Livin' on a Prayer grabbed my interest, You Give Love a Bad Name and Wanted Dead or Alive sealed the deal. After that I moved on to Poison, Europe, Stryper, and dozens of other hairspray laden bands that I naively thought of as "metal", but Bon Jovi was the first.

I sometimes wonder if I would have reacted the same way to any other album. Somehow I doubt it. Bon Jovi was at the top of their game with this album. You could argue that their follow-up album New Jersey is the band's best, but I'll put the songs on Slippery When Wet up against that Bad Medicine stuff any day! With Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi built on the sound they developed with their two previous efforts and added hitmakers like Desmond Child to take the songwriting to a whole new level. I can hear you snickering at the thought of You Give Love a Bad Name and Never Say Goodbye as examples of quality songwriting, but it's hard to argue with the results. I believe that the lessons Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora learned while recording this album are a big reason why they are still big stars to this day, when so many of their peers have been relegated to the bar & grill circuit.

Slippery When Wet was the perfect fusion of Bruce Springsteen's American rock & roll, Van Halen's party rock image, and an impeccable pop sensibility. It didn't hurt that Jon and the boys were easy on the eyes and could represent the new face of "metal" in a totally unthreatening way. I can't help but wonder how many other kids made their way to Iron Maiden and Metallica by first discovering a band like Bon Jovi.

Say what you will about this era or this style of music. I firmly believe that Slippery When Wet is a great example of rock & roll in the 80's, and it will always have a special place in my heart.

NOTE: Slippery When Wet was reissued in 1998 with digitally remastered sound. Serious collectors may also want to check out the import version with the original cover art that the band nixed, not because of the racy image, but because of the pink border. Go figure.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just don't call it 'Hair Metal'..., May 4, 2000

By 

Karl John Krumrey IV (Detroit area, Mi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slippery When Wet (Audio CD)

.. because as Bon Jovi would prove in the 90's, they were much more than the run-of-the-mill hair metal bands that plauged the late 80's. Slippery When Wet, possibly their most accomplished album, illustrates the spirit of everything that was good about 80's rock, without the things that were bad. Bon Jovi had looks, but they had chops too.

Jon Bon Jovi finds his voice on this album (after mixed results with his Springsteen-ish wail on his first two efforts) and while Richie Sambora hadn't shed his Eddie Van Halen tributes yet, he sounded more alive on this album than on most any other tracks he ever laid down. The rhythm section is really one of the more underlooked in rock but the production is top-notch, letting every musician have their moments. Every song has the typical 80's gloss and shine, yet the band pushes themselves to demonstrate that they have real, live talent.

Every song on this album is a winner, as well, from the Pyromania-ish kickoff of 'Let It Rock' to the mega-hits Livin on a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive, You give love a Bad name, and Never Say Goodbye', right on down to the killer album tracks like Raise your Hands and especially 'I'd Die for You'.

Slippery When Wet is Bon Jovi's most consistent, focused affair, and if you want a good case to make about how good the 80's could be, then look no further than this album.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my life...seriously, May 9, 2007

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slippery When Wet (Audio CD)

Everyone has that one album that they can credit with changing the way they listened to music. Some are fortunate enough to have experienced this great awakening to Are You Experienced or The Doors. For others it was London Calling, Ramones, or even Black Sabbath. For me it was Slippery When Wet. That's right, Bon Jovi changed my life. I realize on some level that I should probably be embarrassed about that little fact, but the truth is I love this album every bit as much now as I did two decades ago.

I still remember like it was yesterday. I was 11 at the time, and didn't really care about music one way or another. I did however think that Transformers were quite awesome, but I digress. I was flipping channels and came across the video for Livin' on a Prayer. I wish I could accurately describe the impact that silly, you and me against the world love song had on me. It was like all of the tumblers of a combination lock sliding into place inside my head. I knew I had to hear more, but that wasn't going to be easy. My mama didn't dance and my daddy didn't rock & roll, so to speak, so I had to track down the cassette through a friend. If Livin' on a Prayer grabbed my interest, You Give Love a Bad Name and Wanted Dead or Alive sealed the deal. After that I moved on to Poison, Europe, Stryper, and dozens of other hairspray laden bands that I naively thought of as "metal", but Bon Jovi was the first.

I sometimes wonder if I would have reacted the same way to any other album. Somehow I doubt it. Bon Jovi was at the top of their game with this album. You could argue that their follow-up album New Jersey is the band's best, but I'll put the songs on Slippery When Wet up against that Bad Medicine stuff any day! With Slippery When Wet, Bon Jovi built on the sound they developed with their two previous efforts and added hitmakers like Desmond Child to take the songwriting to a whole new level. I can hear you snickering at the thought of You Give Love a Bad Name and Never Say Goodbye as examples of quality songwriting, but it's hard to argue with the results. I believe that the lessons Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora learned while recording this album are a big reason why they are still big stars to this day, when so many of their peers have been relegated to the bar & grill circuit.

Slippery When Wet was the perfect fusion of Bruce Springsteen's American rock & roll, Van Halen's party rock image, and an impeccable pop sensibility. It didn't hurt that Jon and the boys were easy on the eyes and could represent the new face of "metal" in a totally unthreatening way. I can't help but wonder how many other kids made their way to Iron Maiden and Metallica by first discovering a band like Bon Jovi.

Say what you will about this era or this style of music. I firmly believe that Slippery When Wet is a great example of rock & roll in the 80's, and it will always have a special place in my heart.