Bon Jovi
New Jersey

THE REVIEW

Browsing through RockTV's Heavy Rotation, amid grind bands and the like, they unexpectedly play the video for Born To Be My Baby by Bon Jovi, a song contained in the album in question. A fresh, fun, well-played video but above all charged just like the song it’s taken from! Certainly a bolt from the blue given the current trend of Superock, Headbanger's Ball, and Rock TV which doesn't seem to consider any middle ground between Coldplay and Cannibal Corpse.

The song is part of a 1989 album, New Jersey, which shows the country-rock of their declared idols, Little Richard and Southside Johnny very - perhaps too - hidden behind the mega-production of Fairbairn & Bob Rock. The title of the album indeed refers to traditional New Jersey rock.
An impressive series of great rock songs follow one after the other, marked by incredibly catchy melodies, Sambora's extraordinary guitar, and Jon's powerful voice. Both the mid-tempo songs and the ballads burst with energy from every pore, and the mentioned country base starts to show in the slide guitar of Homebound Train and becomes fully apparent in the last track, Love For Sale.

Thus, a great rock album in which the production is both a blessing and a curse: on one hand, it maximizes the grit of Jon & Co., but on the other, it effectively relegates this album to the classic '80s "Made in the USA and throw away" category. But in a moment when rock seems to be made only of growls and downtunings, helicopter blade double bass drums, and obscene lyrics, who knows, this might just offer some adrenaline rush to the ears now addicted to zillions of decibels. As happened to the tower keeper who awoke with a start when the cannon—which fired every hour—didn't fire that time.