I love when I’m out digging and I find something I’ve never seen before and that happened yet again with this Bon Jovi release. It is a UK only release called ‘Red Hot and 2 Parts Live’ and is a 12″ Single. Okay, I’m not being honest when I say I haven’t seen it because my bud Mike Ladano wrote about it a few years ago, so I have seen pictures of it, but I have never seen it in the wild and now I have a copy. The reason for this special edition of the single is probably because this was actually the first Bon Jovi single released in the UK.

What we have here is a thing of beauty. It is a three song EP on stunning translucent red vinyl. It has two live tracks both recorded in Japan in 1985 and one remix of the song “Hardest Part is the Night” from 7800° Fahrenheit.

I have to say the sound quality is off-the-charts as it is loud. I had previously listened to an album prior to this release and when the E.P. played, it was so much louder I had to turn the volume down a little as it was too loud. I guess I shouldn’t admit that as it goes against the name of the site. Another thing is the beauty of the vinyl. I mean just look at it…

SIDE A:

The first track is “Hardest Part Is the Night” which was mixed by David Theoner though the differences to the original album version are actually pretty minor and a little hard to discern without a comparison.  The song is about the working class life and all the struggles that exist. Mr. Bon Jovi would explore this theme a lot over the years.

The other two tracks were recorded live in Japan in 1985.  The first is “Tokyo Road” and sounds great because back in 1985, Jon could still sing. The band sounded tight and were meshing well together for only their second album. For awhile this was the only place to get this release, but later “Tokyo Road Live” was released on the remastered 7800° Fahrenheit as a bonus track

SIDE B:

The second live track was “In and Out of Love” and is the coolest part of the release, featuring an extended guitar solo, and a very different version from what you get on 7800° Fahrenheit.  The track is over 10 minutes long and showcases the great guitarist that is Richie Sambora as he opens the song after an intro from Jon. He flies through some notes and chords and whatever else he does and he reminds us why we miss him so much in the band today. Again, this was the only place you could get this, but it showed up as well on the 1998 remastered edition as a bonus track but since I don’t have that copy not sure if it is the same track. It is a different one for sure that wound up on the 2010 special edition release of the album.

Alright, there you have it. Another cool find in my crate digging. Like I said, I love when I find this kind of stuff and that is why I continue to constantly dig. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars as it is wonderful, but the packaging is a little flimsy but that is being a little nit picky I know.