In my quest to find good homes for 7″ Singles with picture sleeve covers, I came across another Bon Jovi single. This time around it is for the song “Living in Sin” off the mega-seller ‘New Jersey’ and was released on October 7, 1989. Bon Jovi was the king of power ballads and this fit the bill nicely as the song went to #9 on the Billboard Top 40 charts. It was the 5th and final single off the 7X platinum status album which means it sold over 7 million copies in the US alone.

The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi and talks about cohabitating with the person you love out of wedlock, thus the “Living in Sin” part. True love outweighs every thing. Jon doesn’t need a wedding, a preacher, a ring to tell him he loves her and they should be together. He doesn’t need her father telling them it is wrong either. The only thing that matters is that they are together.

My copy of the Single is the standard U.S. release with “Love is War” as the B-Side. The picture sleeve is in pristine condition and a great find to add to my singles collection. I have a ton of Bon Jovi singles which makes sense as millions were sold so there should be some out in the wild for the taking.

A-SIDE:

The start of this song really isn’t Jon. Nope. I think it is Alec John Such. The bass line in the rhythm section of the song stands out and is the most powerful part of the song. It is the driving force behind it. You get the explosive power of the electric guitar and the drums when it is time to go from soft to power, but that bass is still there front and center. Jon Bon Jovi’s vocals are emotive as he sings those emotional lyrics, but it does seem a little forced at times. Still though, a great track from an amazing album.

B-SIDE:

But you aren’t buying this single for the A-Side, no you are not!! The B-Side is King here!! “Love Is War” was a previously unreleased track left off the album which is a shame. The reason why it was left off is simple. It is basically “You Give Love a Bad Name” which makes complete sense since Jon and Richie Sambora sat down to write a song like that for their new album. The problem was it sounded exactly like that (well same chord progression at least). So it was left off the album which is too bad as it is brilliant and one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs ever!! The band sounds great, the song is catchy as hell and it was perfect for the time of the late 80’s. But I get why they left it off. And this is why this single is so special!!

And there you have another of my 7″ Singles with the picture sleeve. I have lost count of how many Bon Jovi ones that I have, but I know it is a lot. Hopefully I will find more. Thanks for stopping by and hanging with us today!