Before there was a band called Bon Jovi, there was a young man, named Jon Bongiovi, who worked as a janitor at a recording studio called The Power Station which was located in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. During his time as janitor, he’d be allowed to use the studio when it wasn’t in use. The years were 1980-1983 and this release is a collection of all these unreleased songs from that time period in his life prior to becoming Jon Bon Jovi and fronting one of the biggest bands in the world.

But wait…let’s go back a ways. Jon could play both guitar and piano and at 13 started playing gigs with his very first band called Raze. When he was 16, he met a curly haired dude named David Bryan and they would start a band called Atlantic City Expressway. David would leave that band to go to Med School…but that didn’t work out as he felt music was his path. So that band didn’t go anywhere and while still south of 20, he had another band called Jon Bongiovi and the Wild Ones. Again, nothing. So by 1980, he started yet another band called Rest and they actually got to open for a hero of Jon’s, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes. During the 80’s he spent time at his cousin’s studio and recorded the song “Runaway”…yeah, that song. He shopped it around, but little notice. And we will end that story there as we will talk further about how that song changed things for him later.

This album was released by Tony Bongiovi who is Jon’s father’s first cousin…what does that make him to Jon? I have no freaking idea…maybe second cousin. Tony, I believe, owned the studio and was the producer of these songs we have before us. The album has been released several times and is not an official Bon Jovi or Jon Bon Jovi release so I am sure Jon wasn’t overly thrilled with it seeing the light of day. The first release was in 1998 and was only 10 songs. The second release was 1999 and suddenly was up to 14 tracks. My version, however, was released September 18, 2001 and was the third iteration of the songs and this time around there are a whopping 20 tracks. That is a lot of music. And when you hear it, you will hear a very young Jon with songs that were a sign of the times and a Jon whose voice hadn’t really found…well…his voice or style. The songs aren’t great…but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun and interesting listen to see how it all began.

“Who Said it Would Last Forever” kicks things off with an opening piano, an infectious groove, some nice guitar work and energized vocals by Mr. Bongiovi. A high energy rocker that shows a singer with a lot of promise as the chorus is catchy and you can see something there that was ready to explode.

Then with “Open Your Heart” we get a very different Jon. This one even has a Saxophone probably because of his love of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. Another uptempo rocker that has Jon screaming to a woman to open her heart and let him in to love again.

“Stringin’ a Line” is a little jazzy filled with an organ and some fancy finger snaps gets this one going. Jon sounds serious, sultry and sophisticated. The chorus is pretty good, there are some nice guitar moments and this one is a little cool!

Next up is “Don’t Leave Me Tonight” and might be the first appearance of Tommy as he mentioned in this one. Maybe, not the same Tommy…who knows. This Tommy is an abuser and Jon doesn’t his lover to go home for fear of being beaten. A really dark song, but the music is upbeat. It has a little Stones feel to it at times, but not as good as the Stones.

“More Than We Bargained For” was actually released as a single, but good luck finding it. It is a ballad with keyboards, a gloomy, dark feel to it that soon picks up in tempo, but so far might be least favorite of the tracks. The chorus isn’t bad, but this song is so cheesy and generic. He’d get so much better than this later.

“For You” is a high energy pop song and I think Springsteen might’ve had this title as well…hmmm. The chorus is upbeat a catchy, but the song is another example that Jon is really, really young and not well polished as writer yet.

What might be the best song on here is “Hollywood Dreams” about a guy that leaves his woman runs off to Hollywood to fulfill his dream, yet when we returns she doesn’t even recognize him as he has changed so much. The song is really catchy and fun filled with piano and a really great saxophone solo. This one could’ve been on the debut (minus the saxophnone as Bon Jovi doesn’t do that).

“All Talk, No Action” has those 80’s sounding guitars, the energetic drum beats and a totally 80’s pop song. Heck, this could’ve been on the radio in those early years. It is a fun, fast-paced track that is contagious and even has a good guitar solo. Not a bad track.

Next we get “Don’t Keep Me Wondering” which has some hollow sounding guitars and we something I don’t we’ve ever seen on a Bon Jovi song before…an accordion. Yowzers!! The “uuhh uhh ohhs” are so bad. This one sounds 80’s and not in a good way.

“Head Over Heals” is quintessential Bruce Springsteen. Jon likes this one so much he actually performed it live at a show at the Starland Ballroom in February of 2009. This is an upbeat rocker with a great groove and you can see hints of what was to come.

“No One Does It Like You” is another that shows these times at The Power Station were beneficial for Mr. Bongiovi. He was able to learn a lot and he showed signs of improvement with a lot of these songs, this being one of them. This to me isn’t a Bon Jovi song quality, but it is a step in the right direction.

With “What You Want”, we get a slower start, but there is an energy building and when the chorus hits it is infectious, fun and a little exciting…but it still isn’t great. Very dated and production is a little weak, but there is a really good guitar solo and there is a little promise there.

“Don’t You Believe Him?” is almost a little rockabilly in its style and tone. It has that old school energy and vibe. The chorus matches that sound including a honky tonk style piano. Another song that would never be a Bon Jovi song, but not half bad.

Then we get “Talkin’ In Your Sleep”, but this ain’t The Romantics. This one a little dark and sultry underpinned with a gritty guitar, sultry piano and a nice bassline. There is also some synth on here that adds a really cool effect to the chorus. He should be proud of this one as it is one of the better tracks on the album.

“Bobby’s Girl” might as well be a rip off of “Jessie’s Girl” with that title. Jon’s friend Bobby went off to the Navy leaving his girl behind. Jon, being the good friend he his, pursued her and won her heart. Her name is Dorthea Hurley and is his wife today. I would say that worked out nicely. This is a poppy pop song with a urgency to it that races by at break-neck speed. It has some nice guitar work and although the song is very cheesy, it is fun too.

“Gimme Some Lovin’ Charlene” is another upbeat track, with a heavier bass groove, a rocking solo and a very different style than the rest of the album. It is a nice change of direction. I still can’t get over the bass work on this one as it is very prominent throughout. Some great background vocals. Musically, the song is better than the lyrics.

“Don’t Do That To Me Anymore” is a guitar heavy track which is another that is better musically than it is lyrically. But he is pretty young here and still working on his craft which still needs some work.

Then we get “This Woman is Dangerous” with more guitar and more piano. I think this one is a step in the right direction. The chorus is great and catchy, the energy is bright and sunny despite the darker lyrics. The piano playing is fantastic, fun and frantic. Another of the better tracks here.

A song from his Jon Bongiovi & the Wild Ones is up with “Maybe Tomorrow”. A slower track with an acoustic guitar. A ballad but Jon’s vocals aren’t very emotive and aren’t quite up to snuff either as he seems to strain to hit certain notes. You’d think he was recording this today…oooh that was a low blow. Sorry. But it is that bad.

The last track is an instrumental of “Runaway”, the song that broken Bon Jovi the band. But I don’t know when this instrumental was done as this isn’t just the music from the song. There is a guitar that is handling where the lyrics are and the Solo…DAMN…it is freaking awesome. I think better than the studio version…did I just say that…yep.

And there you have it. 20 tracks of demos from Jon Bongiovi, prior to the Jon Bon Jovi days. I am not going to do a track score as this is a compilation of his demos, not an official album and all necessary for the piece that this is in his history. There are some good songs, there are some great songs and there are some really sucky ones too. They sound like they are from the 80’s so they are dated, but honestly, this was a fun listen. I actually enjoyed myself listening to these early tunes, but I do like this kind of stuff. I love demos. There is something satisfying about hearing an artist before they were famous to get a better idea of who they are and where they came from. For all those reasons, My Overall Score is a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars. I would listen to this more than I would listen to a couple of the Bon Jovi albums actually. More on that later.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘BON JOVI’ (1984)

THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:

1. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
2. Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
3. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
4. Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
5. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
6. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
7. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
8. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
9. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
10. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1991)
11. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1991)
12. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
13. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
14. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
15. Bon Jovi – Crossroads (1994)
16. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
17. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
18. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
19. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
20. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
21. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
22. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
23. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
24. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
25. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
26. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
27. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
28. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
29. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
30. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
31. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
32. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
33. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
34. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
35. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
36. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5, Part 6) – (2004)
40. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
41. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
42. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
43. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
44. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
45. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
46. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
47. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
48. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
49. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
50. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
51. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
52. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
53. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
54. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
55. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
56. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
57. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
58. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
59. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
60. Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)

We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:

1. Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
2. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
3. Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
4. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
5. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
6. Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
7. Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
8. Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
9. Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
10. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
11. Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
12. Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single