While I was in New York City a little while back for the Final Kiss Show at Madison Square Garden, my brother and I did hit some shops and I found, not one, but two Japanese Singles from Bon Jovi. These were released back in the 80’s in Japan only and they are in such beautiful shape. I had to have them so I bought them. First up was “Burning for Love” and now we get in to the 2nd Single I found with “Borderline”.
I am not sure the reason behind this Japanese Only release. We are during the ‘Slippery When Wet’ era of the band and they release a 12″ Single for “Borderline” which wasn’t even on the album, only a studio outtake. It doesn’t make quite much sense. The opening track is “Livin’ On A Prayer” from the Slippery album, but why label it as “Borderline”??? Very confusing to me, but I don’t care, it is still a cool piece for the collection. The Japanese audience was always treated with special releases from Bon Jovi and better covers.
Included in the release was a lyric sheet for the songs in both English and Japanese…
And if that wasn’t enough, they through in a band portrait of the band looking all 80’s. Well, we were in the 80’s so it makes sense.
The 12″ Single included the OBI strip as you can see in the pictures above and it included a 4 song E.P. We might as well get to the music…
SIDE 1:
It opens with “Livin’ on a Prayer” from ‘Slippery When Wet’ and it is the studio version of the song. So sit back and hold on for one of the band’s biggest songs every. It opens with a wicked bass line, finger cymbals and a talk-box. But that wasn’t all that was great about it, it is the story of Tommy & Gina in “Livin’ on a Prayer” that makes this such a great song. Jon has a way of making the songs human and easy to connect with. The everyday person with problems just like you so the songs feel personal. The song is loosely based on Desmond and his girl-friend as she worked in a Diner, but he was a taxi driver and not working at the docks. It was that Blue Collar feel to the song that made it resonate with so many people. It was a time when Bon Jovi actually wrote songs that told a story that connected with people and not try to write just to make a hit. The funny thing about this one is that Jon didn’t like it, but Richie was able to convince Jon that this was a hit and it should be on the album. Thankfully for the band, it was as it went to #1 as well. Hugh McDonald who is currently the bass player for Bon Jovi in 2023, was the bass player on this song back in 1986.
“Borderline” is an unfinished studio outtake from the ‘Slippery’ recording sessions and it is a really cool song, but they were right to leave it off as it doesn’t fit the vibe of the album. I believe this was the only place you can get the song during that time. It seems more dated and could’ve fit on the first two albums better. It opens with a fade in and a lot backing vocals and Jon doing some “uhh-uhh’s” before getting in to the song. The song is a slower rocker, not anthemic, a little darker in tone. But is still sounds and feels like Bon Jovi. It was co-written by David Bryan which was rare and welcomed. The song was later re-released on the Japanese Box Set Edition of ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’.
SIDE 2:
The second side we are greeted with 2 live tracks both recorded live in Japan in 1985…but it doesn’t say where or which shows. First up is “Hardest Part is the Night” from their sophomore album ‘7800o Fahrenheit’. Man, I wish they still played songs from this album. This version however, is a little flat, not very lively and sort of like they were going through the motions. I’m not even sure they are doing this in front of a crowd which would explain the lifelessness of it.
Next up is “Burning For Love” live from Japan in 1985 as well. Cool to get the original single and then get a live version on the other one I found. Between the first song and this one, I did hear the crowd, but low in mix. This one opened real slow and you thought they were going to do this one differently, but then the tempo picked up with the heavy Tico drums and Richie’s blistering guitars. A high energy performance and they all sound fantastic. I would’ve liked to get some crowd noise to make it feel more live as this is a clean version of the song.
And that is it for this Japanese Single. I hoped you like them. We have one more single that I found at a local store and we are jumping up to 1992 with the “Keep the Faith” CD Maxi-Single.
NEXT UP: BON JOVI – “KEEP THE FAITH” (1992) – CD MAXI-SINGLE
THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
- Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
- Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
- Bon Jovi – “Burning For Love” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1984)
- Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
- Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
- Bon Jovi – “Borderline” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1986)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
- Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
- Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
- Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
- Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” – CD Maxi Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
- Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
- Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
- Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
- Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
- Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
- Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
- Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
- Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
- Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
- Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
- Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
- Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
- Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
- Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
- Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5, Part 6) – (2004)
- Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
- Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
- Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
- Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
- Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
- Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
- Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
- Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
- Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
- Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
- Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
- Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
- Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
- RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
- Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
- 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:
- Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
- Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
- Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
- Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Japan knows how to release stuff! This is brilliant!
Wow John you sure scored some serious treasures.
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Thanks. I can’t believe I got these two singles in near mint condition (if not mint). They are stunning. Well worth the price.
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Your the King of Collectibles! Nice score.
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I lucked out on these two. While everyone was buying up the Kiss stuff in New York that weekend, I found other great stuff.
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Looks like a pretty cool find!
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That’s a nice score. It is weird that they billed it that way, possibly a mistake but who knows.
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Who knows! But I am so glad I found such a pristine copy.
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Nice!
I’m glad those OBI strips mean something. I almost threw out the ones I have.
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Yes, OBI’s good!!!!
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Am I the only one who thought they had written the soon to be Madonna song of the same name?
Just checking.
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Yeah, you might be!! LOL!!!
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