Bon Jovi have been huge in Japan since the beginning. As a result, Japan gets all the cool stuff and they did again this time as well. Bon Jovi reissued their first three albums on SHM-CDs and in a 7″ Vinyl format…but on CD. You get Bon Jovi, 7800° Fahrenheit and Slippery When Wet. We will walk through what you get with each disc and how it differs from the two recent U.S. Reissues of Bon Jovi and Slippery When Wet.
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For the band’s 40th Anniversary of the album that made the band rock stars, they decided to release a Liquid Version of the album on vinyl. With a title like ‘Slippery When Wet’ and filling it up with a bluish liquid that resembles water, it is pretty cool!! The liquid will slosh around as you move the vinyl around so it never seems to be in the same place twice. The vinyl itself is really thick to accommodate the liquid and it actually does play, however, I’ve never dropped a needle on it and don’t know if I will. I did spin around on the turntable and the liquid doesn’t actually move much when playing.
My only concern with it is what happens if it leaks? I will be storing it in a plastic vinyl storage sleeve just in case so the liquid doesn’t damage anything else. However, I think the liquid will eventually evaporate, but hopefully years and years later and long after I’m gone. Bon Jovi’s first run of these albums were number and I believe there were 1,300. Mine is #0538. Those sold out extremely quickly and are now selling on discogs for $500 and up. I wonder how long that price will hold because Bon Jovi has reissued it again in a non-number version so people can now get one again for the original $99. I have no intention of selling. Don’t get me wrong, if I would’ve known I could sell it for $500, I would’ve sold it and then been able to buy it again for $99…hell yeah…no brainer. Too many for sale now to think I would even get that price.
ORIGINAL ALBUM REVIEW:
Bon Jovi had two moderately successful albums under their belt. However, they weren’t happy with the fact they weren’t superstars yet. So, changes had to be made. Not in the band line-up as it was still Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres, David Bryan and Alec John Such. Nope. They needed to change their approach. One of the first things they chose to do was bring someone in to help with the songs. That person was Desmond Child. Desmond didn’t try to change who the band was with the songs, but he helped refine them, make them better. Jon and Richie wrote well together, but with Desmond’s help, the songs became stories that connected with people, but first they had to record them.
To do that, they changed even more stuff. Jon was listening to Black & Blue’s album ‘Without Love’ and he loved the production of it. So, he reached out to Bruce Fairbairn and he was hired as producer..with some other cat named Bob Rock as the engineer. The band moved to Little Mountain Studios in Vancouver, Canada and the record was started. The album was finished and released on August 18, 1986 and would become a 12,000,000 selling album making it Diamond. It would spark 4 Top 40 singles of which 2 went to #1 and would see the band tour massively. They would start out the tour as an opening act, but by the end they were the headliners. The band got what they wanted and they were now Superstars!
To celebrate the band’s 40th Anniversary, they have released a new Greatest Hits Compilation. And I know what you are thinking…big deal…right? Well, this one is a little different. One, it was only released in Japan…Two, the songs were hand picked by their Japanese fans. As a result, you do get the big hits, but there also some deep cuts you don’t normally see on a Bon Jovi greatest hits set.
And the band went all out with this release. It is called ‘All Time Best 1984-2024’ and was released in November 2024. I want to say it was the 6th, but with production delays, I’m not sure exactluy. My copy didn’t show up until around the 20th of the month. Whenever it was released, what a release it is. It chock full of hits and not hits, with 50 songs covering their entire career from the 1984 debut all the up to the 2024 release of ‘Forever’. All the songs are spread over 3 CDs and they even through in a Blu-Ray if you have the Super Deluxe Edition (which I do). Plus a few things more.
Back in 2013, Bon Jovi jumped on board the Record Store Day Bandwagon. On April 20, 2013, we get the first of 2 Live E.P. Picture Discs from the band. The first one is called simply ‘Live’ and is a 10″, 33 1/3 RPM, Picture Disc. It contains four live tracks, all previously released in some form or fashion.
The opening track, “Livin’ On A Prayer” was recorded at Madison Square Garden on either July 14/15 of 2008 and was released on the video ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’ in 2009. The song starts off with Jon singing “Livin’ on a Prayer a cappella and the crowd finishes it the chorus. The full band joins in and they show why they are a great live band.
The second track is a personal favorite, “Blood on Blood” and this one was recorded at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey around May 2010. The song was released on the live album (and video) ‘Inside Out’. It feels untouched as you can here the little wobbles and cracks in Jon’s voice like a good live show should have. The song might not have the same grit live as it does on the studio version, but they do put their all in to it.
Only the band’s second live album, ‘Inside Out’, was released on November 27, 2012. It was not one show though, it was spread across 3 epic venues as the back of the box states. The songs are from the 25th Anniversary show at Madison Square Garden, the Hometown opening night at New Meadowlands Stadium and then from the Historic 12 night run at London’s O2 Arena. 12 nights…damn!! Usually, I would hate something that wasn’t all one show, but this works. If I’m not mistaken, this is only available on iTunes. Well, that is unless you are able to find the Australian promo of the actual video…which I do. And that is what we are reviewing here, the DVD and not the iTunes version.
The DVD is a promo as it says on the back of the box and on the disc itself, “not for sale”. The video is the actual screening from the theatrical release and it does something cool. We get 14 tracks from the 3 venues and what they do at times during the songs is switch to split screen and show shots of them performing the song from the other arena or arenas in some cases. An interesting way of doing things and it makes it fun to watch. It is 75 minutes of pure Bon Jovi live energy.
The show kicks off with one of my favorite tracks, “Blood on Blood”, from ‘New Jersey’. It feels untouched as you can here the little wobbles and cracks in Jon’s voice like a good live show should have. The song might not have the same grit live as it does on the studio version, but they do put their all in to it. “Lost Highway” sees Jon dripping wet with sweat and when they show the split screens, he is perfectly dry in those which tells me one song was played early in the set and the other later.
To coincide with the release of the band’s ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection’ on CD, the band also released a DVD full of the band’s video hits and live versions as well. The DVD was released on November 10, 2010 about 2 weeks after the CD. It isn’t a full career retrospective as it is only 17 of their numerous music videos. And it omits anything from the first two albums which is a huge misstep by the band as they continue to ignore those two albums. I honestly hate when a band does that. It is stupid and an insult to fans who love those albums even if they don’t. You guys truly suck for this!!!
But what is here, is really great. It kicks off with two tracks from ‘Slippery When Wet’ with “Livin’ on A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name”, two videos that really showcased the band’s live performances and what helped draw millions of fans in to the fold. They then jump to “In These Arms” from ‘Keep the Faith’ and surprisingly enough, it is another live concert performance to the studio song. Honestly, these type of videos are great as they aren’t some cheesy video telling a story that is not what is in the song, but gives you an idea of what the band is live. Now, I say that and you then get Sam Kinison and people talking through cut-outs of Elvis for “Bad Medicine” But that was only the opening as the rest was live concert shots as well.
“Born to Be My Baby” is full of studio shots as if the band was recording the song for the first time done in black & white. Very laid back and I like it because it isn’t the exact studio version of the song, it is a different edit. Then we go full on color with the ballad “I’ll Be There For You” which is more stage performance except this time it is in front of an empty arena. A great song shot perfectly here. “Lay Your Hands On Me” gives us another live style video. Honestly, I don’t remember all their videos being basically concert style.. They did not waste a lot of money on videos and it paid off for them and save them a ton of money. The videos are all professionally done, no denying that.
After the Circle and subsequent tour, I am guessing the band was taking a little break because it would be 3 more years before another album. In the meantime, why not another greatest hits package since the last one was ‘Cross Road’ which was about 15 years earlier. This time around it was simply called ‘Greatest Hits’. Well, that is unless you bought the 2 CD set which was called ‘Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection’. The package was released on October 29, 2010 and it di really well going Gold in the U.S. and selling millions in Europe going multi-times platinum in numerous countries.
One thing they did with this release is that depending where you lived, what version was available. All single disc versions had 2 new songs on them. All 2 CD versions had 4 new songs on them. The difference was the U.S. version on had 26 songs while the International version (Europe/Australia) had 30 tracks and Japan had 31. The U.S. didn’t get any songs from 7800º Fahrenheit, International got 1 and Japan were blessed with 2 (including “Tokyo Road” of course). I will say it does suck they ignore that album here and only give us one from the debut. And it does effect my score. There is nothing else to say about the release so let’s get to the music as there is a lot to get through so I hope you’ve had a nap and are well rested.
DISC 1:
The first disc kicks off with “Livin’ On A Prayer” from ‘Slippery When Wet’. 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.
“You Give Love a Bad Name” is next and also from ‘Slippery’. It was originally written for Bonnie Tyler and called “If You Were a Woman (and I Was a Man)”, but the song did nothing so Desmond Child re-wrote it for Bon Jovi and the rest is history. The song went to #1 and the beginning of the rise to super stardom had begun. The song checks all the boxes, big chorus, epic guitar solo, killer bass line, pounding drum fills and pure intensity. The song will have you singing along instantly as the song feels familiar and exciting. You can’t get it out of your head.
Bon Jovi at this point is still putting out material on a steady basis. This time around we get their 5th live video called ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’. It was released on several different dates around the world, but here in the U.S., it was released on May 11, 2010, but elsewhere around the world it was released in November 2009. In the States this thing did go to #1 on the Video charts.
The show was recorded on July 14 & 15, 2008 in New York City at the famous Madison Square Garden…I know, that was a shock given the name of the video. It was directed by Anthony Bongiovi and Brian Lockwood, glad to see Jon keeping it in the family. The version I have is the DVD, but if you buy the Blu-Ray, you get the great documentary we discussed last week, ‘When We Were Beautiful’. The story around that DVD centered around the free Central Park show which was like a day or so before these fine concerts. The band was tight and ready to go.
The video doesn’t waste anytime and once you hit play, the band is there ready to go at full speed. They open with the song “Lost Highway” and not just because I don’t like that album, but what an awful song to kick off the show with. They used to kick off with something so powerful and energetic that this falls flat. With that being said, this is probably the only mistake they make the whole night. You get a band that is still in their prime, Jon’s vocals sound amazing and the band is as tight as ever. They go in to “Born to Be My Baby” and then Jon pulls out his acoustic guitar, Richie picks up his slide guitar and they go in to “Blaze of Glory” and things pick up from there.
We are in the year 2004 and Bon Jovi has now been around for 20 Years at this point. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary, they released a really cool box set of mostly unreleased tunes and a lot of little extras titled ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’. The Box Set is a collection of 50 songs spread over 4 CDs, 38 of which had never been released. The others were songs from soundtracks, remixes and/or B-Sides. This was a band dumping everything sitting by the wayside in to one set and I applaud them for that. Us diehard fans love this kind of stuff. And if that wasn’t enough, if you have the Japanese Edition, which i do, you get another CD of B-Sides and Japanese Bonus Tracks. That is another 10 songs.
This is a lot of music to absorb and we won’t be absorbing it all here. Nope. I’m going to go through each and every CD, track by track over 6 posts. We are now on the fourth disc which had a total of 13 tracks, 10 of which were previously unreleased. So let’s get started and dive into the music as that is why we are really here any way.
We are now to the final disc of music for the original box set. We still have the Japanese Bonus Disc to do and the DVD. This set starts off with two versions of “Love Ain’t Nothing But a Four Letter Word”. A song about domestic violence which is a serious topic for the band. However, the music doesn’t make it feel all that serious. This is an upbeat version with a real R&B, Motown feel to it with the horns and the angelic ladies on the backing vocals. That sound is why they never used it on an album. The other version of this song is Jon’s original demo with I think just him on the song. Some different lyrics and a more rocker feel to it the final studio version.
In 2003, Bon Jovi was going to do a little acoustic side project, but that turned in to ‘This Left Feels Right’ which was released on November 4,2003. To commemorate that album, they did two shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 14 and 15, 2003. The DVD, ‘This Left Feels Right Live’ was the result of those two shows. The DVD was released on February 9, 2004. Now, if you read my review of the CD, you will see I wasn’t very fond of that, but this is a little of a different animal. This is live. Live shows, I don’t mind when a band changes a song up as it is fun to see their different interpretations of their own songs. That for me is the perfect time for re-imagined songs. Not a full studio album of them.
The small crowd in attendance was ready for anything Bon Jovi and the women were ready for anything from Jon Bon Jovi as they were screaming a lot. The show was also broadcast on the web as they were filming so some people saw the show before the DVD release. I was not one of them. You knew this was going to be different from the first song as it was “Love for Sale” from ‘New Jersey’ and I loved hearing that one live. What a great way to start things off. Then they go in to the classic, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and I will admit I did not like this one much as Jon kept saying “Bad” over and over in a stupid way that annoyed me.
With “Wanted Dead or Alive”, Jon changed his mic for a radio voice type vocal and the band rocked out a little on it and I actually enjoyed this one enough. With “Livin’ on a Prayer”, they went all acoustic and it was perfectly fine in this new version. Not much different then a regular acoustic version of the song. Richie’s backing vocals are what helps make this song great and he did not disappoint at all here. Speaking of acoustic, they turn “It’s My Life” in to an acoustic masterpiece. They turned the rock anthem on its ear and slowed it down and gave it a whole new feel that really made the song shine in a different light even though it took a dark turn.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 