In Bon Jovi's most recent studio album, the band took a radical new stylistic direction. Recording in Nashville, the band released what was essentially a country record.
By the dawn of the 21st century, a rejuvenated Bon Jovi released the hit record Crash, which introduced the band to a whole new generation of who barely remembered the big-hair days of the 1980s. "It's My Life" became a huge hit single.
The title track was the huge hit, but the entire Western-themed album is well worth a listen. While the band Bon Jovi went on hiatus for a couple years at the beginning of the 1990s, Jon Bon Jovi took the opportunity to put together this memorable solo project, the soundtrack to Young Guns II. The title track dominated radio airplay and won a Golden Globe. Plus, Bon Jovi made his acting debut in a brief cameo in the film.
New Jersey was the multiplatinum follow-up to Slippery When Wet. The strains of constant recording and touring to support both records from 1986-89 nearly led to a breakup of the band. But the music here still captures Bon Jovi at their '80s peak.
Slippery When Wet was the chart-topping album that turned Bon Jovi into the biggest band in the world in 1986. "Livin' On A Prayer," "Wanted Dead and Alive," and "You Give Love a Bad Name" all cracked the top ten as singles.
Bon Jovi's debut album, released in 1984, featured a sound a bit more raw than that of Slippery Than Wet, but clearly hinted at the glory that was to come in great songs like "Runaway."