#vinel

Bon Jovi: 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)

Bon Jovi’s “forgotten album,” 7800° Fahrenheit (allegedly the melting point of rock?) is probably my favorite -- which isn’t saying much as I’ve only ever owned two of their records!

In other words, I’m no Bon Jovi fan or expert, but as I wrote in Ultimate Classic Rock, the band came away very unhappy with their experience at Philadelphia’s Warehouse Studios, where they worked on this LP with producer Lance Quinn (his unimpressive resume doesn’t help his case).

Nevertheless, consumers liked the results well enoughto send both “Only Lonely” and “In and Out of Love” into the Rock Chart’s Top 40 -- plus “Tokyo Road” became an in-concert favorite in (where else?) Japan. 

Two more singles, “The Hardest Part is the Night” and “Silent Night,” gave Mercury Records something to promote well into 1986, and deeper cuts like “Price of Love” and “Secret Dreams” boasted hard rock hooks aplenty, walking a fine line between Richie Sambora’s aggressive leads and David Bryan’s synthesizer sweetening.

And yet, these songs have only rarely been played on stage and Jon Bon Jovi has virtually disowned 7800° Fahrenheit in the years since.

But the album did eventually achieve Gold Certification in America and obviously laid the groundwork for Slippery When Wet’s blockbuster breakthrough, soon after.

I was told to make a “Supersona” so I did!