In summary:

Sure its cheesy, but there’s enough about Bon Jovi’s self-titled debut LP to hint at the juggernaut they would eventually become.

Bon Jovi receives 6/11.
★★★★★★

Bon Jovi’s self-titled debut album is an energetic affair from start to finish.

The majority of the material here is indicative of a band who haven’t quite discovered their true identity yet, but on the flipside, landmark hit single Runaway showed their huge potential.

Having cut the track while working as a sound engineer’s assistant (where he would work all day in exchange for access to the equipment at night), Jon Bon Jovi famously rang local radio station WAPP and asked them to play his creation during a late night segment on local talent, and then spent the next six weeks painstakingly travelling to every other station within a 100-mile radius to do the same.

His one man viral marketing attempt catapulted Runaway to #39 on the Billboard Hot 100, a quite remarkable achievement considering he had no manager, no budget, and no record deal!

Mercury Records were impressed by this blue collar work ethic (which his band would eventually become known for) and handed him a one album deal, leading to the formation of Bon Jovi.

Producer Lance Quinn gives each track with a familiar 80s hair metal sheen, although it’s noticeable that Bon Jovi don’t pair it with conventional lyrical topes of the time about drugs and debauchery, instead striving for party bangers in the vein of their idol and fellow New Jersey export Bruce Springsteen.

It’s a skill they would really master on their later work, but the foundations were there.

Elsewhere, tracks like Roulette and Shot Through The Heart scratch the surface of the undoubted rock potential within the band’s ranks, and the anthemic Burning For Love and Get Ready sound like they could’ve been ripped straight outta the oh-so-80s Tech Noir scene in The Terminator, which was released later the same year.

In summary:

Sure its cheesy, but there’s enough about Bon Jovi’s self-titled debut LP to hint at the juggernaut they would eventually become.

Bon Jovi receives 6/11.
★★★★★★