Retro Spins: Bon Jovi - Bon Jovi



New Jersey and Slippery When Wet were absolute monsters back in the 80's. However, what was the foundation in which these iconic albums were based? Where did it all start? That's what I wanted to find out in today's Retro Spin.

Bon Jovi debuted in the midst of 1984. Hair bands were big, new wave was big. Heck, it was the 80's. Everything was big. What else would you expect from the decade of excess?

The album starts out with the only track I know from it, Runaway. It wasn't a song which garnered the success which would eventually come for the band, but it did manage to chart, and in due course, peak at number thirty-nine.

Track three, She Don't Know Me, was the only other song from the album to chart. However, it would only go to number fifty before disappearing. It's okay, but if I'm being honest, it wasn't as good as Roulette, the song which appears on the album prior to it.

Roulette is a powerhouse. It's got a crushing guitar riff and straight up rocks. It sounded almost out of a place for a Bon Jovi song with how powerful it felt.

It's interesting to see the band released a song called, Shot Through The Heart" on their first album. Ironic too, since it could be easily mistaken for their massive hit, You Give Love A Bad Name, from Slippery When Wet. Both songs are pretty great, in my opinion.

As for the rest of the album, it kind of fell into the obscurity of background noise. I just didn't hear anything which really excited me. On that same note, I didn't hear anything that I absolutely hated either.

For debuts, it's no powerhouse, but it's decent. It was great to hear something "new" from a familiar band with a familiar sound. If I'm being honest, that's probably what made it okay in the long run. If nothing else, it points to the horizon for things to come.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Order Of Battle: My Cartoons On DVD Part 4

 

Due to the increasing size of my cartoon collection, I have found it necessary to break them up into a series of groups. This will be an ongoing post of my cartoons on DVD and Blu-Ray that start with the letters F - H, as I obtain them. All photos are actual scans.







































As December unfolds, we'll take a break from this series of posts, and focus more so on holiday themed offerings. However, we'll pick up with part five come January 2023.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Retro Spins: Sheena Easton - Best Kept Secret



Whoa, what a creepy date for a post. 11-22-22. Just looking at it gives me the creeps for some reason.

Anyway...

Sheena Easton isn't typically my thing. She's got a handful of songs I like, but for the most part, I could do with out her. The majority of her work I'm fond of is either thanks in part to, or as a direct result of Prince. So, perhaps what I really just like is Prince.

Today, I thought I would try and expand my horizons of the singer a bit with her 1983 album, Best Kept Secret. Now, from this album, I only know Telephone, and the only reason I know it is because of my sister. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay it two seconds of attention.

The album starts right up with this track, and quickly takes me into unknown territory. Um...this sounds like a bad high school student's demo. Unpolished, very generic and unprofessional. Sorry, but I Like The Fright was just silly.

Against my desire, I pushed on. I guess I was glad I did, as this led into the "pretty" Almost Over You. While I wouldn't normally like this track, it was hitting the right notes this evening. Mind you, I won't be putting it on my shuffle list. It wasn't that good. In other words, you won't find me driving down the road, windows open, song blaring, tears in my eyes as I belt out the chorus to myself...But that would be funny to see.

At this point, I honestly tuned the album out and went on to do other things. My attention was finally diverted back to it with track seven, (She's In Love) With Her Radio, and not in a good way. Man, this song was annoying!

I was officially done at this point. The remaining three tracks each got thirty seconds to make or break it. It broke hard.

The album was garbage. Total garbage. I don't know that it's even worth holding onto for Telephone.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.

Order Of Battle: My Cartoons On DVD Part 3

 

Due to the increasing size of my cartoon collection, I have found it necessary to break them up into a series of groups. This will be an ongoing post of my cartoons on DVD and Blu-Ray that start with the letters C - E, as I obtain them. All photos are actual scans.
































Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.