7800 Degrees Fahrenheit

Bon Jovi

Mercury, 1985

http://www.bonjovi.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/21/2025

I grew up in the salad days of hard rock and heavy metal in the ’80s. And, if we’re completely honest with ourselves, a lot of the music didn’t exactly deal with deep, thought-provoking subjects. Oh, sure, there were exceptions to that rule—show me any band other than Iron Maiden that could get you to read “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.” But, for the most part, the music we were listening to was fairly light-weight, something to get your feet tapping, fists pumping, and energy level raised.

So, anyone walking into 7800° Fahrenheitmy_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250 , the sophomore release from Bon Jovi, expecting something thought-provoking songs was gonna have a bad time. Then again, most of us who picked up a Bon Jovi album any time before 1990 weren’t looking for a morality or history lesson. Where their self-titled release was really the way the five members of the band could gel together as songwriters and performers, this release is a step forward in maturity in both categories, but still suggests the band hadn’t hit their peak yet.

Song-writing wise, this is a step in the right direction. One might argue still about the lighter-weight subject matter lyrically, but as long as Jon Bon Jovi and crew kept moving in the direction of songs like “Only Lonely,” “Always Run To You” and “To The Fire,” this was in my book a step in the right direction.

What also helps matters is the talents of Richie Sambora. He proves his skills on the guitar often—just not as often as one might like. It still feels like Bon Jovi was relying on David Bryan’s keyboards to drive the tracks—and while his contributions do help more often than not, there sometimes feels like the heavy lifting should have been left to the guitars. Both “Silent Night” and “Secret Dreams” illustrate those points.

Still, there is more to like on 7800° Fahrenheit than there is to be critical of. The lead-off track “In And Out Of Love” not only captures the growth the band had experienced, but also fairly accurately captures the hard rock scene in the mid-’80s (even if I was still a young sprout, not even old enough to drink). The lead-out commentary by Bon Jovi is enough of a cautionary tale about thinking with the wrong head, so to speak.

Is 7800° Fahrenheit an album I often go back to? Honestly, no... but when I do pull it down from the racks, it reminds me of how far Bon Jovi had come in just two total albums. Their greatest days (at least in terms of fame) were still to come, but this was a solid step forward for them.

Rating: C+

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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