BON JOVI

In all, 'Bon Jovi' does little to set the imag­ination burning. While subsequent Bon Jovi albums not only made a huge impact at the time, but also retain a degree of charm and vitality, this cannot be said for the debut. Placed alongside other, similar releases of the time, you would be hard pressed to pick this one out as the work of a future superstar.

However, 'Bon Jovi' did enjoy some suc­cess. In the US it quickly reached gold status (selling more than half-a-million copies), reach­ing number 43 in the Billboard charts, whilst in the UK it established the band as the new princes of Hard Rock, even denting the Music Week charts, getting as far as number 71 . The fact that Jon was photogenic - as evinced on the album's sepia sleeve which showed Jon crossing a busy street on his way to meet an attractive girl- didn't do the band any harm whatsoever. A huge press and media cam­paign certainly helped to underpin their steady commercial progress.

And it must be said that once Bon Jovi had established their own stage style and personality, the songs from that self-titled debut began to take on a welcome life of their own, easily eclipsing the studio renditions. It is amusing to ponder what the band now think of this earliest effort - and how they might have changed the circumstances, given another shot.

So, 'Bon Jovi' is far from a bona fide clas­sic. Yet, it remains strangely magnetic in attraction for die-hard fans. It's as if this album embodies the spirit of bonhomie and determination that first attracted many thou­sands to the banner. By playing this record, older fans of the band have convinced them­selves they are reliving a glorious past long since gone. For others, 'Bon Jovi' represents an exercise of over-attention, over-achieve­ment - and shows that even the most talent­ed of bands need a little luck in their formative years to succeed.

Trivia fans might also be interested in the fact that Aldo Nova was drafted in to help out on keyboards. Aldo was a Canadian rock star who, at the time, enjoyed huge popularity wherever rock music was played. In fact, he was very much one of the biggest stars in the genre at the time, and getting him in to help out Bon Jovi was something of a coup.