BEST/MOST "BON JOVI'S NEW JERSEY" ALBUM EVER

I'm sure he's happy and I'm happy he's happy but in song and performance Stipe was the most unconvincing queer. A year after my intense Roxy/Bowie fandom, I really dug the intentions of "Crush With Eyeliner" but it's not as sexy as he thought it was.

Most: New Jersey or Don't Look Back
Best: Monster

Was "Crush with Eyeliner" supposed to be sexy? It makes the most sense to me as a song about a closet case forcing himself to date a woman.

xxxpost hahaha seriously? makes me want to read that book! I didn't get into REM until "Bittersweet Me" so all this is me catching up on things after the fact - pay me no mind.

"Who Is It" definitely one of my fave MJ songs too, but man, this album! Surely this is the point where MJ the megastar begins to be overtaken by MJ the cartoon weirdo? Obviously tons of non-musical events playing into that but it's somehow exactly the kind of record that fits that transformation; preposterously self-confident, the tics and signature moves flying all over the place to constantly assert territory, this "doth protest too much" proclamations of BIGNESS against all comers. "Jam" is nearly six minutes long and never actually becomes a song - it's just state-of-the-art kitchen-sink dance production shuttling loudly along with a bunch of random crap in the mix and MJ periodically squeaking out verses and blurting out the title. Oh and hey here's a faceless rap! Are those sleighbells?! Just a mess. I'm reminded of Ismael's discussion of the "Bad Medicine" listening experience on the other thread. And this is the opening salvo!

Monster was definitely an event, magazine covers galore, biggest band in the world that hadn't toured in literally years getting back on the road. the "Kenneth" video premiere with the delayed reveal of BALD STIPE was a big deal! he even beat Corgan to the headshaving move by like a year and a half.

plus song about Kurt, health scares, it was a media circus.

That era produced the best REM interviews imo

"Jam" is nearly six minutes long and never actually becomes a song - it's just state-of-the-art kitchen-sink dance production shuttling loudly along with a bunch of random crap in the mix and MJ periodically squeaking out verses and blurting out the title.

just close your eyes and imagine this as a Skinny Puppy or Meat Beat Manifesto track

Oh and hey here's a faceless rap!

I didn't think it was possible for me to roll my eyes this hard. If there's one person who was "totally faceless" in the early 90s, it was Heavy D!

Oh and hey here's a faceless rap!

are you fucking kidding me

yeah this kind of why i'm rmde every time somebody quibbles about "Event" status - if you're an established artist going multi-platinum, PLENTY of people think it's an event.
The 'event' thing is very much to do with how the album is promoted imo, plus how it's covered by critcs/the media, perhaps more than how many people actually end up liking/buying it.

so i take it i should...recognize that guy

voted Rattle & Hum as the most New Jersey album. "Angel of Harlem" remains supremely hollow: list a bunch of names & places, "tonight this city belongs to me". Angel, alright.

the Charles Manson opening

also on one of the singles you have

"Love Rescue Me" (Live from London, 16 October 1988; featuring Ziggy Marley and Keith Richards)

hoping they turn it into a reggae theme!

― Euler

R&H i sincerely believe gets a bum rap if only because the studio tracks are generally quite good or at least fairly interesting, it's the live stuff that seems to bear the brunt of the criticism.

van diemen's land
desire
hawkmoon 269
angel of harlem
love rescue me
when love comes to town
heartland
god pt II
all i want is you

if they'd released those as a 9 track album it probably would have been less of an event, perhaps sold less, but today might be looked upon as even an underrated entry in the catalog as opposed to a bloated mess. the worst songs are probably 'angel of harlem' and 'when love comes to town', mostly because they're clunky and obvious but they're still listenable imo. at least much of the time. they probably should have released the live tracks separately and only to their fan club or something.

lol stupid browser didn't refresh for me and I didn't think either of those posts went through

but yes, you should know who Heavy D is

he was an overweight lover iirc

After all that, it seemed a bit wrong to not vote for Don't Look Back.

I am nothing if not committed.

Man, I'm listening to Don't Look Back on Spotify and it sure is a trebly mastering. Ouch.

that's that classic Rockman (TM) tone, brah

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Finally had to toss a coin between UYI and Dangerous, went with the latter on the strength of Heavy D's earth-shaking, instantly iconic guest rap.

went with the former on the strength of Alice Cooper's earth-shaking, instantly iconic guest rap.

IT'S GLAD TO KNOW YA

<3

I don't think there's much doubt that the most "New Jersey" album on this list is Backstreet Boys. It may even be a better example than "New Jersey" itself.

That's what I voted for, after hovering on New Jersey for awhile.

bump medicine is what i need

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

finally voted for Dangerous

justice

(breaks a glass)

i wish i had listened to The Long Run while the poll was open, it has probably the best set of singles of any of these albums

Michael Jackson, Dangerous (7x platinum) 10
Bon Jovi, New Jersey (7x platinum) 1

ILX, I just don't know about you. Unless those were 10 votes for "best."

I voted Dangerous for "best".

In that case, Dangerous gets 11 votes.

I think I could make a use your illusion 1 disc edit as good as dangerous

easily

Can't wait for Drake to put out one of these.

(Probably structurally impossible given the way albums are marketed now, but man, his "Get In The Ring" could be astounding.)

say! Afteburner is good! I'm totally loving "Stages."

"Sleeping Bag" is banger.

Both Metallica's and Jay Z's Black Album fit this thread pretty well.

So 'And Justice for All' was Metallica's 'Slippery When Wet'?

yeah I think that works

Wrong on both counts, though I'm sure The Blueprint 2 is flattered.

first, I don't see where in the original description it says it has to be the IMMEDIATE consecutive follow up to a huge album. Second, I think it definitely works for Metallica if not for Jay-Z.

I apologize for the first post leaving open the possibility a New Jersey could just be a big album you don't like from an artist you never liked again but if you read more of this old thread and the old thread before it you'll see you are wrong

I think the Black album is too complicated - a sign of things to come for fans of 80s Metallica but millions of younger fans got into the band because of that album. Much more than if you compare NJ being an introduction to Jovi.

The Black Album is way too much of its own thing, tbh its not a million miles away from REM circa Out of Time and how that compares to the impact of Green. Huge difference. Whereas NJ following on from Slippery is so much more of 'as you were'

Load is probably Metallica's NJ: huge sales upon release (like 3 mil in two months iirc), singles were big on rock radio but disappeared within 3 years.

If Metallica had put out a studio album circa Live Shit, that could have been a New Jersey.

Load/ReLoad probably qualify. I would be sympathetic to those albums if only for the fact they weren't exactly hot on the heels of the Black Album, unlike the real New Jersey album. By then we're getting into the late 90s as opposed to the early 90s and the climates a little different, even for bands like Metallica.