From the opening track, "Runaway," which rode to glory on E Street Band-mate Roy Bittan's distinctive keyboard riff, to the sweaty arena rock of "Get Ready," which closed the album, Bon Jovi's debut is an often-overlooked minor gem from the early days of hair metal.
The songs may be simple and the writing prone to all clichés of the form, but the album boasts a pretty consistent hard rock attack, passionate playing, and a keen sense of melody.
The prominence that keyboardist David Bryan (credited as David Rashbaum in the liner notes) gets on this record is an indicator, perhaps, that Bon Jovi had more than a passing interest in the pop market, which was then dominated by new wave and synth pop.
Mixing Journey-like '70s rock ("She Don't Know Me") with shout-along stadium anthems ("Love Lies"), the self-titled Bon Jovi lay the foundation for the band's career, which reached its apex several years later with that very same combination of pop melody and arena-sized amibiton.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RunawayJon Bon Jovi, George Karak | Bon Jovi | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | RouletteJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | She Don't Know MeMark Avsec | Bon Jovi | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Shot Through the HeartJon Bon Jovi, Jack Ponti | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Love LiesJon Bon Jovi, David Rashbaum | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | BreakoutJon Bon Jovi, David Rashbaum | Bon Jovi | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 7 | Burning for LoveJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | Bon Jovi | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Come BackJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Tony Villanueva | Bon Jovi | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Get ReadyJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | RunawayJon Bon Jovi, George Karak | Bon Jovi | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 11 | RouletteJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 12 | BreakoutJon Bon Jovi, David Rashbaum | Bon Jovi | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 13 | Get ReadyJon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora | Bon Jovi | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 56 mins | 128 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 370 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Alexander | Engineer |
| 2 | Mark Avsec | Composer |
| 3 | Jon Babich | Assistant |
| 4 | Roy Bittan | Keyboards |
| 5 | Bon Jovi | Primary Artist |
| 6 | Jon Bon Jovi | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Barry Bongiovi | Assistant |
| 8 | Tony Bongiovi | Producer |
| 9 | Chuck Burgi | Musician |
| 10 | Melissa Chatain | Stylist |
| 11 | Sonia DeMelo | Make-Up |
| 12 | Spencer Drate | Art Direction, Design |
| 13 | David Grahamme | Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Dave Greenberg | Assistant |
| 15 | Caroline Greyshock | Photography |
| 16 | Ross Halfin | Photography |
| 17 | Jeff Henderickson | Engineer |
| 18 | Etsuro Iida | Art Coordinator |
| 19 | George Karak | Composer |
| 20 | Doug Katsaros | Musician |
| 21 | Bruce Lampcov | Assistant |
| 22 | Frankie La Rocka | Drums |
| 23 | Mike Lawson | Pro-Tools |
| 24 | Bill Levy | Art Direction |
| 25 | Scott Litt | Engineer |
| 26 | Arthur Mann | Executive Producer |
| 27 | Huey McDonald | Bass, Musician |
| 28 | Aldo Nova | Guest Artist, Musician |
| 29 | Chihiro Nozaki | Art Coordinator |
| 30 | Obie O'Brien | Mixing, Supervisor |
| 31 | Ellen Parker | Model |
| 32 | Tim Pierce | Guitar |
| 33 | Jack Ponti | Composer |
| 34 | Lance Quinn | Producer |
| 35 | David Rashbaum | Composer, Group Member, Keyboards, Vocals (Background) |
| 36 | Mike Rew | Pro-Tools |
| 37 | Gary Rindfuss | Assistant |
| 38 | Judith Salavetz | Design |
| 39 | Richie Sambora | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 40 | Ilene Schreibman | Liner Notes |
| 41 | Mick Seeley | Vocals (Background) |
| 42 | Soichiro Shibata | Product Manager |
| 43 | Ryan Smith | Mastering |
| 44 | Alec John Such | Bass, Group Member, Vocals (Background) |
| 45 | Matt Teacher | Pro-Tools |
| 46 | Geoffery Thomas | Photography, Photo Tinting |
| 47 | Tico Torres | Drums, Group Member |
| 48 | Tony Villanueva | Composer |
| 49 | Harry Weinger | Supervisor |
| 50 | Mark Weiss | Photography |
| 51 | David Wild | Liner Notes |
| 52 | Junichi Yamada | Art Research |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |