10 Greatest Hair Metal Albums Of All Time
9. Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi
One of the major complaints that comes with hair metal musicians is that none of them are able to play their instruments very well. While having a master technician behind the music certainly helps, it's sometimes a little cheaper to give the pretty boy with no musical talent the prime spot on the album. That being said, it's absolutely staggering when you have a band that can actually write a coherent song .
When put up against the rest of their competition, all the members of Bon Jovi are monsters behind their instruments and know how to properly knock out a good hook. Across Slippery When Wet, this is also where we get to see their legendary team up with songwriter Desmond Child, who helped them create musical diamonds like Livin on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name.
For all of the makeup and hairspray , some of the best parts of this album are the actual lyrics, from the tale of Tommy and Gina on Livin on a Prayer to practically writing the answer to Bob Seger's Turn the Page on the song Wanted Dead or Alive. Instead of the usual David Bowie pastiches, this is what hair metal would have sounded like if it had gone through a pretty prominent Bruce Springsteen phase. Glam can only take you so far...so it pays to hit closer to the bone.