New Jersey is the fourth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on September 19, 1988, by Mercury Records. The album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The album was the follow-up to the band's third album, Slippery When Wet, and reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart in its second week of release after debuting at number eight. It remained at the top for four consecutive weeks. The album was named after the band's home state of New Jersey.

It produced five Billboard Hot 100 top ten hits, the most top ten hits to date for any hard rock album, including "Bad Medicine" and "I'll Be There for You", which both reached number one. In 1996, ten years after release, the album was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album debuted at number one in the UK, a first for the band. New Jersey was released by the Soviet state-owned record label Melodiya, being the first American album to be officially released in the USSR. To celebrate the band's 30th anniversary in 2014, the album was repackaged with bonus tracks.

Background

The album was recorded very shortly after the Slippery When Wet Tour, because the band wanted to prove that they were not just going to be a one hit wonder. The album was initially planned to be a double album; however, this idea was rejected by the record label because they were skeptical about the higher price point and decided they would only release a single album.

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New Jersey debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, but climbed to No. 1 the following week and spent four weeks at the top spot. It eventually sold 7 million copies in the United States. The album debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia. "Bad Medicine" and the ballad "I'll Be There for You" both hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Born to Be My Baby", "Lay Your Hands on Me", and "Living in Sin" reached the Top 10.

New Jersey was released on July 1, 2014, as a 2CD "Deluxe Edition", which included the original album remastered along with B-sides and previously unreleased demos from the New Jersey/Sons of Beaches sessions. The "Super Deluxe Edition" includes both discs plus a DVD containing the documentary Access All Areas: A Rock & Roll Odyssey and New Jersey: The Videos. Both titles were previously available on VHS.

Track listing

2014 deluxe edition

Personnel

Bon Jovi

  • Jon Bon Jovi – lead and backing vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar,
  • Richie Sambora – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, backing vocals
  • David Bryan – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Alec John Such – bass, backing vocals
  • Tico "The Hit Man" Torres – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

  • Scott Fairbairn – cello
  • Audrey Nordwell – cello
  • Bruce Fairbairn – additional percussion, horn

Additional credits

  • Bruce Fairbairn – production
  • John Allen – engineering
  • Peter Berring – arrangement, additional vocals, vocal arrangement
  • Chris Cavallaro – engineering
  • Bob Rock – engineering, mixing
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Isabella Lento, Carmela Lento – photography, unknown association
  • Hugh Syme – artwork, design
  • Chris Taylor – engineering assistance
  • Jim Williams – engineering assistance
  • Tim White – photography
  • Cameron Wong – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

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! scope="col"| Chart (1988–1989)

! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)

| align="center"| 2

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|-

! scope="row"|Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi)

|align="center"|10

|-

! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| 2

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Spanish Albums (AFYVE)

|align="center"|21

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1995–1997)

! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (2014)

! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1988)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)

| 52

|-

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 27

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1989)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 67

|-

! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| 94

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 4

|}

Certifications and sales

See also

  • List of glam metal albums and songs

References