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I've been reading back through older threads on here and it got me thinking. There are a lot of opinions on a lot of music on here but has anyone picked an artist and discussed when their absolute peak was?

 

Bon Jovi seem to divide opinion a fair bit. So when do you think their peak was? 1992's Keep the Faith? earlier or later?

 

I keep a list of tracks i've liked on first hearing and Bon Jovi have songs on it from each album up to Keep the Faith but it definitely tails off from then with only the odd track up to Bounce and then nothing since then.

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for me it was New Jersey(love lay your hands on me),up to that all their albums were pretty good(love raise your hands from slippery,just reminds me of spaceballs),after that they had some good tracks(my guitar lies bleeding in my arms from these days) but for the most part mostly meh!

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Actually i lied, i have two tracks in my favourites list from Lost Highway so it's only The Circle and What About Now that in my opinion don't have a single strong track on them

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In fact here are my picks:

 

1. Bon Jovi – Runaway – Bon Jovi – 1984

2. Bon Jovi – Roulette – Bon Jovi – 1984

3. Bon Jovi – Shot Through The Heart – Bon Jovi – 1984

4. Bon Jovi – Breakout – Bon Jovi – 1984

5. Bon Jovi – Burning For Love – Bon Jovi – 1984

6. Bon Jovi – In And Out Of Love – 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit – 1985

7. Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name – Slippery When Wet – 1986

8. Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer – Slippery When Wet – 1986

9. Bon Jovi – I’d Die For You – Slippery When Wet – 1986

10. Bon Jovi – Never Say Goodbye – Slippery When Wet – 1986

11. Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead Or Alive – Slippery When Wet – 1986

12. Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby – New Jersey – 1988

13. Bon Jovi – Wild Is The Wind – New Jersey – 1988

14. Bon Jovi – Stick To Your Guns – New Jersey – 1988

15. Bon Jovi – I’ll Be There For You – New Jersey – 1988

16. Bon Jovi – Keep The Faith – Keep The Faith – 1992

17. Bon Jovi – In These Arms – Keep The Faith – 1992

18. Bon Jovi – If I Was Your Mother – Keep The Faith – 1992

19. Bon Jovi – Dry County – Keep The Faith – 1992

20. Bon Jovi – I Want You – Keep The Faith – 1992

21. Bon Jovi – Always – Crossroad – 1994

22. Bon Jovi – Hey God – These Days – 1995

23. Bon Jovi – It’s My Life – Crush – 2000

24. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night – Crush – 2000

25. Bon Jovi – Undivided – Bounce – 2002

26. Bon Jovi – Everyday – Bounce – 2002

27. Bon Jovi – Hook Me Up – Bounce – 2002

28. Bon Jovi – Bounce – Bounce – 2002

29. Bon Jovi – (You Want To) Make A Memory – Lost Highway – 2007

30. Bon Jovi – We Ain’t Strangers Anymore – Lost Highway - 2007

 

I think a lot of how that list developed was my music taste changed quite a bit in the mid nineties but returned in the mid 00's so i caught up with everything after Keep the Faith then

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I'm with Dan...Best album is still the debut. I remember getting one of the first import copies that came into the country from Shades in London. Completely blew me away and I still love it. It's still fresh, packed to the gills with great songs and still sound fabulous. Their peak was most definitely 'Slippery' and 'New Jersey', both good albums but not in the same league as the debut for my tastes.

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This is a tough one. Love the debut and 7800 and prefer this style over every thing else they have done.

Slippery was a big part of my life but I always felt wanted dead or alive started the rot in terms of moving to different direction especially for Richie.

I didn't like New Jersey much at the time, but I have found it to age well. Maybe because I didn't listen to it much at the time.

These days is pretty good but the style us not for me even tho there's a heap of good songs.

I love the ballad always from crossroads and these days is a very good album.

Last album I bought was the one with its my life... What a stinker, gave up after that. However I did hear have a nice day just a couple of days ago and I think I'll pick it up.

Umm the short answer for me is 7800.

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I think BON JOVI really reach their peak with 'These Days', that's the album when I think they have the maturity musically and lyrically, but every albums before that are essential and it all depends on your age when you're teenager. Some said it's 'New Jersey', some said it's 'Slippery', and some like 'Keep The Faith'

 

commercially speaking, the first two albums are the weakest in sales and after 7800, BON JOVI even almost got disbanded, but luckily they keep their things together and the next two are the highest, probably racking more than 20 million copies all over the world. 'Keep The Faith' is struggling at around 3-4 milion, I still think it's a very good album and surprisingly 'These Days' get over 6 million and the sales volume in Europe is double, so Bon Jovi got a whole lot of new market out there.

 

I remember watching 'These Days' tour DVD in London and Jon told the audience that they have surpassed Michael Jackson's sales of the 'History' album that day (although eventually 'History' managed to win the race after so many years :D)

 

I also like the modern day era, HAND and 'Lost Highway' are nice and there are several strong tracks in 'Crush' and 'Bounce' too.

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For me, their peak came with 'Keep The Faith' (which I think is by far and away their best album). 'New Jersey' gets played a fair bit (although I skip the ballad), and I like 'These Days', but nothing much after that grabbed me.

 

Once again, I'm swimming against the tide when it comes to their debut (I like 'Runaway' and 'Roulette', that's about it), and there's only one song on '7800' that I like so, hey, what do I know? :)

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Now this has got me thinking about other bands that I listen to a fair bit ...

 

Iron Maiden (for me, it would have to be the late '80s - probably 'Seventh Son ...')

AC/DC (they're always brilliant live, but I don't think they've released a truly great album since 'Back In Black')

Judas Priest ('Painkiller')

Guns n' Roses (I know most people would say that their 'Illusion' days were their peak, but I'd say they never really matched the snarling brilliance of their debut)

Motley Crue?

KISS?

Metallica (the 'Black Album', no question - mit's all been a bit shite since then)

Van Halen? (I'd be interested to know what people think)

Queensryche?

 

Um ...

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For me, their peak came with 'Keep The Faith' (which I think is by far and away their best album). 'New Jersey' gets played a fair bit (although I skip the ballad), and I like 'These Days', but nothing much after that grabbed me.

 

Once again, I'm swimming against the tide when it comes to their debut (I like 'Runaway' and 'Roulette', that's about it), and there's only one song on '7800' that I like so, hey, what do I know? :)

 

I'm with you on this one i think. I used to put Keep the Faith on just to hear the solo on Dry County!

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Now this has got me thinking about other bands that I listen to a fair bit ...

 

Iron Maiden (for me, it would have to be the late '80s - probably 'Seventh Son ...')

AC/DC (they're always brilliant live, but I don't think they've released a truly great album since 'Back In Black')

Judas Priest ('Painkiller')

Guns n' Roses (I know most people would say that their 'Illusion' days were their peak, but I'd say they never really matched the snarling brilliance of their debut)

Motley Crue?

KISS?

Metallica (the 'Black Album', no question - mit's all been a bit shite since then)

Van Halen? (I'd be interested to know what people think)

Queensryche?

 

Um ...

 

AC/DC - I've never been a fan of Brian Johnson so for me it would be Highway To Hell

Judas Priest - Painkiller

Guns n' Roses - Appetite

Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood?

Kiss - Classic era i'd say Destroyer. The 80's kiss resurgence how about Crazy Nights.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All

Van Halen - It's most likely 1984

Queensryche - Has to be Operation Mindcrime

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As far as Bon Jovi goes, I love the debut as it was the first Bon Jovi album I ever owned and played. Also love 7800, SWW and NJ. I think their peak was definitely SWW. Also am I the only one here who can't stand 'Wanted Dead or Alive' - I just never liked that song. Some excellent songs in their modern discography too, especially on Bounce, HAND and LH. Circle is shit though.

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I loved Wanted Dead or Alive when i first heard it all those years ago and still like it now but that could be a nostalgia thing.

 

The worst album has got to be What About Now. It is absolutely shocking. It's so bad my missus likes it!

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From a commercial standpoint it was definitely Slippery. For me, Faith was their last GREAT album though I really like These Days as well. Everything after that gets very spotty.

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I think the fact that this question is so hard to answer definitively is why this band was so brilliant in their prime, which based on the answers in this thread, stretched out from 1984 to 1995. That in itself is pretty impressive.

 

Their prime is almost impossible for me to answer. I rate their debut and 'New Jersey' on the same score as their best album/s. So how do I answer? I think I probably personally just prefer 'New Jersey' in terms of sound and style, so I'd call that their prime, in my eyes. But I love '7800 Fahrenheit' and 'Keep The Faith' also.

 

'Slippery' was definitely their commercial prime - or was it? Didn't I hear that took a while to make it big? Probably more likely that 1987 leading into 'New Jersey' was their actual commercial prime. But in my opinion, as an album, 'Slippery' is the weakest from 1984-1995 because despite the great songs, it's got the most fillers and I'm 100% with you, Justin, I have never liked 'Wanted dead or alive' at all.

 

Anyway, Gibbo, I have to say. Are you on the stonecracks, or was that a typo? Most people would call Guns N' Roses prime the 'Illusiions?' Are you talking a purely commercial perspective? Because if not, I think 100% of people would agree that 'Appetite' was far and away their prime.

 

As for Motley Crue, it'd have to be 'Dr Feelgood' for me for sure. KISS is hard as I never listened to their 70's stuff, so it would be 'Crazy Nights,' for me personally. Though that's a bit silly as all their real success was in the 70's.

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Everyone's tastes vary, of course.....but I just laugh to myself when people rate "Keep the Faith" so highly. That was clearly the album that started their decline in popularity. So, it's obvious when their commercial peak was....."Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey". To me, I truly enjoyed their first four albums immensely. Great tuneage on each one...and I saw them live multiple times. After that I hoped and wished for a 'more rockin' album.....but they hardly delivered on that front. Mostly poofy.....soccer mom tunes. I used to think they castrated Richie Sambora their music was so sterile......

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Anyway, Gibbo, I have to say. Are you on the stonecracks, or was that a typo? Most people would call Guns N' Roses prime the 'Illusiions?' Are you talking a purely commercial perspective? Because if not, I think 100% of people would agree that 'Appetite' was far and away their prime.

 

As for Motley Crue, it'd have to be 'Dr Feelgood' for me for sure. KISS is hard as I never listened to their 70's stuff, so it would be 'Crazy Nights,' for me personally. Though that's a bit silly as all their real success was in the 70's.

 

Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm not talking about their creative prime - any fool knows that was their debut (I'm just glad Axl didn't get his way and have 'November rain' included on there!)

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Now this has got me thinking about other bands that I listen to a fair bit ...

 

Iron Maiden (for me, it would have to be the late '80s - probably 'Seventh Son ...')

AC/DC (they're always brilliant live, but I don't think they've released a truly great album since 'Back In Black')

Judas Priest ('Painkiller')

Guns n' Roses (I know most people would say that their 'Illusion' days were their peak, but I'd say they never really matched the snarling brilliance of their debut)

Motley Crue?

KISS?

Metallica (the 'Black Album', no question - mit's all been a bit shite since then)

Van Halen? (I'd be interested to know what people think)

Queensryche?

 

Um ...

 

AC/DC - I've never been a fan of Brian Johnson so for me it would be Highway To Hell

Judas Priest - Painkiller

Guns n' Roses - Appetite

Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood?

Kiss - Classic era i'd say Destroyer. The 80's kiss resurgence how about Crazy Nights.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All

Van Halen - It's most likely 1984

Queensryche - Has to be Operation Mindcrime

 

 

When it comes to the Crue, my favourite album was, is and will always be 'Shout At The Devil' ... I know most people cite 'Feelgood' as their peak, but I think there's some serious filler on that album ...

 

I never really liked 'Justice' - that was a real dip after the brilliance of 'Master of Puppets' ... long, rambling songs, and a lot of it blurs into one for me :(

 

When it comes to DLR-era Van Halen, 'Fair Warning' always tops '1984' in Gibbo Towers - there's more 'light and shade' on the former, while the latter contains 'Girl Gone Bad', which has me reaching for the 'skip' button every time ... I think with Hagar they went out on a high with 'Balance' :)

 

Queensryche? 'Mindcrime', no question.

 

What about, say, Aerosmith? Or Motorhead? Megadeth? Tesla?

 

Blimey, you could go on forever!

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I'm with Gibbo, shout and master of puppets for Motley and Metallica.

For VH it's the debut and 5150.

Yep, operation mindcrime for queensryche.

Megadeth is easy - rust in peace.

 

Aerosmith. Hmm, used to be one of my favourites but can't really stand them anymore. Maybe rocks but permanent holds special memories given time and place.

Tesla is great radio, but a nut just behind.

Motorhead, not for me.

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Now this has got me thinking about other bands that I listen to a fair bit ...

 

Iron Maiden (for me, it would have to be the late '80s - probably 'Seventh Son ...')

AC/DC (they're always brilliant live, but I don't think they've released a truly great album since 'Back In Black')

Judas Priest ('Painkiller')

Guns n' Roses (I know most people would say that their 'Illusion' days were their peak, but I'd say they never really matched the snarling brilliance of their debut)

Motley Crue?

KISS?

Metallica (the 'Black Album', no question - mit's all been a bit shite since then)

Van Halen? (I'd be interested to know what people think)

Queensryche?

 

Um ...

 

AC/DC - I've never been a fan of Brian Johnson so for me it would be Highway To Hell

Judas Priest - Painkiller

Guns n' Roses - Appetite

Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood?

Kiss - Classic era i'd say Destroyer. The 80's kiss resurgence how about Crazy Nights.

Metallica - ...And Justice For All

Van Halen - It's most likely 1984

Queensryche - Has to be Operation Mindcrime

 

 

When it comes to the Crue, my favourite album was, is and will always be 'Shout At The Devil' ... I know most people cite 'Feelgood' as their peak, but I think there's some serious filler on that album ...

 

I never really liked 'Justice' - that was a real dip after the brilliance of 'Master of Puppets' ... long, rambling songs, and a lot of it blurs into one for me :(

 

When it comes to DLR-era Van Halen, 'Fair Warning' always tops '1984' in Gibbo Towers - there's more 'light and shade' on the former, while the latter contains 'Girl Gone Bad', which has me reaching for the 'skip' button every time ... I think with Hagar they went out on a high with 'Balance' :)

 

Queensryche? 'Mindcrime', no question.

 

What about, say, Aerosmith? Or Motorhead? Megadeth? Tesla?

 

Blimey, you could go on forever!

 

 

I forgot Maiden from your earlier post. I'd say Live After Death. Each album before it had essential tunes leading up to one of the greatest live albums of all time. I thought Somewhere in Time was a bit of a dip before bouncing back with Seventh.

 

I'll concede to Metallica's Master of Puppets. I love both it and the Justice album but do admit Puppets is the better of the two. I have a love/hate relationship with the black album. Some songs i like but i just wished they'd carried on in the same vein as the previous three.

 

Van Halen have never made a great album to my ears. Every one of them is full of filler. I have four songs in my favourites list, two off the debut, one from 5150 and one from FUCK. So it's hard for me to pick their peak when they haven't had one yet :)

 

Aerosmith i was in to back in the day but they are one of the few bands from back then i don't listen to anymore. Permanent Vacation must be their peak but Pump and Get a Grip both outsold it.

 

Motorhead i've not really followed but i'll guess at Ace of Spades?

 

Megadeth has to be Countdown to Extinction. Rust in Peace was great but i played Countdown more and sales figures seem to agree.

 

I've only heard Tesla's debut.

 

Blimey indeed :)

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Metallica is an interesting one. Original fans tend to STRONGLY prefer their early material and shun the later releases.

 

Musically, my favorite album is Ride the Lightning. Commercially, and in terms of mass appeal, I think there's absolutely no question it's the Black Album. That was a watershed release.

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Van Halen have never made a great album to my ears. Every one of them is full of filler. I have four songs in my favourites list, two off the debut, one from 5150 and one from FUCK. So it's hard for me to pick their peak when they haven't had one yet :)

 

 

Haha, you're excellent. I knew there was a reason I liked you. ;) Couldn't possibly agree with you more on that, mate.

 

Anyway, I only listen to Tesla from that 2nd batch from Gibbo, and no doubt in the world to me that 'Great Radio Controversy' is their peak. Love all their albums (except the last one), but that was definitely the best moment.

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Van Halen have never made a great album to my ears. Every one of them is full of filler. I have four songs in my favourites list, two off the debut, one from 5150 and one from FUCK. So it's hard for me to pick their peak when they haven't had one yet :)

 

 

Haha, you're excellent. I knew there was a reason I liked you. ;) Couldn't possibly agree with you more on that, mate.

 

Anyway, I only listen to Tesla from that 2nd batch from Gibbo, and no doubt in the world to me that 'Great Radio Controversy' is their peak. Love all their albums (except the last one), but that was definitely the best moment.

 

 

Thank you sir! :bowdown:

 

I'm not scared of being controversial :)

 

The only Tesla song i can remember is Modern Day Cowboy which if i remember right is an absolute classic.

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