Description

Ritchie SAMBORA: Stranger In this Town…. The excellent Bon Jovi’s guitarist’s first solo effort. Much bluesier and soulful than Bon Jovi

Whole album:

Stranger in This Town is the first solo studio album by Richie Sambora, the guitarist from the New Jersey band Bon Jovi. The album was released in 1991, while Bon Jovi was on a 17-month hiatus. Jon Bon Jovi also released a solo album, Blaze of Glory (1990), during this period.
As his first solo album, Sambora experimented with a more blues-oriented sound. He sings lead vocals and plays guitar on the album, backed by his Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres on drums and David Bryan on keyboards, joined by Tony Levin on bass guitar. Eric Clapton guest stars with a guitar solo on the track “Mr. Bluesman”.

“Ballad of Youth”, “One Light Burning” and “The Answer” were co-written with colleagues from his former club band Shark Frenzy. “Rosie” was originally intended to be a Bon Jovi song for their fourth album “New Jersey; versions of this song with the full Bon Jovi line-up have surfaced as bootlegs.

“Ballad of Youth” was released as the lead single followed by the second single “One Light Burning”. The album titled track, “Stranger in This Town” was released as the third single and “Mr. Bluesman” featuring Eric Clapton was released as a promo single. The first three singles were accompanied by music videos.

Occasionally, “Stranger in This Town” has been played by Sambora on Bon Jovi’s tours, most recently on their Lost Highway Tour in 2008.

Chart performance
The album charted at #36 on the Billboard 200 and #20 on the UK Albums Chart

The lead single, “Ballad of Youth”, reached a high of #63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #59 in the UK. The album titled track, “Stranger In This Town” charted at #38 on the Mainstream rock charts.

848 895-2 made in UK

Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Rest in Peace” Richie Sambora, David Bryan 3:47
2. “Church of Desire” Sambora 6:07
3. “Stranger in This Town” Sambora, Bryan 6:15
4. “Ballad of Youth” Sambora, Tom Marolda 3:52
5. “One Light Burning” Sambora, Marolda, Bruce Foster 5:47
6. “Mr. Bluesman” (Solo by Eric Clapton) Sambora 5:14
7. “Rosie” Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, Diane Warren 4:50
8. “River of Love” Sambora 5:06
9. “Father Time” Sambora, Child 6:06
10. “The Answer” Sambora, Foster 5:07
Personnel:
Richie Sambora – lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, strings arrangement, producer
David Bryan – keyboards, strings arrangement
Tico Torres – drums, percussion
Eric Clapton – guitar solo on “Mr. Bluesman”
Tony Levin – bass guitar, Chapman Stick
Randy Jackson – bass guitar on “One Light Burning”
Dean Fasano, Franke Previte, Curtis King, Bekka Bramlett, Isabella Lento, Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King – background vocals
Jeff Bova, Robbie Buchanan, Larry Fast, Jimmy Bralower, Chris Palmaro, Eric Persing – keyboards, programming
Rafael Padilla, Carol Steele – percussion

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5.0 out of 5 stars this is a masterpiece…..from beginning to end.,
I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Mr.Sambora is as talented as he is. He is an amazing singer and songwriter, and this will come as no surprise, he’s a wonderful guitarist. But what really stands out on this album are the songs. “”One Light Burning”” is a ballad of intense passion and heart. “”Stranger in This Town”” is a bluesy, down beat gem with great arrangements and vibe through out it. On “”Mr. Bluesman””, Richie gives way to his hero, Eric Clapton, and on a song that Sambora wrote about him. It is a magnificent album from first song to closing track, and it explores every emotion of love.. from hurt to joy and wonder. If you ever liked Bon Jovi, then don’t hesitate to get this one. Great production, terrific songs, and top notch musicianship are what this album is all about. A MUST have.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Stranger he may be, but he’s welcome,
Rest In Peace – Slightly uneasy start to the record, has you anticipating bad things.
Church of Desire – Any illusions of this being a bad record are thrown completely out of the window. This is a seriously good song. I’ve owner the record for three years, and I still listen to this one on a regular basis.
Stranger in this Town – Perfectly captures the feeling of loneliness. A strangely beautiful track.
Ballad of Youth – It’s amazing how a song like this can get through to a teenager. It’s anthemic with some seriously good guitar licks.
One Light Burning – One of my least favourite tracks, but if it was on any other album, it would be the best on it. Even at his worst, Sambora is better than almost anyone else.
Mr. Bluesman – Absolutely astounding, blues song, and Eric Clapton’s guitar solo just makes it even more amazing.
Rosie – The most Bon Jovi-reminiscent track on the album. Jon actually wanted this for New Jersey, but Richie kept it.
River of Love – Dodgy lyrics, but another nice, anthemic rock song.
Father Time – Sharply contrasting to the previous two tracks, it really hits you with despair and angst.
The Answer – A beautiful ending to a beautiful album. Soft, gentle, but with a strange power about it.
Jon may be the focus of Bon Jovi, but with this album, Richie really steps out of the shadows and proves himself a superior vocalist, songwriter, and a truly amazing guitarist.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Blaze of Glory, Stranger in This town… Blaze, Stranger..
“”I walk alone in the darkness of the city…I might be dying but you can’t hear a sound””
Good lord. Which album to listen to? Given that both are handed down from God himself. Isn’t it ironic that Jon and Richie “”parted ways to do their own thing”” and then each of them single headedly made the BEST ALBUM EVER MADE, completely without the other? Well, that in itself should build on the musically underrated credibility of the band Bon Jovi. Unfortunately this was the artistic peak (so far!!!!) in their career, as recent albums post “”Keep the Faith”” have been played it a little safe.

But you want to talk underrated? This will go down as the most underrated album of all time, hands down. I cry when I think about Richie’s potential. He has so much soul, technique, feel, blood and sweat….

Everyone knows this album is an artistic triumph (which Richie regrets his lack of commercialism (???????) ), but just like Jon’s Young Guns Masterpiece, this album is SATURATED with epic lyrics to get you through the toughest of tough times and find emotional muscle, and there’s many other great things for all the “”common people”” out there. AND there’s great diversity throughout. Highlights are the title track, “”Father Time,”” and “”The Answer””, and also the single “”Ballad of Youth””, though of course the whole thing really is a mega highlight in an otherwise ridiculous music industry. Again, if you consider yourself a lover of music, you BETTER own this album.

Greatness

And Richie, for God’s sake get your passion back to play guitar and stop dwelling on being radio minded for at least 2 songs an album. Is that too much to ask?