''Stranger in This Town'' is the first solo studio album by

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the ...

, the guitarist from the

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band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

. The album was released in 1991, while Bon Jovi was on a 17-month hiatus.

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

also released a solo album, '' Blaze of Glory'' (1990), during this period.

Recording and production

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 David Bryan Rashbaum (born February 7, 1962) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the keyboard player for the rock band Bon Jovi, in which he also co-wrote songs and performed backing vocals. In 2018, he was inducted into the ...

on keyboards, joined by

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...

on bass guitar.

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

makes a guest appearance playing guitar 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 ''

''; 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

was released as a promo single. The first three singles were accompanied by music videos. The first radio promotional single was "Church of Desire" in the United Kingdom. "The Answer" and "Rosie" were also released as promo singles in Japan. Occasionally, "Stranger in This Town" has been played by Sambora on

's tours, most recently on their Lost Highway Tour in

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Chart performance

The album charted at No. 36 on the ''

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'' 200 and No. 20 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The lead single, "Ballad of Youth", reached a high of No. 63 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 59 in the UK. The album titled track, "Stranger in This Town" charted at No. 38 on the

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charts.

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, string arrangements (6, 9) *

– keyboards, string arrangements (6, 9) *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– keyboards, programming * Jimmy Bralower – keyboards, programming * Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, programming * Larry Fast – keyboards, programming * Chris Palmaro – keyboards, programming * Eric Persing – keyboards, programming *

– guitar solo (6) *

– bass guitar, Chapman Stick *

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...

– bass guitar (5) * Tico Torres – drums, percussion * Rafael Padilla – percussion * Carol Steele – percussion * Tawatha Agee – backing vocals * Bekka Bramlett – backing vocals * Dean Fasano – backing vocals * Curtis King – backing vocals * Franke Previte – backing vocals * Brenda White-King – backing vocals

Production

* Richie Sambora – producer * Neil Dorfsman – producer, recording, mixing * John Aguto – recording assistant * Patrick Dillett – recording assistant * Jose Fernandez – recording assistant * Greg Goldman – recording assistant * Ed Goodreau – recording assistant * Lolly Grodner – recording assistant * John Herman – recording assistant * Justin Luchter – recording assistant * Bob Miller – recording assistant * Katherine Miller – recording assistant * David Schiffman – recording assistant * Jeff Hendrickson – additional engineer * Lance Phillips – additional engineer * Frank Wolf – additional engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– mastering at

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production. Their clients include such n ...

* Jon "JD" Dworkow – production coordination * Timothy White – cover photography * Darryl Estrine – additional photography * Margery Greenspan – art direction * Umi Kenyon – design * Bernard Maisner – logo design * Katie Agresta – vocal coach * Helena Occipinti – hair, make-up * Susan Tobman – stylist Additional technical credits * Frank S. Levi III – electronics * Jeff Chonis, Bobby Deluca and Christopher Hofschneider – instrument set-up and maintenance * Stephen Barncard, Bob Borbonus, Fred Bova, Michal Jurewicz, Jonathan Little, Gary Mannon, Francis Manzella, Michael Morongell, Gary Myerberg, Mark Opie, Mark Tindle and John Williams – technical staff

Notes

Album credits on ArtistDirect

Richie Sambora biography on RockDetector

Charts

Album

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1991 debut albums Richie Sambora albums Albums produced by Richie Sambora Mercury Records albums