Source: Assosiated Press via WKRN

They still look like the Bon Jovi of old _ with their leather jackets and jeans. And they still act like the boys from New Jersey, proud of their musical brotherhood that spawned numerous hit albums and No. 1 singles.

But still, there is something different, something unexpected from one of the biggest rock bands of the past few decades. At first listen, it's their sound. It's well ... different. And perhaps even more surprising, it's intentional, they say.

Fresh off their crossover success with a country remake of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, which earned them the sole Grammy of their 25-year career, Bon Jovi is releasing the country-influenced album "Lost Highway" on Tuesday on Island Records. And nobody in the band seems sure what the reception will be _ from their fans to the country music industry.

"Who knows? This record might be over in three weeks. Or it might have 10 singles on it," Jon Bon Jovi said during a recent interview.

"I just found myself listening to this kind of music, and finding that they were telling stories. That's something we've been doing our whole career," he said. "So it was very much a fit for us."

But while the albums of Bon Jovi'scareer have tended in the past decade to be more socially or politically influenced ("Bounce" was inspired by 9/11, "Have a Nice Day" followed the presidential election), this album appears to be personal, filled with stories inspired by the band members' lives, loves and losses. And for a group that has made every effort to avoid tabloid headlines and VH1-style "Behind the Music" stories, the band has had more than enough of those moments to go around in the past few years.

It was the inspiration behind the album, which despite its lukewarm reception from critics has already received a fair amount of airplay for its first single "(You Want to) Make a Memory."

---

Read the rest of the review by following the link below...

Related URL: http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/ap-bon-jovi-channels-country-personal-turmoil-on-new-cd/102261.htm

back to news index / central page