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The Best of the BEST!
This one will only be topped with 2004's "Cross Road vol. 2"
Oh well, a "best of" of the best rock band... can't top that!
When this album was released, the critics said BJ were over... If they were, song number 4 wouldn't have changed the world...
Track by track:
This album starts with BJ's probably most famous music:
Livin' on a prayer - This is the story of this guy, Tommy and his sweetheart, Gina! These friends of ours, would stick through the time in the BJ style of writing, and they were even mentioned recently in It's my life, but this is were it all started... "Tommy put his six string in hock, now he's holding in, what he used to make it talk, is tough, it's tough, so tough! Now Gina, she's a runaway, when she cries every night Tommy whispers 'Gina baby, it's ok, someday...'" Perfect! There are four versions of this fantastic song: The studio version, present in this album, and the live version, only differ for thousands of fans going mad over it, the accoustic version, my favorite, is sang as a ballad and is absolutely perfect, and the Prayer '94 version, which is also sang as a ballad, only not accoustic! - 10/10
Keep the faith - This song, as well as so many others, marked a generation! When it was though that BJ was over, BJ brought the answer: "we're here to stay". "Faith: you know you're gonna live thru the rain / Lord you got to keep the faith / Faith: don't let your love turn to hate / Right now we got to Keep the faith" and "Tell me baby when I hurt you / Do you keep it all inside / Do you tell me al's forgiven / And just hide behind your pride" are probably some of the best lyrics ever wrote! Just perfect! - 10/10
Someday I'll be saturday night - Great music, better lyrics... what else to say! This heart-felt song talks about how hard life is, but even so, we have to keep the faith! "My name is Billy Jean, my love was bought and sold / I'm only sixteen, I feel a hundred years old / My foster daddy went, took my innocence away / The street life aint much better, but at least I get paid" When I hear this, I feel such an anger towards the world, just because this really happens! That's the main factor that makes Bon Jovi music so good! They makes us feel the songs, make us feel like if we were living that love story or that hell of the epic songs! When they thought of putting this song in a greatest hits album, they knew the power they put on it! And they were right! - 10/10
Always - Is it bad? NOOOOOOOO! Is it Good? NOOOOOOO! Is it Fantastic? NOOOOOOOO! Is it perfect? YESSSSSSSSS! Everybody who reads my reviews know by now this is my favorite song ever! Well, this says it all! It lead me to be a song-writer, lead me to follow my life as I know I should, and most of all, lead me to fight for what I believe! As a quote, I should put the entire song here, but I know I can't so I'll just quote some highlights: "This romeo is bleeding / But you can't see his blood / It's nothing but some feelings / That this old dog kicked up" And so it starts... From here, when can foresee the whole song will be perfect! And so it goes "It's been raining since you left me / Now I'm drowning in the flood / You see I've always been a fighter / But without you I give up" This is just what everyone who looses his/her love would feel! And more "Now your pictures that you left behind / Are just memories of a different life / Some that made us laugh, some that made us cry / One that made you have to say goodbye" Is this perfect or what? Not any other word describes this song!" I could go on and one, for the whole song is like this, but I'll stop now, cause everybody already knows its greatness! - 11+/10
Wanted dead or alive - Acording to Jon, this great song set the guys up to be the cowboys! It's a great track with much to read between the lines, that shows us just how hard their lives were being at that moment! No one cared if they were dead or alive, as long as they would keep playing! "It's all the same, only the names will change / Everyday it seems we're wasting away / Another place where the faces are so cold / I'd drive all night / Just to get back home" and "Sometimes I sleep, sometimes it's not for days / And people I meet always go their separate ways / Sometimes you tell the day / By the bottle that you drink / And times when you're all alone all you do is think" shows us that reality, when Jon even had to take steroid shots just to get up on the stage, and wouldn't matter if they were tired or not! Great song, and it rocks the world away! - 10/10
Lay your hands on me - This is almost a mithic song! The music, specially the intro, just makes these guys look just like a cult band! It's really great! This part "I'm a fighter, I'm a poet, I'm a preacher / I've been to school and baby, I've been the teacher / If you show me how to get up off the ground / I can show you how to fly and never ever come back down" is what I love the most, because Jon is almost talking about me! hehehe That's just who I am! I won't give it a 10 'cause it wouldn't be fair to other songs in this album, but it's a really great rock song! - 9/10
You give love a bad name - Another smash hit from the best-selling album, Slippery When Wet... These lyrics are perfect, and my only hopes is that I will never have to meet THAT kind of girl! "An angel's smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell / Chains of love got a hold on me / When passion's a prison, you can't break free" :) Great rock song too! - 10/10
Bed of Roses - Man, if you knew the story behind this one! OK, this is a live song... Not live, sang, but live felt! Jon worte this one after a fight with his wife, Dorothea, while he was at an hotel with a tremendous hangover! He'd spent the prior night drinking, over that fight I think, and when he woke up, he wrote this Masterpice! No other song comes close to Always in my mind like this one! In fact, I only say this isn't just as good as Always, because Always reminds me a lot of an old girlfriend, but lyrically and musically, this song is also perfect! "I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses, for tonight I sleep in a bed of nails, I wanna be just as close as the holy ghost is, and lay you down on a bed of roses" and "Now as you close your eyes, you know I'll be thinking about you... While my mistress, she calls me, to stand in her spot light again! Tonight, I won't be alone, but you know that don't mean I'm not lonely! I got nothing to prove, for it's you, that I'd die to defend!..." Once again, the only word is PERFECT - 11/10
Blaze of glory - Another great song, taken of Jon's first solo album, that goes by the same name! This song is lyrically perfect, and you can bet I have nothing bad to say about the music too! It's just too great! "You ask about my conscious, and I offer you my soul, you ask kif I'll grow to be a wise man, well I ask if I'll grow old! You ask me if I've known love, and what is like to sing songs in the rain! Well, I've seen love come, I've seen it shot down, I've seen it dying in vain!" This part appeals to me! It's fantastic! - 10/10
In these arms - Great song this one (as all of them)! It's starts to be a slow ballad, but soon we realize it's a power ballad! Real powerfull that is! "Like the roses need the rain, like the seasons need to change, like the poet needs the pain, I need you, in these arms tonight!" This ends the song as great as it could possibly be! "We stared at the sun / And we made a promise / A promise this world would never blind us / These are my words / Our words were our songs / Our songs are our prayers / These prayers keep me strong / It's what I believe / If you were in these arms tonight" this second side is so well written it scares the livin' hell out of any other song-writer, and "Your clothes are still scatteder / All over our room / This old place still smells like / Your cheap perfume / Everything here reminds me of you / And there's nothing that I / Wouldn't do to be in your arms" as a bridge was a fantastic choice!
Great lyrics here - 10/10
Bad Medicine - This song rocks! Great song and great lyrics! It's just so... Bon Jovi! "I got all the synthonms, count them 1, 2, 3! 1st you need (that's what you get for falling in love) than you bleed (you get a little but it's never enough), you're really on your knees (that's what you get for falling in love) Now this boy's addicted and your kiss is the drug!" Is this greatness or what? - 10/10
I'll be there for you - It starts like this "I guess this time you're really leaving / I heard your suitcase say goodbye / And as my broken heart lies bleeding / You say true love is suicide"! Now that we know that it'll be such a good song, we take some time to listen to the rest: "You say you're cried a thousand rivers / And now you're swimming for the shore / You left me drowning in my tears / Now you won't save me anymore" or yet "I know you know we've had some good times / Now they have their own hiding place / Well I can promise you tomorrow / But I can't buy back yesterday". I won't even bother to say good about this one! It's perfect! - 10/10
In and out of love - Now this is a song I'd rather not talk, but... What I mean is: It has excelent lyrics, but I just can't bring myself to like it that much! I think it's because the musical part is way to heavy for what I like, that is mainly ballads! "Young and wired / Set to explode in the heat / You won't tire / Cause baby was born with the beat / Take you higher than you've ever known / Then drive you down to your knees / I pick you up when you've had enough / You been burned baby lessons learned" and "Running wild / When me and my boys hit the streets / Right on time / She's here to make my night complete / Then I'm long gone I got another show / One more town, one mile to go / One endless night of fantasy / Is all she left of her with me" are two great pieces of work! For its lyrics, and its music (which I don't like very much, but still is obvious to be great for those who like the type), I will give it a well earned - 8/10
Runaway - OK, Bon Jovi's first song, or should I say Jon's first hit? It's a trully amazing song, with deep lyrics and that would let any good sense man or woman foresee that Bon Jovi weren't fashion, Bon Jovi were an absolute presence! "On the street where you live girls talk about their social lives. / They're made of lipstick, plastic and paint, a touch of sable in their eyes. / ALL YOUR LIFE All your life all you've asked when your Daddy's gonna talk to you. / You were living in another world tryin' to get your message through." and "A different line every night guaranteed to blow your mind. / See you out on the streets, call me for a wild time. / So you sit home alone 'cause there's nothing left that you can do. / There's only pictures hung in the shadows left there to look at you."... Now, is this the work of a fashion band? Is this a song only for the charts? Noooo! It has that special something that Bon Jovi got us used to over these last 18 years! - 10/10
Never say goodbye - And yet another hit from Slippery when wet! Another great ballad, and if at this point, Bon Jovi already had some great ballads, it was this one that showed everybody that you don't have to talk about death to make good music! Love is what it is all about! "As I sit in this smokey room, the night about to end, I pass my time with strangers, but this bottle's my only friend" and "Remember when we used to park out, on Buttler's street, out in the dark, remember when we lost the key's in, you lost more than that in my back sit baby!". Just perfect - 10/10
Prayer '94 - The US version of this album, doesn't have Never say goodbye, and In these arms was replaced with Prayer '94! My review to this one is already present in the Livin' on a prayer song! - 10/10
Tokyo Road - In the Japanese version this song was included! It's also a great song, one of the best of the 7800º Fahrenheit album, which I particulary didn't assume as one of my favorites! It's starts great with a japanese tune, only to be followed with a blast by Richie and Tico! I particulary love this last part "This guy turns me around and he's pointing up the stairs / I found myself in her doorway but there wasn't anybody there / She walked in the room with nothing on but a red light / And with a smile she got so close to me. / She whispered something 'bout midnight / You know I didn't understand a word she said / But it felt so good / She knew that I didn't have any money / But baby I knew she would... / Take me back to Tokyo Road". Great rockin' song - 9/10
OVERALL! This great album is the best thing ever to be released by a rock band! Whoever own's it, can listen to "all the hits, nothing but the hits and all the hits all the time" using Jon's own words! :) When I said in my Crush review it was the best album Bon Jovi had, it's true, only I wasn't counting this, being a best of! - 11/10
Rating: 10/10
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