Crushing Crush
They're back but they sure ain't better... It is their life tho.
Crush does not rock. It definitely does not. I'm not sure what you call rock but to me, this is not a rock record (some parts are though).
I'm gonna take this track by track..
IT'S MY LIFE - Was great when I heard it the first time but it has been played so damn lot I'm getting bored. A rock song, tho not in the "80s style". I don't understand why it's compared to Livin' On A Prayer (the only thing I can see connecting them is Tommy and Gina, but nothing more), but oh well, that's just me. 9/10
SAY IT ISN'T SO - I hate Say It Isn't So. I just hate it. Awful song and Jon sings it badly (IMO, Say it isn't soooouououooo). Richie Meller said "Jon also uses some electric voice box thing which ruins his usually excellent vocals. " and I totally agree. That weird voice ruins this... The lyrics are good but the combination is awful. 5/10
THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME - Well it's good enough for a ballad and the story behind it (Brad Pitt, you know) is cool. :) Not a classic though and I personally would not have released it as the third single (2. in the USA?). 7/10
TWO STORY TOWN - A song that I liked the most when they were recording live on the Internet but on the album it somehow isn't as good. It had the best potential but failed to fully deliver. One of the best on Crush anyway. 8/10
NEXT 100 YEARS - An ok ballad-rocker with good lyrics. It's just the same Crushit (like, "Crush-shit" but a bit more positive) ... 7/10
JUST OLDER - Seemed to be the best song on the album but it isn't. Lyrics are really cool tho, music is ok, chorus is ok... 8/10
MYSTERY TRAIN - Uh, mystery mystery mystery, plah. Haven't listened much but I just don't like it. 4/10
SAVE THE WORLD - I first thought this is a great ballad but after listening more it became clear that this isn't great. The chorus ("feels like I-i-iiii cooould saaeieiveivee the world") and the chorus's lyrics suck. 6/10
CAPTAIN CRASH & THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS - I Like this one. Jon sings nicely and it has nice lyrics too. Definitely one of the album's best. 9/10
SHE'S A MYSTERY - Another mystery song and another song I dislike. 4/10
I GOT THE GIRL - A rocker and I like the words too. At first I didn't realize that it's about Jon's daughter but that doesn't make it bad. 8/10
ONE WILD NIGHT - Potential rocker that has the greatest chorus of Crush but the other lyrics aren't so good. But hey, c'est la vie. 9/10
The European version has "If I could make living out of loving you" as bonus track, and it's actually one of the best songs (8/10). So is Neurotica too (8/10), the Japanese bonus track.. Neurotica is slightly better, IMO.
As you see, I think there are some good songs and some bad songs. This isn't anything new but I was expecting a bit different songs (hell, it was supposed to be like Slippery, wasn't it?). I was hoping for something that would hit me like a thunder, but no. No 10/10... =(
The whole album seems to be made for the masses. Crush isn't enough for me. It has some great points but overall it's pretty bad BJ-album. It's "good" if you use some "normal" scale and it's "awesome" when compared to some Eminem shit (no pun intended :)). If I could choose, I'd rather even take Jon's Powerstation years than this (and no, Crush does not remind Powerstation Years)...
Also I don't understand why they ruined the tradition of including the lyrics onto the booklet. The booklet is bad too, just showing Jon and others.. Pah! (I want that Bon Jovi Forever shirt tho!)
Someone said earlier that this album is for Jovi fans only.. I think the opposite, this is an album for the Average Joe rather than a BJ fan.
I bought the SIIS single (no, I still hate SIIS itself) and wasn't surprised when I found out that the two others (Ordinary People & Welcome to the Good Times) are the same Crush-shit again. There seems to be another SIIS single out, and it has wayyy better b-side songs (Stay & Ain't No Cure For Love). Stay is pretty nice ballad and I like it. Should've been on Crush instead of SIIS. Now, Ain't No Cure For Love is the crusher (well I got bored pretty soon). Somehow Jon sounds like Poison (not much but that's the first thing I thought of). It does have Crush influences but it's a positive surpriser anyway. These two songs prove that BJ can still be a good band (maybe not a rock one tho). Now, if they just got back to days of Bon Jovi and 7800'...
It's a shame to see that Bon Jovi themselves don't appreciate the first two albums. They are their best and will always be because BJ will not make songs like that anymore...
And really, I cannot see how anyone can think Slippery as "commercial"? How do you judge that? Slippery and New Jersey rock and that's everything that matters. 80s rock, not 90s "rock" or 00s "rock". Oh yeah, I don't consider Red Hot Chili Peppers rock.
Ok, the guys have grown older and probably don't wanna sing about partying and stuff so much anymore... The videos for Crush are nice tho and better than most of the BJ vids with their stupid lip-synching. Not to say I dislike every 80s BJ-vid but after seeing In and Out of Love vid I thought "hell, how did they do this crap?". And also, the Concert held in Helsinki was great even without the fireworks. I just wish they would play songs from the first two albums... And I really would like to see the 80s BJ live. That could be a really cool experience.
I think Crush has it's own sound and cannot be compared to other BJ albums nor other bands. It's something unique, somehow. Yeah, now you're saying "Voice box! Tommy! Gina!" but that doesn't make IML sound like LOAP. At least not for my ears.
Someone said he/she is embarrassed because of Crush and I actually agree. People don't regard Bon Jovi as a rock band anymore, and that's sad. =(
Also, someone said BJ is more like a boyband now. That's bullshit. Listen to I'd Die For You, Shot Through the Heart (no, that is not the same as You Give Love a Bad Name as many people on Napster think), Only Lonely. A Boyband? Yeah sure. Oh, and Hey God is the best "we're not a boyband" song from the 90s/00s.
And before you flood my email, please bare in mind that people DO have different tastes in music even if they like the same band... If someone out there likes the 80s BJ more too, I'd recommend you to listen to Poison (Fallen Angel, So Tell Me Why, Life Goes On etc.) and Def Leppard (Photograph). Oh well, you probably knew those already... =)
Oh and hey, I've been listening to the older albums a lot these days, and they have made this even clearer to me. Yeah. Crush ain't so good, but I still believe Bon Jovi can deliver (the concert!). And I will keep the faith.
-IgeL
Rating: 7/10
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