black album?

its more about asking god for some help in my opinion

when all is wrong, i use to say to everybody, you see there's no god, and when everything is right, i just think it's life

I actually understand where Dan is comming from. Although I think These Days has good music and vocals, there is a thread of sadness through each song. Some deal with poverty (Hey G-d), some with heartbreak (This Ain't a Love Song), and some with both (Lie to Me). Although the concepts the band addresses are interesting, they're depressing. I burst out crying when hearing Letting You Go because of a loss I recently had. I like These Days, but I rarely listen to it because I find it sad.

I also admit that the less negative songs are less interesting (with the exception of Something for the Pain). If That's What it Takes gets kinda boring after a while and Diamond Ring is just plain cruddy (especially the hungry/thirsty part). I'm not saying that BJ songs are not intersting if their positive, I'm just saying that the uplifiting songs they chose for the album weren't the greatest.

My feeling is that the ideal BJ album would have songs that address a variety of concepts, both positive and negative. It should not be as depressing as These Days, but it should not be nearly as sugar-coated as Crush. There should be songs that make you think, but there should be some fun ones as well.

I just got the This Ain't a love song single (a little late I know but it's very hard to find singles in Argentina) and every demo there deals with negative things also.

These Days is too good for some of the simpletons who post on this board. It is too far above them.

Exactly, that's why I like movies like Sleepers, 8 Mile, etc. Not because they relate to MY life, but there is a very 'real' aspect of those movies that is a welcome change from the 'happy, ride off into the sunset' type of flick.

I think it's their best album lyrically.

best for a range of different guitar styles too - from blues to light rock to heavy rock, to acoustic... and percussive, to hendrixy tones (My guitar...)...

lyrically also the best album

plus it was 70 odd minutes long instead of the 50 mins we get nowadays of below par material

I agree with this but from a musicans point of veiw I could be classed as the best album musically and the way that all of the songs are written and performed with such passion.
When people (I don't mean big BJ fans) talk about their favourite BJ album they often forget TD because TD is very different to what Bon Jovi are famous for.

and I remember around 95-96 These Days and Bon Jovi as a band were very popular in the UK... the singles still got in the top 40 - they had radio and tv play...

the concerts were well advertised in magasines and radio stations... the shows on the whole got good reviews...

it may have done poorly in the US... but that's just one tour stop... there are still many more around the world