Bon Jovi in 2016--Expectations/Hopes

Gotcha, it's sad to admit I've almost written off the band live at this point.

The last time I saw the band was on the Circle tour and I saw two shows without Richie and they were great. I don't particularly pay much attention to youtube videos. I've posted dozens of links that I've never even watched because I don't even care about clips recorded with someone's phone. I'll watch some now and then, but that's the exception not the rule. IF they come anywhere near me and I can work it out to get there and afford it, you better believe I'll be there. I'm not giving up on them until I see them in person and they give me a reason to.

Three hours ago, Matthew tweeted:

Don't be trolled. I have no info on any release or tour.

Which explains why none of this recent flurry of stories have said anything about either a designated record deal OR a designated guitarist.

The album.
I need new album that rocks, reminiscent of their pre 1994 material and nothing like the stuff since Bounce. Get Desmond Child back to help write hits.

And get rid of Bandiera, tour or no tour.

Hi,

I recently registered after a couple years of stalking… errr… lurking and I figured this post was the perfect place to start, as it’s something I’ve been pondering for years, since HAND was released.

But first, let me introduce myself and how I became a fan. Yeah, I know, why is this of any interest to you (feel free to skip the whole section, no bad blood )? Well, I think it’s relevant to the topic, you’ll see later.

Anyhoo, once upon a time (not so long ago, or so I would like to think lol) when I was a kid, we listened to rock music most of the time. My parents were fans of 70s progressive rock & Bruce respectively, but in reality they listened to lots of rock music, period. Classical, blues and folk were also popular at home. And on top of that, we regularly listened to commercial radio and of course Bon Jovi and co. where inescapable, so growing up I knew who they were, I knew the songs and I was a big big fan of that style of music. But I’d hardly consider myself a real fan of the band back in the 80s. It’s just that I love basically all 80s music and pop metal, hair metal or whatever it’s called was probably what I liked the most at that time. And I liked Jon, not ashamed to admit it in the last bit His pretty face was in all the teen magazines, like every other week, and I had older friends and relatives who brought the magazines, commented on the band, exposed me a little bit more to it... so let’s say I was a fan of Jon looks before I got into their music (for all is worth, I liked GnR music better, and Axl a lot, but Jon was just the prettiest of all them pretty boys ) because back then I didn’t realize all those bands were different. They all sounded the same to me and I didn’t favor just one.

So... new decade, I’m approaching my teens, and what happened in the music scene? Right, grunge. I got sooooo caught up in it -I guess it was my future angsty teenager peeking- suddenly I was a fan of something I didn’t get from my parents and it felt mine mine mine. I spend all my measly allowance in tapes and magazines. I have to admit that I was a little bit obsessed (nowadays I still like Nirvana A LOT but I see that it was only a fad and much more mediocre than I thought) and didn’t pay attention to anything else. I was aware of Bon Jovi releasing KTF because they still had lots of exposure here, but all the radio played was Bed of Roses and I thought for a very long time that it was a veeeeeeeeery lame song (says a huge fan of power ballads lol). I wasn’t in the mood for that kind of music, and frankly the people who were my age or older and had been BJ/hair metal fans jumped off the wagon as we all know. As I became older, my understanding of English became a tiny bit better and I even liked the grunge scene even more. I had an English teacher who made us translate all Nirvana lyrics and I thought they spoke to me (yeah… I know…). They sure sounded much much deeper than “i wanna lay you down in a bed of roses” to my easily impressed pre-teen ears
Something happened that changed the game forever. You know what happened in April 1994, the day Kurt and grunge died (that’d be a discussion for another thread ), and the day I felt a little bit lost because I felt it took away something that belonged to me and had helped me navigate through those confusing hormone-ladden years. I know, very melodramatic, but I felt that way and I wasn’t prepared to listen to new music, to follow so intensely another band. I mourned that loss and I thought it’ll be like this forever but again something happened and that’s where my real story begins.

That something was “Always”.

On to part 2...


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Does a promise really break if nobody sees it fall?

(sorry, it was too long for 1 post)

By this point I’m sure you think I’m a little bit crazy, going from angsty lyrics, dirty flannel shirts and overall screaming and headbanging to powerful, sexy but safe “Always”, but it wasn’t the aesthetics (yeah yeah yeah yeah I hear you, Jon’s pretty face didn’t hurt a bit, but it was the same pretty face as before and I ignored it for several years), or the lyrics or even the music. It was THE PASSION. I discovered something I had overlooked all those years, that Bon Jovi made music with lots lots lots of passion, that the lyrics were much more than cheesy 80s clichés (nothing wrong with that, I ****ing love cheesy 80s lyrics), that they didn’t have to write extremely profound or moving things to get to me, to get my attention and make me want even more. They got me at Always (or should I say… ok… not making that lame joke). I bought Crossroads when it first came (my first CD ever, I still didn’t own any Nirvana CDs at that time, just recorded tapes) and shortly after Keep the Faith, and I really listened to those songs until I knew them by heart. Though I still saw them as plain fun ol’ rock and roll, I started to appreciate the craftmanship of some lyrics, the differences with other similar bands, the progression and increasing maturity from their firsts songs. Oh and I loved Dry County, of course, what’s not to love? My favorite at that time. I slowly bought all the previous CDs but I didn’t even have time to really listen when the third big change and the most important of all in this humble story happened... These Days (yeah, you probably guessed it ). It really blew my away. I still remember vividly when I first listened to the whole CD, I was like 13 or 14, and while I loved “This ain’t a love song” and didn’t mind the overexposure on the radio, I wasn’t prepared for the rest of the songs (except for “Something for the pain”) and I couldn’t believe it the first few times. Wow, that was PASSION. Wow, those lyrics really spoke to me because they made me sit, listen, understand, think and FEEL. I didn’t care in the least bit that it wasn’t a big rocker- the passion behind “Something to believe in” got me every time without need for further hystrionics. Oh and “Bitter wine” was and is one of my all-time favorites and it’s a very mellow song, nowhere near big rockers or power ballads, my two absolute favorite styles until then. I spent a coupl-ish years listening to Bon Jovi first and foremost, to These Days almost everyday, until Destination Anyway came out and again it blew me away (not as hard as TD but it was unexpected and though not as good, I still felt the passion that made me a fan). I felt I was at the top of the world as a Bon Jovi fan in the mid to late 90s and I felt pretty optimistic about the longevity of the band, it could only get better... right? (nervous laugh ). It’s a real shame that the free fall that started after Crush didn’t reach top bottom until 13 years later with WAN. A real real real shame such a waste of so much time and also how so much can change in such a short time at the same time (I’m referring to the period from DA to Bounce). I honestly thought that Crush was a fine record once I recovered from the monstrosity that was “It’s my life”. I was objective enough to understand the place that song had in the band’s history and the crucial role it played in keeping it alive. Ok, a commercial band doing a very commercial hit to keep relevant, nothing new here, most of the other tracks had good lyrics, good melodies, good vocals and the b-sides were superb (even more if you add the boxset ones). Did it sound too pop? Yeah, sure, but “Real Life” and “Mr. Big Time” hinted at that and where a huge disappointment when I first heard them, so no real surprise there, I guess I had time to adjust my expectations. I still got the essence, good music, good lyrics, maybe a little less passion, but Crush was a return to fun 80s music (the overall feel, not the music itself) and I was on board. Then Bounce happened and while I liked it and didn’t see all the fuss about the ballads (some terrible I know, but a few solid ones), it’s true that it was the first record since Slippery where I skipped songs, even to my ears it sounded a little bit fake and plastic, and it was the first time where I thought they were just chasing fads. Not only churning one mediocre commercial hit for the radio and delivering their best for the other tracks, but track after track of something that sounded like Bon Jovi but wasn’t quite so. I hated HAND (still do, rarely listen to it) I think it was more fake, plastic and unsincere than Bounce, although it was labeled as a welcomed return to their roots and bla bla bla bla. It just felt crafted, period. At that point I knew something had shifted and sensed that we were dangerously approaching the point of no return. The thing than convinced me that all hope was almost lost was the B-sides from Bounce, the boxset, and the whole Lost Highway project. That’s where they showed their true colors IMHO. They had it in themselves, they knew how to write a song, they still loved writing songs from their hearts, for the sake of it, but they simply didn’t want to. Only when it was conveniently labelled as an “artistic experiment” like LH they partially took the risk. Releasing Memory as a first single proved my theory, they were itching to write those songs and show the world they were songwriters and loved making good music, not just clones of their past hits over and over, but they were too afraid to make an entire album out of them. Only as a side project or a one-time very limited experiment (how much of LH is “artistic”, like 30%? lol), they sure had earned the right to do it and don’t lose their fanbase as long as they returned to status quo afterwards. And that’s what they did after LH, over and over again.

And that’s what brings me to this thread. When “We weren’t born to follow” and that god awful video were released, I thought it was time for a break. “Work for the working man” sealed the deal for me. Hated HATED H-A-T-E-D that song. Didn’t listen to the rest of the record until years later. “Broke” with the band. Didn’t really stop being a fan, but stopped supporting them: didn’t buy the CDs, didn’t go to the concerts, real life took in and I completely lost interest. I still read a few things from time to time, sometimes I came to JoviTalk for my BJ fix, but my attention was somewhere else. The Richie saga kept me slightly interested for a while, but I truly thought it was time for all of it to end.

Until Burning Bridges.

I stumbled across the CD in Spotify, didn’t know what was about. Was surprised, even shocked, when I heard most of the songs. Once I knew what had happened, I resumed visiting JoviTalk, listened to the CDs I had all but dismissed, and I reconsidered my stance. Was there hope again? The passion had returned, that was for sure, I knew it never left but year after year, album after album, nobody had the guts to step in and show that side of them again. And for a while, I really had hope again.

Now, I’m in the fence. It’s a toss. This is the third time the band has to raise from the ashes (hi Jon if you are reading, I knew you would love the analogy, don’t use for your next single or I’ll sue xoxo ) and so far it’s been a hit (KTF) and a miss (Crush is obviously a hit in anybody’s book but considering all that came afterwards I’d say undoubtely a miss). They’ve been playing safe for god knows how much time and seem terrified to step out of their comfort zone, specially Jon. BB the album is going to be another LH, stretching a little bit but only because nobody is looking/it's advertised like that, a *deviation* from the norm. Anyway, I discovered that i’m not ready to let go, I’m not as cynical as I was 5 yrs ago, I’m much more skeptical than ever, but I do now have a teeeeny tiny bit of hope, if that makes any sense

So yeah, what about now? Sorry couldn’t resist. Thanks for reading to whoever survived the whole post(s). Sorry for any mistakes


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Does a promise really break if nobody sees it fall?

Album. Couldn't care less about the tour. They won't be able to do any song from their catalog any redeemable justice anyway, so no reason to even care.

I see this so commonly and I don't know why think Desmond's input will lead to more rock songs. Army of One was boring as hell, he's a big time pop songwriter.

Thanks for sharing that Symbeline, and welcome! I am particularly glad that it was Burning Bridges that brought you back into the fray. I sincerely hope that in the future, once the band is dead and gone, we'll look back at BB as a return to form and a legitimate entry in the discography that can stand up next to some of their best.

symbeline,

I loved how you put this: "stretching a little bit but only because nobody is looking." That is such a great way to describe BB.

I'm just hanging onto the hope that they'll stretch that artistry into the next album and do something that is true to what they want to make and not chasing any hits or past successes. Albums don't really sell anymore. Singles don't really chart anymore. They have the freedom to make a record they want for the sake of making the record they want and knowing they can still tour the world based on their legacy.

So I hope the album is true to their hearts and that it fires them up to give us a great tour with exciting new music to play along side the standards that the majority of the audience will want to hear.

Welcome to the board.