Bon Jovi's biggest crime?

I went with the set list. But I would personally pick One Wild Night as their biggest crime. We waited nearly 20 years for a live CD and when they finally put it together it relied too heavily on two shows; at least half of it was previously released in other formats; they didn't represent the real highlights of the career; they left off Cadillac Man. I could go on and on, but since I have 80 times before and my wrist is cracked, I'll stop there.

I've gone for the last one although I would include Crush in the pop orientated comment not just post Crush. I do think the new album is better than the previous 2 but my main problem is the lack of any decent melodic Richie Sambora solo's these days. Why? I never felt his solo's were self indulgent and made the songs less commercial quite the opposite they usually enhanced the song (See Bad Name, Prayer, Wanted) Ok Dry County was slightly indulgent but it is up there with my favourite guitar solo's of all time.
There's always been sappy ballads and I'll Be There For You is one of my favourite Bon Jovi songs. It's just that recent ones haven't been very good and not helped by the lack of decent guitar solos. Missing out These Days is not a major issue for me, it's a good album but there's only really Hey God and These Days that I really miss. I know there are other good songs on there but I can live without hearing them.
TLFR I don't really listen to but I thought it was quite a brave thing to do when they could have just brought another Best Of album out. I could do without them performing them live though.
Finally the setlists, I do not have a problem with them not changing the setlist as long as they play their best songs. My problem is that they are not doing that anymore. How can anyone drop Keep The Faith and leave Raise Your Hands in the set. How can they continually refuse to play Dry County but do 10 minute versions of Bad Medicine and Sleep When I'm Dead with crappy covers thrown in. Why does Richie not get a solo spot anymore? I used to love his intro to Wanted. I know he occasionally gets to sing a song but I'd much prefer he get to show his guitar playing skills.

I agree 100% a huge betrayal of every Bon Jovi fan but I've ranted about this before and I won't bore everyone again.

For me "These Days" is an exception album, one of my personal favourites and I would love to hear anything from this masterpiece in the live arena.

That said, I was fortunate enough to see the "These Days" tour of Australia in 1995 and now I am more than grateful for this, as this was the last time I heard any song from this album live. That was ten years and way too long for me!

In particular I would love to hear "Hey God", "My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms" and "Something For The Pain".

Come on BJ, please!

I agreed with those opinions, that TLFR is a good experiment (if you don't like it, it isn't problem). The pop orientated album is a little problem for me, but if you see the other bands, you will understand their reasons, and I think, that every album contains many rock songs too (but I have a wish, that the producer of the next album could be Desmond .

They play similar setlist at every show? It isn't a huge problem, all bands play their huge succeses, but I think they must play a few songs from These Days!

I guess my idea of their biggest crime is the lack of intensity. I know that they don't owe me or any fan anything (except a good show for the price of the ticket). And in comparison to other bands out there they DO put on a good show. However, if you compare them to themselves they really get in trouble. I blame some of it on Jon - he is (by his own statements) a benevolent dictator. I feel that he is spread too thinly to be intense about the music. Couple that with smoking and an aging voice and it's not a pretty picture. They were so damn good I hate to see them throwing the music away casually. I believe that the same laziness is why the setlists don't change much. They have too much good material just to stick to a few well known "tried and true" anthems.

Kathleen

Ya know, I think it's safe to say that all of us would love to hear some tracks performed from "These Days", or even some tracks from the first two albums. I've been wishing to hear songs like "She Don't Know Me", "Shot Through The Heart", and "Silent Night" for years. Hell, even "Tokyo Road"! I'm a big fan of 7800 if you can't tell. Even with Slippery...I've been begging for an electric version of "Never Say Goodbye". It just ain't gonna happen.

I agree that part of it is the fact that the band has a tendency to shy away from their past. I often say that pyro, the incredibly long catwalk that goes out OVER the crowd, and cool entrances (like Jon shooting up through the floor on the NJ tour) are all things that should be brought back. Sometimes, even when playing the old songs...a lot of them just don't sound the way they should. Even when "Lay Your Hands On Me" IS played electrically...it just doesn't sound right. Too heavy on the keyboard and too light on the guitar. It's almost as if a lot of the time now, Sambora's playing has gone "soft" compared to the way it used to be.

But you have to remember...all of these hits and the predictable setlist the band plays I don't think is so much that they want to do that...it's because they have to. What are the majority of the people there to see them play? "Wanted Dead Or Alive" or "Hey God"? I was at the Chicago show the other night, and whenever the band played a song which was relatively unknown to the mass public...many fans took their smoke/piss/beer breaks during these times. Us "hardcore" Jovi fans, which is what I at least consider myself to be...only make up a portion of the people who attend these concerts. I mean, if we were all at a show and they brought out all of these rare tracks, we'd all be in heaven! But can you imagine how bored all of the casuals would be? With a band like Bon Jovi, who has a catalog of SO many hits...everyone wants to hear those and we all want to hear rarities as well. I'm sure it's tough.

Then again, there's an easy solution to this problem. Give us a THREE hour show! I'm tired of having to invest in bootleg shows from old tours in order to hear so many great songs performed live.

Yeah, I can't vote for any of the poll options as I find them far too short sighted and missing the real problem.

TLFR as a crime? No, I'm not crazy about the album at all...I thought more could be put into it..such as a full band effort with Tico playing drums. But the way you all rag on the actual arrangements..I find it ridiculous and childish. It's like you can't zero on what the real problem is with it..and it isn't the arrangements at all. If anything..the live DVD is what should have been done...end of story. There is nothing wrong with the arrangements..it's creative...if you guys want to come down on that..then frankly, you're idiots. Yes, let's discourage creativity within Bon Jovi..that's exactly what we need. The whole project was so impermanent and brief that the amount of griping out of you people was just over the top and laughable.

Setlist choices.....You want to talk about Set List crimes..you need to listen to other bands and find out just how bad it can be before even beginning to bitch about Bon Jovi's. No, I'm not satisfied with the set lists...but so far I'm happy that they have for the most part played the majority of each new album on each tour....that may be changing this time around..but it's too early to tell. It is never a good thing, even if you don't like the album, when they start playing a small number of songs surrounded by the "hits." in their sets. Every album should have it's day. As their set lists go.....a couple of spots need to be droped..but 3/4s of it is just fine....it seems like more because we are tired of hearing the same songs over and over...but.....I can get into Prayer and Bad Name just as easily as a new song or lesser played song....as long as the "INTENSITY" is behind it. Again..too many of you miss the point and fail to consider the greater scheme.

The over looking of These Days and the first two albums is a negative aspect...I cannot fault this one....I just cannot be dramatic about it and call it a crime. They all had their day on their tour with a majority of songs being played from that respective album. This is why it's never a good thing for them to stop doing that.....an album you love may come along...and they will play 2-3 songs from it with the rest being the "hits." THEN you'll see the folly of bitching about too much of an album you don't like being played on tour. Yes, they could play at least one or two songs from These Days on a regular basis and it would be great to hear them update and play songs from the first two albums..but they don't....even if they did........well it doesn't solve the real problem

Finally, the 2000+ Era.......no..I don't find the albums completely satisifying. There were too many ridiculously boring sappy ballads. But I cannot rate this as a crime. Again..it doesn't focus on the real problem. Solve the real problem..and even Captain Crash would be a juggernaut.

The crime is lack of intensity and soul. Solve that and everything else sorts itself out.

For this poll I had to vote for the fairy floss pop arrrrggggghhhhh

Hate to sound like a broken record but its still TLFR for me. I appreciate what Purist is saying about them trying something different, I have to say I did see it in a SLIGHTLY different light when I watched the DVD, but it still wasnt my cup of tea.

Thier biggest crime right now is not moving on from that album. Theyve released a decent CD in HAND, whats selling really well in the states (*or so im led to believe) but then playing more songs from TLFR on the "Have a nice day tour". Its really frustrating for me to hear that they bring back always only to play the TLFR version. For anyone who thinks im moaning, just compare the Wembley 95 Always to TLFR.

I do agree with Kathleen, when you start comparing the band as it is now to 10 or even just five years ago you do have to worry what the future holds for them.