Do Bon Jovi have to please too many different fans?

But, and this isn't to pick at you specifically Ice, why do people pretend that (insert Bon Jovi album they like) was written without commercial intent? They all were, they all have been, and all will be. Some are just better then others.

In the 80s they were passionate about what they did. And in the 90s. You could hear it in the music and interviews and see it on stage. Commercial, yes. But still they loved the music. Now even in the interviews it seems that they "craft" out the songs, write songs they think people want to hear. If something sells, they do it over and over again. It started with Crush and IML, and has been going on since.

Ice

Ok, see here;s where I disagree with something.
I'm not saying that it's not a great song, but anyone who doesn't see why This Ain't a Love Song is an ultimate commercial exercise is fooling themselves IMO.

An R'n'B song in the middle of grunge and techno period? Very commercial. Not.

Ice

Oh come on, don't tell me you really don't see it.
Biggest hit of Keep the Faith is Bed of Roses.
Always is released as the single for the GH set.
Always becomes on of the band's biggest singles PERIOD.
The first single off the next album is a love ballad that shares several similarities.
Am I saying they're the same song...of course not. Am I saying that they suck, no I love them all. But still, it's blatant.

Aloha !

Eh? What would they be? A guitar solo and rocking vocals? Bed Of Roses, Always and This Ain't A Love Song are the reason why Bon Jovi for a long time was king of the powerballad. Every ballad had it's own style and mood set to it. There's no way the three songs are similar.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

To the casual listener, a Bon Jovi love ballad is a Bon Jovi love ballad.
Yes, the songs are stylistically different, but they are all ballads at the core.
And if you don't think that the success of BoR begat Always as a singles begat TAALS as a single then you're in denial IMHO.
It;s the same as IML-Everyday-HAND, only the ballads are MILES AND MILES BETTER. The concept is still the same though.

Aloha !

Bed Of Roses might've been the biggest hit for Bon Jovi in the US, but In These Arms and Keep The Faith were bigger in the rest of the world. Both songs cracked the top 10 in the UK, while Bed Of Roses "only" made it to number 13.

And IML, HAND and in a way Everyday all use the same chord progression on the chorusses, that in no way is the same concept as the Bed Of Roses - Always and This Ain't A Love Song threesome. Those 3 songs are very different and do not share any similarities at all. Just because they're ballads at the core doesn't mean they're the same. That'd be like saying "Keep The Faith, Hey God and Sat. Night are rock songs at the core, so they're the same". It doesn't make any sense.

Bon Jovi released This Ain't A Love Song as the first single of These Days because they thought it was the most obvious single of the album. Not because of the previous successes they achieved with Always and Bed Of Roses. but This Ain't A Love Song has "hit" written all over it. Hey God certainly doesn't.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I think you are right. One of the reasons Bon Jovi released This Ain't A Love Song as a single was to capitalize on the success of Always. However, TAALS is a song they wrote which they were and still are proud of. It was played live during most of the CROSS ROAD tour and even now, Jon speaks very fondly of it. Let's move to All About Loving You and Thank You For Loving Me. Both are songs that the band dislikes, that they hardly ever played live and which they would gladly forget about, if they haven't done so already. Still, both made it to the respective records, both were featured in the first half of that record, and both became singles. Do you see the difference? This Ain't A Love Song would have been released as a single even if it had been on an Iron Maiden record. It's simply too good of a song to throw away. AALY and TYFLM only made it to those albums because they had to write some ballad.

It's a bit of MERITOCRACY vs. NEPOTISM.

I fully agree about AALY and TYFLM. While I think TYLFM has some redeeming qualities, both were failed, crafted attempts to recapture the ballad market. My basic point was that i think you can't pick and choose throwing the band other the bus only when it fits with your opinion (Not you specifically Devilson, just in general). Bon Jovi is a commercial band that puts commercial songs on their record, always have. Hell look at New Jersey and Slippery. First single is the tounge and cheek rocker second track, second single is the up-tempo song about hard luck lovers third track. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, or that the 2000's output is anywhere near the old stuff. But, lets not pretend that Jon woke up in 1999 and said "I want to make commercial albums now". And Seb, I can't believe that you honestly think the success of Always wasn't a factor in TAALS being the first single of off TD.