I think of LH more as the beginning of the end of my favorite rock band. It was good... not great. 7/10. It felt rushed and for that reason, it felt uninspired. They were taking the next step to maintain mainstream commercial success after the success of WSYCGH. It was the safe move.

It was a great tour. MAM was their last great single... fantastic song! Beautiful, subtle, inspired (despite what I said about the album in general above), completely different from anything they had done before. The album has a few other pretty good songs. But it also has more Bon Jovi songs I strongly dislike compared to any Jovi album since before Slippery.

LH was the first album that felt like "JBJ with special guest Bon Jovi". We know Sambora was a part of this record but I don't hear his contributions like I do on their albums before LH. And that's the biggie for me. Bon Jovi at their best has always been about Jon and Richie - 50/50. Jon's vocal abilities and Richie's accompaniment, their harmonies, and how they could make their music and lyrics come alive.

LH has it's share of good songs (as does every album since) and I'm glad to have them, but I don't think it's a great Bon Jovi album.