Is it the songs? the band image? or the industry?

People here in Germany rather buy albums than singles when it comes to bands like Bon Jovi, Bruce and a few others. Their albums always have high positions in album charts (Bon Jovi nearly always at No. 1).

Yeah, and soon do a disappearing act the week after once the fanbase have snapped their copies up. Bon Jovi albums have no real staying power anymore, unlike Bruce, U2 etc.

andi

U2 decade 2000-2009


soundtrack - million dollar hotel (2000)
-The Ground Beneath Her Feet

All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
-beautiful day
-elevation
-Walk On
-Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Greatest hits 1990-2000 (2002)
-Electrical Storm
-The Hands That Built America (Theme From 'Gangs Of New York')

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004)
-Vertigo
-All Because Of You
-Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
-City Of Blinding Lights
-Original Of The Species

Colaborations (2005)
-One (Mary J. Blige and U2)

Greatest hits -18 Singles (2006)
-Window in the Sky
-The Saints Are Coming (U2 And Green Day)

No Line On The Horizon (2009)
-Get On Your Boots
-Magnificent
-I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight



It has some major hits.

I had already addressed this in my reply, you just copied and pasted a long list of singles. And besides, ''The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Original Of The Species,Window in the Sky,Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight'' and a few others were hardly hit singles.
But, the ones i posted were indeed huge number 1 hits around the world.

andi

Thank you. Obviously, I hadn´t done my homework. I do recall Beautiful Day and Vertigo, though. But it´s still been 6 years since they´ve had major succesfull singles anyway?
The thing with No Line On The Horizon and the 360 Tour seems quite similar to The Circle and the TC/GH tour of 2010-2011: The album gets hardly noted by the casual listener (even if TC made it to number 1 in the US) yet the associated tour is a great success.

Yeah, its a strange one that - U2s biggest tour was for one of their least selling albums - which begs the question, how relevant is new material to actually remaining popular/respected? (to Jon Bon Jovi, very important it seems).
The Rolling stones could have a sell out tour this year, and nobody would care if they only played songs from decades ago. Same goes with ACDC, Aerosmith.
Bon Jovi make a point of having anything from 25%-50% of songs in their setlist to being from the past decade, and always playing songs from a current release.

I do admire this motivation from JBJ, he obviously still has a bit of the thirst to prove something and make his band sound modern and relevant, but it just sucks sometimes that this means writing below what I and many other believe they are capable off.

But if they wrote another These Days? As much as I would love it, it would probably be commercial suicide, which is what is important to Bon Jovi.


Andi

It's without a doubt "The Industry".... more so "The Times". It has nothing to do with age or any of that. Jon couldn't have said it better during the Oprah thing. The problem with all these talent shows is that a young scratchy voiced Bob Dylan would never even get a chance in 2012.

It's sad to say but rock is gone! It's all Rap, Rap, Club, Dance, Glee, American Idol, and Oh Yea, Rap. None of Bon Jovi's peers are doing anything. From Madonna to U2 to the Endless List.

There is nothing Bon Jovi could release right now that would rip up the charts.

Has their music been stellar? Some better than others. But what is stellar right now anyway? I think Bon Jovi's singles were good enough to be contenders if given a fair chance.

Take off your "Die Hard" hat and put on your "Casual Radio Listener" one. They don't know the music like we do.

When Born to Follow was released, an 18 year old kid was 9 when IML was out. If they even knew IML, they don't know/remember Everyday or anything else in-between. It's all new music to them.

Same with Superman. Listening to it now, I think it's a fantastic song and would have done much better a few years back.

2013 will be the new single. They are a NEW band again to the young kids and the Kids run the charts.

They need a fresh song that pops! Thats what IML was. You'll never see a TDs 2 because Jons vocals cant handle it with a tour. Another IML is on it's way! I don't hate those type of Overproduced Big Arena songs. Thats what Bon Jovi is but the song must pop. They need to incorporate today’s technology and make it sound fresh. It will ALL come down to the production. 100%. And that's exactly why IML worked.

Even after all that, the best they could hope for is some radio play to promote the tour.

All I can say is, POOR RICHIE SOLO!!!!!

Judjing by interviews it seems like Jon may be overthinking things. His idea of a good song is quite different to ours. He basically thinks that if the song is catchy in a simply way and has an uplifting positive lyric people will relate to it and it will become a hit.

That's another problem, they would not write such songs anymore because they are too hard on Jon's vocals.

Foo Fighters make from an honest place a magnificent and solid rock album in the number 1 billboard.

I think this should be sufficiently encouraging for Bon Jovi. A bet on the rock.

Think too much on the success overrides all creativity. I agree that the band do a make of good hit for the radio, but not have to use the formula its my life. The good melodies and lyrics are still endless. No more repeat.

Listen to below interview @ 2:40. Just a bit of info on the making of keep the faith, talks about how the whole band got together and went to the Caribbean and played in small bars while spending time together and working through new material for keep the faith.

Just maybe back in the 90s they were more into it, now they are family men- different priorities.