Jon on Bruce

I bought it because it was a bloody great album, not because it tugged on my heartstrings

Well, I bought it because of all that publicity that surrounded it and the record bores me.

Well, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Bounce is optimistic, fun...I don't hate it. But it was thrown together. It is by far short cd in length, and not one song on there is a lyrical masterpiece.

The Rising is a thoughtful, well-written album. 9/11 or not, it really was well thought out. It wasn't just put out there to ride the wave of previous albums, like Bounce was.

Well, knowing that Bruce and Jon live in the same area of Monmouth County, NJ that lost more people in the WTC than they did the Vietnam War including people they knew and knowing Bruce has done as much as Jon in terms of volunteer work and raising money for victim's families it is hard for me to see this as exploitation. It was a fact of life for that region of New Jersey for a long time, even as it became a memory around other parts of the country. Bruce was no more exploitive than Bon Jovi with their 9/11 material. Bruce and Jon and Richie wrote from the heart. Jon has chosen not to put Undivided out there because of exploitation concerns, but I really think he should have because it is a great song that more people need to hear. It is ok if folks don't like Bruce, but I just hate to see his motives impugned when he comes from the same Jersey stock character wise as Bon Jovi and I know how much he has done for his community.

... I always thought they were friends........

Not sure what you are trying to say with this Russia comment exactly??

exactly

i'm not saying you are wrong for not liking the rising - it's a matter of taste and all

... but you're obviously missing the point and...

I just don't buy your reasons considering you like Bounce

and if your Russia comment was to suggest Bounce has international appeal and is universal... BJ lost their Russian audience a long time ago - they were never loyal to their Russian fans... and yet they were potentially the biggest band in the whole of Russia when rock music was legalised

BJ's could have been done with being narrower

instead we just got generalised rubbish, with sweeping lyrics with no real meaning or purpose since they were so unspecific to any sort of real emotion or anything

Ghee, I ain't American but I still bought the record because it's a true masterpiece. I have all of Bruce's albums, and this one is definitely one of his best. If The Rising was entirely a 9/11 album, it would not have had the global appeal and international commercial success it has had. The Rising parked in the no. 1 spot on the German album charts for weeks. On that note, Bounce made it to no. 2 and dropped out of the top ten in no time.

LetItRock - why are you even on this board? You clearly don't like Bon Jovi's music so why can't you just accept that your phase of fandom for the band is over and MOVE ON?

I agree 100% with Becky. If anyone other than Saint Bruce had written this album, they would have been crucified. Bruce (and I'm not doubting his sincerity on the topic - he's seen the worst of the losses in his hometown, just as Jon did) chose to write his songs about this one topic... do we need one voice to speak to the whole nation as a remedy? Not really... but for many that's just what he did. Mary's Place is a complete ripoff of another earlier rock 'n' roll song... the lyrics are simplistic in many songs... the songs are explotive if you're prone to look at them that way... BUT, the album is also great. Personally, I don't think it's the New Testament that many do but it's not a horrific exploitation of 9/11. Bottom line: I think the only reason Bruce was able to write this record is because he's Bruce. Let the same songs and topics come from virtually any other artist and the response would not be the same. He's the poet laureate musically speaking for the country... whether all of us agree with that title or not.

I have The Rising... I have Bounce. I prefer Bounce. You can't compare the two. Art is subjective. Musical preferences are subjective. The only people trying to compare the two are those whose identitiees are too wrapped up in knowing the music they listen to has been stamped "brilliant" by a bunch of lame music critics.

Jon can't win... people insisted on asking his about Bruce in all his interviews. Some writers (poor ones) insisted on claiming Jon was following Bruce and copying him by writing songs about 9/11 themes... as if Jon was running over to Bruce's house everyday afterschool and copying his homework! Bruce was in Atlanta recording. Bon Jovi were in Jersey... and yet, the comparison is automatic. And that's a shame...