Revisiting Lost Highway

I recently wanted to listen to Any Other Day, so I got the Japanese import CD out of the collection to play while I was driving.

For me, I liked the CD even then. Now, I find it even stronger than I used to. Make a Memory is one of the best ballads and singles they have released since 2000. Whole Lot of Leaving is absolutely beautiful, both lyrically and musically. Lost Highway is extremely well written.

I know many of you hate We Got it Going On and my initial reaction was disappointment because I thought Jon, Richie, John, & Kenny could write something more significant. As a fan of both acts, I know what Big & Rich are capable of writing too. However, it only took a couple of listens for me to fall in love with the song. It sounds GREAT on the recording and it’s JOYOUS in the live setting. I cannot hear this song and be in a bad mood. That was very helpful for me when it was new because I was stressing at work and had to listen to it on repeat driving in.

I think the best part was discovering I actually really like some of the songs I thought were on the weaker side at the time: Everybody’s Broken, Seat Next to You. Maybe because I am coming to terms with brokenness, trying to overcome it, and dealing with so much loss. My dad died 15 years ago today. Three uncles have died recently, including one just a couple of months ago. My cousin’s seven year old son was killed in an accident about 2 years ago. Mother has dementia. She’s lost. I’m looking forward to that seat next to loved ones again someday. (If your beliefs about the afterlife differ, I don’t need a dissertation on why. You won’t change mine and I’m not forcing mine on you either.)

And, of course, I am amused that Put the Boy Back in Cowboy was a Japanese bonus track. I’ve never been to Japan. I wonder if the very USA-centric references in the song resonate in that culture. Big belt buckle, Stetson hat, rope a calf, Hank, Jack straight up, pick up trucks, red neck wannabe, two-step, rodeo, getting “frisky.” I know you can find any needed explanation on line, but I think listening to it with the perspective of snickering at the mental image on first listen makes it entertaining.

Anyway. I find it even more solid than I did at the time. I’m glad I happened to be at the Newark show where it was played in its entirety.

Taking a step back is letting me enjoy my favorite band again. Maybe I should dig out Have a Nice Day or Bounce next.

If you bothered to read this, thanks.

Funnily enough I found myselflisten to LH again recently - I still find the second half a bit weak but the first half is very solid, some great songs and great production.

Make A Memory is probably their last great ballad IMO.

I absolutely love Put The Boy Back in Cowboy! It was probably too cheesy to go on the standard US album but so glad they did release it, even if some of the references might have gone over the heads of the Japanese audience. Really surprised Lonely didn't make the final album cut though, and Walk Like A Man. Swap a couple of the later tracks out for those would have vastly improved the album IMO.

I agree that Lost Highway is a great record. The first half of the album is superb and while the second half is probably a bit weaker, I really love The Last Night and One Step Closer. I also love the live version of the record and many of the songs sound better in the live setting (such as Lost Highway). The one thing I'll never understand is how Walk Like a Man didn't just make the album but wasn't a single.

There are also such great memories of the band associated with this album. It was a surprisingly good album and ushered in a phenomenal resurgence in their live performances for at least the next four years. It's strange to think that this album was part of the band's Indian summer.

In my opinion,Walk Like a Man is probably the best track on the album….

It seems like a thread like this for LH resurfaces here every 3-4 months nowadays and I love it. Great album, great production every track is in the decent-to-great range and it just flows overall. Much like Destination Anywhere, the sound may raise some eyebrows when you first listen to it with your 'Bon Jovi expectations', but start-to-finish they're both albums where Jon had a clear vision and the whole was better than the sum of its parts. In my eyes, he has not achieved it that often in his career.

I've been on this bandwagon for since joining the board when rest of you voted it as the 3rd worst Bon Jovi album many years ago (Savvi rankings, 2011 I think?).

I still don't care for it all that much. I know what they were going for, and yes, they probably succeeded, but it's just not something I'm particularly into. Any Other Day is a great song, but that's it, mostly. WGIGO and TWASA have nice melodies but sound like someone else's songs, or rather, like everything modern country.

I agree 100%
I still dont understand why it didnt make the final album
It has always reminded to me as a These Days album song.

I’ve said the same about Walk Like a Man. If anyone was listening to country radio they should have known it should have been released as the lead single. That is a hit country song... but it never got the chance.

Absolutely agree about Walk Like A Man, and the album as a whole. Yes, the album is country tinged and yes there the pace slows down quite a bit in the second half, but the songs are pretty strong for the most part and still sound like Bon Jovi songs, I never understood why so many fans disliked it, other than the fact that they were told it was "country record".

I don't agree with this though! Cowboy was a b-side at best and it's similarities to Fat Bottomed Girls bugs the hell out of me! Sorry Nige