SWW review: You can't stop a fire burning out of control

Originally Posted by The Walrus

I've been putting off continuing this review for ages, mostly because I've found NSG very difficult to review. I'll give it a go, but be warned that this might be a bit rubbish:

Never Say Goodbye - Continuing with the theme of the album being "for the people" is a song which surely must have soundtracked a thousand high school proms for the rest of the decade. It's easy to be cynical: with its sentimentality; bittersweet, emotionally ambiguous lyrical content; and perfect pacing for slow dancing to; it would be easy to dismiss it as being soulless. However, in the hands of Bon Jovi, it manages to become a real statement of belief. The conviction in Jon's voice (and Richie's in his harmonising) is evident, especially in the sustained note in the outro; and the lyrical content manages to make lack of subtlety ("You lost more than that it my backseat baby" anyone?) a positive thing, making it seem all the more real rather than made more poetic. Equally important, if not even more so, is Richie's contribution: the guitar work here is simply dripping with emotion. From the languorous main guitar pattern, to the subtle bluesy licks in the verses, to the harder chords in the prechorus, to the dream-like solo; the ebb and flow is handled beautifully. The other members also provide solid contributions: the hard bass and drums giving the song power even when the guitar is more subtle; while the sporadic synthesized strings provide some contrast and extra depth. Overall then, I believe this to be a powerful emotional song, although I can easily believe that others may find it to be too crafted.

4/5

Originally Posted by The Walrus

Well, this seems to have gone a tad offtopic. Just as an aside point though, if These Days was trying to cash in on grunge, they were a tiny bit too late, and also kind of forgot to make it sound grungey ...

Anyways, we're getting almost 10 years ahead of ourselves!



Well perhaps not THE absolute greatest EVER, but hopefully I can do it justice ...

Wanted Dead Or Alive: The song that the band refer to as their "national anthem", and it's easy to see why. I can only imagine what it must have been like for someone who'd been following the band from the beginning listening to this for the first time in '86. In just over five minutes, the band manage to raise their game over and over again. The song opens with the barren, windswept intro; the multilayered synths (one continuous layer sounding dense and claustrophobic, the other playing a gently probing pattern); rhythmtic kick drums and distinctive spine tingling acoustic guitar riff suggesting vast open plains with horses galloping across. Then comes the restrained first verse and chorus; mainly just an acoustic guitar and Jon's powerful voice; with a few long guitar notes, and synth and percussion sound effects in the background adding depth. Then the other instrumentation reappears for the second verse: the bass and kick drum laying the foundation; the acoustic guitar and piano combination perfectly maintaing the imagery of the old West. And then, for the second chorus, a revelation .... Richie finally unleashes his magnificent voice, and for the first time we are introduced to some of the finst vocal harmonies in rock music. Then, with a shout from Jon of "And I ride!", an incredible electric guitar solo explodes out of the acoustic restraint. Following another rendition of the chorus; we have the absolutely stunning bridge: Richie once again playing acoustic, but the driving bass line more than making up for it; more fantastic vocal harmonising; and containing possibly the greatest rock lyrics ever (perfectly summing up the whole experience with "I've seen a million faces / And I've rocked them all!"). Finally, we're treated to an explosive outro featuring what can only be described as a vocal duel between Jon and Richie, before the song rides off into the sunset to the sound of Richie's acoustic riff from the beginning, and one final percussive effect from Tico. Gloriously summarising life as a touring band in an iconic cowboy metaphor, and taking things to a whole new level in terms of songwriting, vocals, musicianship, subtelty and romanticised lyricism; this song somehow manages to capture the imagery of the Wild West, while still rocking like an absolute bastard. Without a doubt, one of the greatest moments in rock music history.

Originally Posted by The Walrus

I’d Die For You - The introduction of this song is instantly reminiscent of Runaway; led by a keyboard pattern and augmented by slashing guitars. However, whereas in Runaway this keeps out throughout the majority of the song; I’d Die For You is much more dynamic; a bit less fast paced, but with more depth. Before the song proper starts, a low key but insistent guitar riff starts up, and then disappears again for the keyboard backed first verse, before kicking back in from the first prechorus. The depth of the song comes mainly from the different synthesizer textures: from the pattern in the intro; to the repeat of the pattern but with an additional layer of chords during the first verse; to the synthesized strings in the second verse: it manages to lift the song away from being just a good but one dimensional rock song. The cymbal work is also effective in adding texture. The guitars provide a driving rhythm, but aren’t particularly flashy or attention grabbing, just solidly adding another layer to the song as a whole. The top layer is of course Jon, singing the lyrics with passion. The lyrics themselves are perhaps a little blunt, especially the “I’d Die For You / I’d cry for you / I’d do anything / I’d lie for you chorus”; but for the most part it works; the verses actually being quite poetic, albeit in a somewhat heavy handed way. And the prechorus definitely makes up for it: packing a huge amount of imagery into four lines, and with a fantastic rhythm and some great backing vocals; it’s one of my favourite bits of writing on the entire album. So overall, this song is a great, although not incredibly special, rock song; which manages to fairly effectively incorporate an element of romance.

4/5

Originally Posted by The Walrus

Wild In The Streets - The album ends with an uplifting dose of Jersey street spirit, again affectionately telling the story of a number of characters for whom life is one big party. With a main riff comprised of slashing guitar chords duelling with with stabbing synths; verses with a repeated simple low-key guitar progression; and a guitar and piano solo that sounds like it's played by Chuck Berry; this sounds like nothing so much as some bizarre mix of 1950s rock n' roll with 1980s pop metal ... which may be an intentional message that rock transcends generation barriers; after all this is where "the old men recite their story lines about when I was young like you". This is also definitely one example of a gang-vocal chorus working; emphasising the solidarity which also comes across in lines such as "right here we've got this code of honour, no one's going down". Also notable is the drumming: Tico here is relentless; pounding his way through a driving rhythm, fills, and the obligatory mini solo conclusion. And to the sound of cheering and applause, that's where it ends. Not particularly deep or meaningful then, but a fitting end to the party.

3+/5