The bands body of work - does this irratate you?

I think alot of it is down to the band playing it 'safe' with their choice of singles and also their set-lists.
So many of their singles since the These Days era have been quite ordinary. ( Even It's My Life which was a huge success but I think is a very average song).
And because of this none of the songs have lasted the test of time and you don't hear them on the radio anymore.
Therefore all you ever hear is the 'usuals' from Slippery and occassionally Keep The Faith (in the UK at least). And the casual listeners think that these songs are all Bon Jovi have ever done.
So many of their best songs are left almost unheard of on the albums because they're not even given an airing in concert.

Exactly. I wish they'd release a wider variety of singles and give the public a chance to like something other than the anthems and ballads.

You're ebasolutely right. Famous bands with a big background catalogue sadly tend to do that. One of the very rare exceptions is Bruce...
Southside Johnny does so too, but he really ain't that famous.

All bands have the same problem. But keep in mind that all bands have casual fans. In fact, for major bands (by 'major' I mean those bands that have scored a few platinum albums by means of pop singles - Bon Jovi, U2, Def Leppard, etc), most of the record buyers are the 'casual fans'. 'Die hard' fans for major bands are not that many (percentage wise, not number wise), even though these people may claim 'HALF THE WORLD LOVES <insert band name here>!'. Once you entered the pop realm, you run into many casual fans who will just know you for your singles. But hey, you sell lots of records!

Do I agree that some of BJ's material are the non singles? Yes, to a certain extent. Let's take a look at my top 20 BJ songs:

1. Livin On A Prayer
2. In These Arms
3. Blood On Blood
4. I'll Be There For You
5. These Days
6. Bed Of Roses
7. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
8. Have A Nice Day
9. Keep The Faith
10. This Ain't A Love Song
11. Love For Sale
12. Born To Be My Baby
13. Just Older
14. Starting All Over Again
15. Radio Saved My Life Tonight
16. Mystery Train
17. Runaway
18. Wild In The Streets
19. Always (Demo version)
20. Who Says You Can't Go Home (Country version)

Wow that's harder than I thought. Most of these have been single in some shape or form, although not all of them entered Billboard top 10 singles. So I'd say, most of the time BJ got it right.

Mystery Train was a great song, it exudes awesomeness. But then again it got played a few times and the reaction wasn't that great. If this was released as a single, I bet it would get the same reaction (i.e. not great). I'd say they made the right call in releasing IML for Crush (this song probably makes my top 30). As for Postcards from Wasteland, I'd say it won't break them to the country arena, it just doesn't have the hook that Who Says You Can't Go Home has. I know people here are sick of that song, but it's totally great. Simple and very catchy.

I wouldn't say Thank You For Lovin Me is a crap song, yes it's cheesy but not that bad. All About Lovin You on the other hand was horrible, and the video is even worse. Hell, the entire Bounce album was a disappointment, with the exception of Misunderstood's video.

And keeping in mind that most of the fans are 'casual fans', bands like BJ has to play 'crowd pleasing setlists'. That's a given. We, as 'diehards' may not like it, but that's just the way it is. I do agree that given the fact that BJ plays more than 2 hours live, they have more opportunity to play more 'songs for the diehards' without pissing off the casual fans.

In the end, to me BJ is still one of the best bands in the world (and if I just go by Livin On A Prayer, any band that makes that song qualifies as one of the best). Does it annoy me that other people don't think so? No, because it's all subjective. Do I agree that the rest of BJ catalogue is great? Yes, but I still think that their best are reflected in their singles (although not all of them are well known).

But will that sell though? That's the most important thing. I doubt that anything 'artsy' without hooks will be popular, and I'm sure the band won't like it if their singles tank. Isn't the purpose of a single is to grab audience's attention, in the hope that the audience will buy the full album?

I just realized something. It was the b-sides, as well as the album tracks, that made me a fan. When I downloaded Crush in '01, I also got most, if not all, of the b-side. I don't know WHY this is relevant, I just think it's neat that a song like Ordinary People, or Hush, influenced me just as much as Save the World.

Yep, very true. And if singles tank, like those from Bounce, then the cd tanks, and too many bomb cds leads to NO record contract.

deb

You do have a remarkably odd (or alternative I suppose you could say) top 15, I'll give you that

I think next year I may have to have a go at finding some of the b-sides that I've never heard ... i.e. most of them from before Bounce

*sing* Thank you-ouou for loving Mystery Train!

They played it in Stuttgart 2001 spontaneously instead of "Tequila/Twist and Shout", followed by "I'll be there for you". It was a magic moment. I always loved the song and the live version from Osaka (on the Crush Bonus CD) is just wonderful.

i think more recently beter songs could have been released and this would have probably made things more interesting, rather than re releasing IML v.4