[Stranger11]

- I never liked Bad Medicine, it´s the weakest song on NJ

- Lost Highway is a great Record

- One Wild Night 2001 is way better than the Version on Crush

- Save a Prayer & If I was your mother are in my BJ Top 20

- The Debut Album is better than HAND, The Circle and WAN

- I always liked TLFR

- I never cared for Destination Anywhere (the song). For me it was always a poor Born to run wannabe

- The 4 new Songs on the Greatest Hits are the worst stuff they every released

- Everyday is better than It´s my Life

- Stranger in this Town is the best of all BJ Members Solo records.

- With Jon´s voice being what it is nowadays, they should stop touring. It only damages their reputation of being a great liveact.

[bonjovi90]

I like the TLFR version of Everyday more than the Bounce one.

[Faceman]

Originally Posted by symbeline

I'm sure it started before, but it went downhill fast after Jon covered "Hallelujah". [...] He’s clearly and desperately trying to sell his serious singer-songwriter side and since he got so much praise for it, he's been pimping it out and thinking that critics and fans will take him more seriously if he recycles his style. Which would be a damn shame, he's fooling himself if he thinks he has the voice or the natural talent for it. He doesn't. [...] If his idea of being respected as a songwriter is losing his own identity and tackling more serious themes to sound more mature and fit into the mold critics like, then there's little hope to get the old Jon back

Exactly, spot on!

[Rdkopper]

Originally Posted by symbeline

I hate his singer-songwriter persona. He used to be a good lyricist, with a tiny bit of a pedantic touch here and there but kept it pretty well balanced overall. Now we get "Amen" instead of "Every Word Was a Piece of My Heart". I'm sure it started before, but it went downhill fast after Jon covered "Hallelujah". His take on the song is basically acting and it looks fake as hell. It doesn’t suit his voice (his tone), those *high* notes at the end sound strained and they aren’t even high!, he’s clearly and desperately trying to sell his serious singer-songwriter side and since he got so much praise for it, he's been pimping it out and thinking that critics and fans will take him more seriously if he recycles his style. Which would be a damn shame, he's fooling himself if he thinks he has the voice or the natural talent for it. He doesn't. His first solo album was awesome because you could hear Jon style all over a foreign material (a script as an inspiration, I mean, not an original idea). He made it his. It wasn't Jon pretending to be a anybody. Same with the second album. It was a different style, but there's still lots of Jon in there. His third solo album (WAN in case anybody was wondering) is fake, contrived, overthought, crafted to the max.
If his idea of being respected as a songwriter is losing his own identity and tackling more serious themes to sound more mature and fit into the mold critics like, then there's little hope to get the old Jon back

I completely disagree with most of this... I think Hallelujah was the best thing that came out the Lost Highway time-period besides Memory. I think Jon owns that song completely. He made the song his own and this was the perfect fit for this then vocal state. It really showcased his vocal control and technique. Holding the big note at the end (just as he did with Memory) was the grand finale and gave the song a beginning, middle, and end...

I do agree that Amen was a disaster. I totally don't get how "Every Word Was a Piece of My Heart" turned into "Amen" but then again, I don't get half the opinions & statements in this thread.

And finally, you can't compare the past to now. Comparing Blaze to WAN is like comparing Poison to The Foo Fighters. Different times, different voice, different Jon... No statements can hold up.

[Faceman]

I know you didn't react to my post but I'm gonna respond nonetheless

You're right that Jon nailed Hallelujah in 2008. That's why I cut this part in my quotation of symbeline's post. But to me she's absolutely right with her point that after this, he started with this singer/songwriter stuff (even more, before he did this from time to time). Amen is just a wannabe-clone of Hallelujah. And with songs like The Fighter or Not Running Anymore he takes the same direction of pretending to be the next Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan. And he can only fail in trying this.
symbeline, correct me if I'm wrong. But I think with the Every Word comparison she just wanted to show what kind of songs Jon writes best. Songs about love and about friendship. Easy topics, easy speech, epic songs. Just have a look at their biggest songs.
Everytime he tried to be someone else, nothing too good came out.

[KSantaFe]

Originally Posted by bonjovi90

I like the TLFR version of Everyday more than the Bounce one.

Absolutely, I was about to post this. In fact I knew this version well before the Bounce one.

[bwehehehe]

The production in Last Chance Train has got to be the worst until WAN. Jon's voice is so horribly compressed at the upper ranges that I almost thought it was an Alvin and the Chipmunks track.

I don't like Bad Medicine and Sleep unless played live.

[Captain_jovi]

Originally Posted by bwehehehe

The production in Last Chance Train has got to be the worst until WAN. Jon's voice is so horribly compressed at the upper ranges that I almost thought it was an Alvin and the Chipmunks track.

I don't like Bad Medicine and Sleep unless played live.

I really think the track was altered with the pitch shifted but for the life of me I don't know why. Maybe it was on a cassette?

[Fredrik]

I love She's A Mystery from Crush!

I also love both The Distance and Welcome To Wherever You Are, awesome songs!

[Rdkopper]

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

I really think the track was altered with the pitch shifted but for the life of me I don't know why. Maybe it was on a cassette?

It might just be bad production by Mark Hudson. This song only works in that upper key so maybe he was trying to stretch Jon's voice too much... I believe he's done that with Ozzy too...

BTY, I do agree that there are parts were it's a little too much but all in all, I actually like it and it's one of my favorites on the Box... Joe Perry on guitar too...