I think after all these years of wondering, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that These Days is my favourite Bon Jovi album. Definately a hidden gem amongst an array of more "popular" albums is considered by a lot of people to be the last in the "classic" series of Bon Jovi albums.

It's one of those albums that's timeless yet very "of-it's-time" as well. It's darker, angrier and sincere lyrically and the music was much richer. The songs made you feel like Jon and the boys were really on your side more than ever. They became more like human beings and the songs were much more relateable. I've owned the album for almost a decade now and it still gets regular spins in my stereo and even today I i get something new or different out of every listen. Especially as I am getting older and maturing as an adult I've found certain songs are speaking (or have spoken) to me more in relation to past and present experiences. Some songs on there have helped me through tough times in years past and others more recently.

Indeed, it does get overrated on here I suppose due to the fact that as I said before, it's considered to be the last classic album before the mediocre line of material from Crush onward, and it's one of the least remembered amongst casual fans and the media. But this is probably what draws people to the album more. It's much darker (possibly their darkest) than previous albums but I wouldn't go as far as calling it depressing. (You want depressing? Go listen to Coldplay) Even in the bleakest of moments, there's still a sense of underlying optimism within the lyrics.

I'll waiting for the band to release an album that I would consider a true successor to These Days.