Track Rankings 2012 - Bounce

12.Undivided
11.The Distance
10.Everyday
9.Bounce
8.Love Me Back To Life
7.Hook Me Up
6.Misunderstood
5.All About Loving You
4.Open All Night
3.Joey
2.You Had Me From Hello
1.Right Side Of Wrong

Where to start with this one. Let's see, I discovered Bon Jovi in 2001, though not solely a result of Crush. I did however love Crush, and still do. Bounce was the first studio album the band released during my period of being a fan. As such, i was looking for it quite a bit. I definitely liked the album upon it's release. I also saw Bon Jovi live twice on the Bounce Tour. Not only were they my first Bon Jovi concerts, but my first BIG concerts. I saw them once in my hometown, Buffalo, and then I made a trek down with my mother to see them in Pittsburgh over the summer. I loved both shows immensely. I still don't think they've topped the stage production of the Bounce tour, i.e. those 3 satellite screens.

Anyways, as for the album itself, while i listened to it on repeat upon it's release, it has not aged well for me. As is, it's my least favorite album of the past decade, and my 2nd least favorite album of the bands entirely catalogue, finishing ahead of only 7800* Fahrenheit. This feels to be the most disjointed of all Bon Jovi albums. Half of it is a hard rocking response to 9/11, and the other half is Crush PT2, albeit not as good. The ballads, while i don't dislike them as some do, don't meet up their previous output and felt much less organic than BOR, IBTFY, or even TYFLM. The album also features two of my least favorite Jovi tracks in Hook Me Up and Love Me Back to Life. I know Hook Me Up tends to be a favorite around here, but i've just never gravitated towards it. On the flip side, i've always enjoyed Open All Night. It's not one of my favorites, but definitely a guilty pleasure. Also, the video for Misunderstood is my favorite video from the band from the past 10 years. Plus the song itself is great, or so says I anyways.

14 Undivided
13 Misunderstood
12 The Distance
11 Everyday
10 Bounce
09 You Had Me From Hello
08 The Right Side Of Wrong
07 Open All Night
06 All About Loving You
05 Joey
04 No Regrets
03 Postcards
02 Hook Me Up
01 Love Me Back To Life

Bounce, to me, is the strangest album in the band's catalogue. It's partially inspired by 9/11, but it's all channeled through the success of Crush. I mean, does anyone think it's a coincidence that IML and TYFLM were the "hits" off of Crush, and early-2000s rockers and ballads make up the majority of Bounce? That said, there are some good tracks here, including Right Side Of Wrong, which is one of the best songs the band has done post-2000, and one of my favorites period.

14. Right Side Of Wrong
13. Misunderstood
12. The Distance
11. Undivided
10. Bounce
9. Joey
8. You Had Me From Hello
7. Love Me Back To Life
6. Everyday
5. Open All Night
4. Hook Me Up
3. All About Loving You

0. Postcards From The Wasteland*
0. No Regrets*

* As always, these zeroes do not reflect my opinions on the songs, but rather m choice not to include bonus tracks in these rankings.

This is one that I am excited about discussing! It is both an underrated album and an overated album in certain aspects. It has the last truly great Bon Jovi song, Undivided. But it also marks the first time I hated a Bon Jovi song, Joey. IMO they just went in to too many directions. They had the IML ripoffs (Bounce, Everyday and Undivided's chorus), the Creed ripoffs (TD and LMBTL), their own signature brand of ballad (AALY), their new brand off ballads (YHMFH, OAL), their Elton John/Billy Joel storyteller ballads, Matchbox 20 pop (misunderstood), and 1 hard song, Hook me Up. Had they had a couple more writing sessions and included some of the better b-sides, this could have been a great double disc album... as in my experience, double discs are not only allowed to go in many directions, but are much better because of it. See White Album and Melancholy...

The production is also kind of weird on this album. Everyday is completely overproduced... nor surprise there. But this album also marks the first time I have noticed real flaws in mixing and production. Hook Me Up sounds like it was recorded in a very small room. RSOW could have also benefited from better mixing IMO. Bounce just seemed rushed, though it does have its moments of brilliance.

14 pts.) Undivided
13) Bounce
12) The Distance
11) Open All Night
10) Love Me Back To Life
09) Misunderstood
0 Postcards From the Wasteland
07) Hook Me Up
06) Everday
05) You Had Me From Hello
04) No Regrets
03) Right Side of Wrong
02) All About Loving You
01) Joey

I love the top 3. 11-03 are various levels of okay-good depending on the mood I'm in. the last 2 are pretty bad.

I can't really make up my mind about it. Sometimes I feel it is really underrated. At other times I think it is just an overproduced pop cd with heavy guitars and bad vocals. Hmm, what bothers me the most are the rip-offs (Levon, Wonderful Tonight, Thank You For Loving Me and IML)


12) The Distance
11) Undivided
10) You Had Me From Hello
09) Hook Me Up
0 Misunderstood
07) Right Side Of Wrong
06) AALY
05) Everyday
04) Joey
03) Bounce
02) LMBTL
01) Open All Night

Half great, half meh.

12. Misunderstood
11. Undivided
10. The Distance
9. Hook Me Up
8. Everyday
7. Bounce
6. Right Side of Wrong
5. Love Me Back to Life
4. Joey

0. You Had Me From Hello
0. All About Lovin' You
0. Open All Night

I struggle with this album. I remember getting excited when they said how heavy it was going to be. It has some of the heaviest tracks that Jovi have done which I dig...but the rest is "meh" at best to me. I hate those mid-tempo dont-know-if-I-am-a-rock-track-or-ballad typeof songs. Anyways:

12. Undivided
11. Hook Me Up
10. Bounce (although I cringe everytime I hear "Call it karma, call it luck, me I just don't give a bbb...bbb...bounce - just drop the f-bomb Jon, we'll forgive you)
9. Everyday
(drops off after here for me big time)
8. The Distance
7. Misunderstood
The rest I will give a zero to 'cos I just don't like 'em.

Many of us have said, and therefore i think we can all agree, that Bounce is the bands heaviest record post 2000. Still, while i certainly love Undivided and The Distance, they sound very produced, if that even makes sense. Others, most notably Hook Me Up, sounds very over produced, or maybe as someone else suggested it's simply poor produced. Bon Jovi seemingly tried to go heavy on The Circle with Bullet, and it just sounded insanely artificial. Why is it that when Bon Jovi goes heavy, it doesn't sound nearly as organic as when their 80's counterparts do? They seemingly can't pull it off wielding only their instruments...

I don't find anything heavy about Hook Me Up honestly. It's way too electronic.

I like this album. And I don't see why so many of you don't!

1(st): Undivided (an amazing song, great chorus)
2(nd): Bounce (I love it so much, I made my own cover version )
3(rd): You Had Me from Hello (to some, it's awful - to me, it's a delicate beauty)
4: Right Side of Wrong
5: All About Lovin' You
6: Everyday
7: Joey
8: Misunderstood
9: Hook Me Up
10: The Distance
11: Open All Night
12: Love Me Back to Life
13: No Regrets
14: Postcards from the Wasteland

I love them all - save possibly the two bonus tracks - unfortunately there's just not enough room for twelve 14-pointers.

(edit) Included The Distance in place of the second Misunderstood.