| Tooka |
04-10-2013 11:37 PM |
In relation to the discussion about the quality of the material released recently and the comparison to the holy trinity (Slippery, NJ, KTF - and to some replace any by TD)... Two things.
First, look at any band who has been around as long as Bon Jovi, you will not find one band that has consistently released songs that are at the same level of success. Every band has a breakthrough release that brings them to the top and gets them a fan-base but most of them fail to compete with their own work afterwords. However, those few who do manage to release comparable material, are those with longevity, classics, like The Rolling Stones, U2, Metallica, Pearl Jam and yes, Bon Jovi. There are bands that had a great breakthrough and seemed to continue growing and produce better material but due to various reasons failed to continue beyond the mark of 10 years or a little more; The Who with the death of Moon, The Beatles with the famous breakup, Guns N' Roses with their fatal dysfunctional relationships, even Zeppelin with the death of Bonham etc...
Bon Jovi, due to the unique harmonic blend of hard-soft, current-classic, macho-faminine style were able to attract audiences across genders, age groups and different musical tastes. Plus the fact that if you are a Bon Jovi die-hard fan, automatically you are the kind of person that is compassionate, appreciates and is touched by the idea of being an underdog, no matter what people say, what critics think, you are loyal to this band and love them like your own brothers. And this is something that you don't see with other bands too often, the level of loyalty that we the die-hards have. I agree with something said earlier on this epic thread, that Bon Jovi always manages to give you, no matter how crap the album is, a song or two that keep you holding on to them, hoping that one day, they will release that album that compares to your favorite from the early days, but that is not going to happen.
Secondly, if you ask most people about the best times in their lives, and i see that many of us here are over 25 yo, often you will find that they are the years around their teenage and early twenties. Things were easier, responsibilities were less, the appetite for life was insatiable, the passion and the emotion were at the peak. This is why the music that concurred with this part of our lives mean more to us. And this is partially why, no matter what your favorite band will produce now or in the future, it cannot compare to what is imprinted in your mind and heart as their best music, lyrics and songs to date.
If you think about it, most of the relevant classic bands and their legions of fans have gone through the same scenario. Metallica fans are divided about the influence of Bob Rock, Pearl Jam fans keep holding everything released up against Ten and VS., U2 fans and Joshua Tree, Rolling Stones fans can't remember the songs now :P and Guns N' Roses fans, LOL, no need to say anything there...
My point is, it might be that the material post 2000 is not of the same quality as the early material in your opinion, but it might be also due to that no matter how good the new material is it will not hold in your mind against what you consider to be the bar.
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