Yes! I Agree! The Sound is fantastic!

- Unfortunately, the 30 second sample goes way too fast
- It is only the intro part so you don't hear any real music
- The demos are in fact the same demo's we all already have just super cleaned up
- Below are my Pros and Cons (I'm just being a realist).

Cons:
I'm glad they are doing other releases because this one will get old rather quick once our ears adjust to the better sound.

There really isn't anything new being offered here. I can't believe they didn't add additional footage to Access All Areas. On top of that, all the official videos are on YouTube, I have five copies of NJ already, and these are the same demos that we all already have.

Pros:
However as a die hard, these songs are a must for us to have in better quality and I'm ecstatic that we finally have them in grade A quality. This offsets all the above for me.

And finally, lets not forget the Book. Although I haven't seen it, I don't think it will disappoint. Jon's always been big into album art so I think it's going to be well worth it.

Sifting through this book, breathing in that new CD smell, while listening to the mastered demos will be a good way to spend a half a day.

Overall:
Here is my take on this situation. Jon wanted to do another Box Set for 30 years. After the first one somewhat tanked 10 years ago, during a time when albums still somewhat sold, the record company said "no way"!!!

They passed around some different ideas as to how to pull it off. Maybe just sell each song individually on i-tunes, etc... The record company probably came back with the suggestion to spread it out amongst a bunch of different re-issues of studio albums. On top of that, they most likely have a certain budget / time restriction to work with and that's why the remaining videos haven't been touched. With NJ being 25 years old and probably the strongest of all material, both original and demo, it's the obvious place to start. Lastly, I think this will be the strongest in terms of the book and DVD but the others will contain more unreleased songs or other rarities to catapult people's interest.

Bottom line... This isn't an Album New Jersey project per say but an entire Catalog one. They are on a budget / timeline so besides the demos, we shouldn't expect too much out of anything else. This is basically a work around to another box set and a way to get the songs out there to us fans.

I actually give the Bon Jovi camp a huge applause for getting this done in such a way. They could have stuck a bunch of live shit from the past ten years on a double CD and said "here you go, happy 30th" but they found a work around to give us what we want.... Now if they could only convince Jon to make Rock N Roll music again!

I was thinking Pearl Jam too because I was once a big fan and know they were big on releasing b-sides and live material but I don't remember them re-releasing their entire catalog.

Although, this Bon Jovi project is mainly about the demos, it also includes a DVD and a 60 page booklet.

That's too bad. This release probably isn't for you then.

I think that what he says (and I agree) is that this new version just sound cleaner and louder, but they didn't do some post-production other than enchancing a bit the sound. I think that the "We Rule The Night" demo of the boxset sound miles better than this. Might be more rough but the sound is better. When I was talking about the audio quality I wasn't talking about the sound but about this.

Still, to be honest, the "Homebound Train" leaked demo is one of the demos that have better sound, like "Does Anybody Really Falls In Love Anymore?" that sounds pretty good. I think we're going to hear more difference in Backdoor To Heaven for example. And they are demos, so they're supposed to sound this way.

Agree!

I've said that numerous times from the start. It's what I expected and I'm not disappointed at all. Good point that some are better than others and we'll get a better feel for certain songs.

We also need a little more than just a 30 second intro to Homebound Train.

It will be nice to be able to crank these in your car with a normal listening sound. This is the first of many to come. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

The quality is freaking awesome.To me it sounds just like the boys playing in the studio without all that post production stuff.
I think the day when my album arrives I will sit and listen to all the songs like 5 times that day :)),I don't even know in which order I'm going to listen to them,but I know that the first song I'm going to listen to will be Backdoor To Heaven!

I need to hear all previous of Disc 2, how many days before the release will be available?

Hey guys. New member here, although I've been visiting this site for my Jovi fix for over 10 years. Glad to finally join. Wanted to point out that the U.S. iTunes has it available for pre-order and by doing so I have the full Homebound Trian demo now. Verdict? I'm def. satisfied with the improvement on sound quality and just love the rawness of the track as a whole. In my opinion, way better version than the final one used for New Jersey.
By the way. One aspect I found intriguing are the differences in the lengths of most of the tracks compared to the bootlegs that most of us already have. I do not have all of the bootleg demos so you'll have to compare with what you have:

1. Homebound Train
Deluxe version (6:32)
2.Judgement Day
Bootleg (3:57)
Deluxe (4:18)
3. Full Moon High
Bootleg (4:14)
Deluxe (4:42)
4. Growing Up the Hard Way
Bootleg (4:44)
Deluxe (5:31)
5. Let's Make it Baby
Bootleg (6:01)
Deluxe (5:56) * I assume this means this is the talk box version.
6. Love Hurts
Bootleg (4:16)
Deluxe (4:49)
7. Backdoor to Heaven
Bootleg (5:13)
Deluxe (5:51)
8. Now and Forever
Bootleg (5:29)
Deluxe (5:34)
9. Wild is the Wind
Bootleg (4:27)
Deluxe (4:55)
10. Stick to Your guns
Deluxe (5:15)
11. House of Fire
Deluxe (5:01)
12. Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?
Bootleg (4:26)
Deluxe (4:57)
13. Diamond Ring
Deluxe (4:10)

So what does this mean? Hmm..
From this evidence. No indication of any hidden tracks, extended/alternative versions of some of these songs......Who knows? What do you guys think this means? One thing is for sure!!! The sound quality on Homebound Train is given me a taste of something sweet that for years i've been hoping for and at the very least we're getting improved sound quality for these awesome demos and can be properly played side by side with other Jovi songs.

Thanks for the info. Maybe there is a hidden track, as track 14 on disc 2, who knows.

I can not wait for more, eager to hear songs like House Of Fire, Backdoor to Heaven, Growing Up the Hard Way and Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore in HQ.

Where the variations in length are quite minor I'd assume tape fluctuation on the bootlegs would be to blame.

One other aspect that may give a clue into the possibility that this release may have a hidden track:
If you add all the tracks individual lengths together for disc 1 it comes out to be 68:04. Disc 2 comes out to be 64.51. So maybe we'll get a hidden track on disc 2. Anyways.......it's cool to ponder the thought.

A CD can take from 74 minutes to 80 minutes long. Have a free slot between 7-12 minutes, there is a possibility of having a hidden track.

If I recall correctly, the speed and/or pitch on the bootleg demos is off and someone did a version where he tried to fix it (something like "high quality" demos on YouTube). Maybe the lengths there will compare better to the iTunes listing? Just a thought, have no time to check on that now...

Maybe the extra lenght are little talks that weren't on the bootleg demos? Hoping I'm wrong, I'd like the songs to flow without silences or talks between them.

By the way, at this moment that song has all the bars of popularity on iTunes, whatever that means.

Yea, he's a member here. He should go back and check his work to see how he made out.

I doubt it. If so, I'd just edit them out.

yes that's me. What I did in those reworkable versions was to speed up each track and when I did it I got the reach the correct tone. That's because the original leak versions are longer than mine reworkable versions just because the last ones are faster than the first ones.

This kind of thing happens when you transfer a cassete recording to a digital equipament and the cassete player needs to be fixed. So you'll find lots of Bon Jovi bootlegs with this kind of problem.

That's what I remembered you indicating when you first posted the updated work on these demos. So this would indicate shorter not longer versions of the songs. Several of the deluxe versions are 30+ seconds longer. Hopefully this means more music and not added dialogue.

yes... but let's take 'homebound train' as example. This new release has that hamornica part on the begin of the track and the past leak version doens't.

Maybe this addicional time is about this, I mean, just little pieces of recordings that makes part of the whole live session recording. I hope to listen some conversations and things like that.

I wonder if they edit out "i want to **** you " in Lets make it baby .....

Sure. And I'm not against having some conversation scattered throughout some of these tracks, for these are demos and they should be raw and let us peak in to the creative process. It is enticing though that their may be more to some of these songs than we have been familiar with.

Per the norm with the pre-order process, their will probably be another track available before the eventual release date. If you guys were able to choose the next song that was available, which track would it be?

I would go with Full Moon High. Just love this song!!!

I'm glad you pointed this out. I sure hope so. This is a prime example of Bon Jovi before all the production. It shows a different side to the band that most casual fans and critics don't know. I have always loved this unfiltered side to Jovi. A little bit of a dirtier image. This release should really show that to the masses.

Whe I got the bootleg 15 years ago I just felt in love with "Backdoor to heaven". Since them I was listen to lots of harder stuffs but I still need to listen this one in a better quality before I die. lol

I'm just missing "In america". It's a great song, even if it's hard to listen Jon's voice on that past leak version.

And where's "Rosie"?

Man....... a quality sounding Backdoor to Heaven. Can't wait!! Yeah. Both of those songs will be missed if not included someway via a hidden track. I will be interested in hearing or reading some of the decision making that went into the final makeup of the Sons of Beaches disc.

Why do people think that there's going to be a hidden track? The only times I can recall this happening are:

1. Crush with I Could Make A Living Out Of Lovin' You and the back of the album said that track was included.
2. The previous boxset with "My name is Tico" and Livin' On A Prayer, about this last one, on iTunes clearly says that is included, for example. And you can tell because of the length of the track.

I don't think we're getting any kind of hidden tracks. Sorry guys.

Rosie isn't there because the song was used on Richie's album.

Agree...

But Obie knows how much fans really like Cad Man and there really isnt an album for it or a rumored studio version, so a bonus hidden live track would be the best place for it. There was a hidden track on the last box set so why not this one.

As far as the longer track speeds go, Obie does long fade outs so factor that in too.

Do you presume that this is why "Rosie" not be launched or is there an official statement about that? I'm really curius about it.

And more thing, is there any news about a japenese release?

Sorry, I only presume it.

It's a good presumption though.

It's not like Richie has a ton of exposure as a lead vocalist so why have Jon overshadow a song off his first and best solo album. This was probably a song that Richie had a lot to do with the writing too so I'm sure it was a simple quick reaction by Jon to leave it off.

Obie probably said "should we include Rosie. You know, one of the songs off Richie's first solo album" and Jon said "Nah, leave that one off"

I think it was the right decision considering how sensitive everything is right now.

Felipe, you need to clean that one up the best you could... :)

I think Rosie isn't on there as it was on Richies solo album so therefore has had an official release.

The Japanese release is exactly the same as the European release.

I do not care Rosie. We need Cadillac Man, studio or live version.

Yep , im with you .... There would be a sound board live recording at least they could polish .... Anyways , im more than happy with what we are getting . More excited each day . Especially now we have Homebound Train :)

Just read in an old "Backstage with Bon Jovi" issue:

At one of your concerts in England you sang a song called "Cadillac Man" which you said was written for the film of the same name. I though it was a great song, and wondered where I could get it from… is it going to be on the new album?
Jon: It was never recorded though it was written for the Robin Williams film of the same name… check your favorite bootlegs I guess.

So there really isn't a studio recording of it. On a sidenote: Fighter For Love was given as a complete song to Peter Framton, who didn't record it. The Soul Truth was never recorded either. Jon and Richie also wrote a song called "If You Were In My Shoes" for Paul Young (not too sure if it was during NJ era, but at least at that period of time) who didn't use it either since it was too much hard rock for his liking.

Well there you go ..... Thx . Good researching .

Perhaps DVD include Cadillac Man live from Hammersmith Odeon.

I'm pretty sure it won't. Doesn't seem they put any effort into the DVD other than rehashing already seen material.

mmm....am I the only one that thinks Cadillac Man is a bang average song? Literally cannot see what all the fuss is about. Far better songs I'm looking forward to hearing polished - Backdoor To Heavan for me

It's very very hard to pick a favorite song from all those demos.Sometimes I feel like listening to Full Moon High,sometimes to Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore,sometimes I enjoy listening to Judgement Day,sometimes Now and Forever.
But if i'd really have to pick one,i'd pick Backdoor To Heaven.Can't wait to hear it in high quality!!

Average, indeed. Never understood the hype at all.

I'd care much more for "Rosie" than CM.