Should we hear the last of the talkbox?
 

ok, i know its a pretty cool effect and Prayer is a classic with it and IML was great and all... but do you get the feeling that theyr trying to throw it in now just for the sake of it - trying to pass it off as a bon jovi 'signiture' type sound?
Im not sure if im happy with it showing up on tracks such as love me back to life, i wanna be loved, bounce and parts of all i want is everything and everyday (i thinks theres also some slight talk box effects elsewhere on HAND somewhere..?)
I sometimes think that theyr tring to 'cash in' on Prayers popularity and just sticking it in their ''how to write a bon jovi song'' formula that they have (you know the one with all the livemylife-esque lyrics etc in it).

Plus its just fuels the critics fire, on how they say bon jovi keep releasing similar stuff etc.


andi

So, does anybody else really think they care about this?

i personally dont really care about the critics, but if i had to choose between hearing good press and bad press about one of my favourite bands i would choose good press.


andi

The talkbox is one of those things that makes people define BJ as a hair metal band just because it's so 80s, and for a band that talks about how much they don't want to be a nostalgia band and keep all their music modern, i think its a bit unusual that they continue to use it on their new music. Still, if they take it out completely, eyebrows would raise, but maybe its better to keep the talkbox off the singles, and keep it for album tracks - which is exactly what they've been doing. ..apart from making the singles fresher, it'd shut people up about saying that the song is living on a prayer part thirty.

Personally, i think the talkbox adds a great effect to a lot of songs, especially I Want to be Loved, but yeah...not sure if its being overused.

I really like it in I Want To Be Loved.

Lol it probably wouldnt be a jovi album without the talkbox :D

Anything used post 2000, it's used too much. It should be used as it was in All I want is everything. Tucked into the background. Richie seems to use it every chance he gets now, for example the Insider theme and on that Les Paul record that came out this year.

I really don't care what effect is used as long as the end result is good.

It is overused for sure but shouldn't disappear either imo.

I like it on I Wanna Be Loved, but think it shouldn't be there on Complicated.

Ponrauil

So do I. I think that track is definitely a Bon Jovi signature track if the album has one. It's the kind of sound that first attracted me to their music. Why kill off something that your fans are familiar with and for the most part, enjoy?

I agree they pulled it off on I Wanna Be Loved. The talk box ending to that song is just superb. It was kinda pointless to use it on Complicated but apart from that they haven't flogged it too much on HAND. Bounce had way too much talk box on it though. It's probably one of the reasons why it sounds so artificial compared to the earlier Bon Jovi stuff.