+1

And if anything, Bon Jovi haven't evolved enough. I would've like to have seen more curve-balls thrown, especially in terms of singles over the years - but I assume that would've been more UMG's decision than the band's.

Jovi releasing an attempt at slippery II wouldn't be a continuation though, it would be revisiting a great era for the band but doesn't necessarily mean they'd go down that route for ever. E.g. after Euphoria, X was released, once again mixing up the style.

What will kill BJ eventually however, will be sticking with the circle/WAN recipe. If they keep writing 'socially concious', mid-tempo adult contemporary stuff with Jon barely exerting his vocals then IMO the bands looking at a slow demise. :(

Don't get me wrong they still have the power to write good stuff. Hell even Jons vocals on Amen are good enough when he tries.

I agree, but I'll add that that was only for two albums - that doesn't describe BB at all in my opinion. He even exerts himself vocally in a coupe of songs.

Here's to THINFS being a evolution rather than a continuation!

But that's not at all what BB was and I don't think that's what the next album will be. I think The Circle and WAN are what the record company wanted from Bon Jovi, not necessarily what Bon Jovi wanted to create at the time. I think they show only a very shallow aspect of what the band/Jon is about. We still hear songs from Lost Highway in the set lists pretty often--the last album that Jon was really, really, truly enthusiastic about doing what HE wanted to the way he wanted to do it. If the next album is WAN part II, I'll be quite surprised.

...and I'll be quite pissed!

Let's stop pretending that BB the album as a whole was a big departure from the band's 2000-2010s sound, shall we? :rolleyes:

I think the lowered expectations of people due to it having been announced as a b-sides album led to weird results. The album is okay, but I might actually like it less than WAN. Sure, some tracks are more original, but out of the 11 tracks, how many have I had the urge to come back to?

There's nice bits and pieces, but overall, the album drags, and it has little direction. Plus, the re-purposed tracks from JBJ's third solo album are necessarily an indication of where the band's sound is gonna go.

Wasn't that a fan theory? I don't remember anyone confirming these were songs Jon was going to release solo.

That being said, while some of the album was rehashed cliches from the past (Life is Beautiful, We all fall down) some of the tracks hit on either a new sound or a lyrlcal depth missing from a few records in a row with simple rhymes (Who would you die for, Teardrop to the sea, Fingerprints) so I think it's absolutely fantastic we're raving about this, it shows they're at least attempting to write and record songs and not just put out the same old same old.

Didn't Billy Falcon say Teardrop To The Sea was written with the intention on being on JBJ's third solo album?

BJ. New Album 2016. Warner Music Group. One hunch.