28 years of Blaze if Glory
 

To me, still one the greatest CDs of my lifetime.

28 years? I remember shopping for school clothes with my BFF and her mother the day it was released. My BFF was in the dressing room trying on stuff and I was reading lyrics. We put the cassette in when we were leaving the mall and when it started with “Yoo hoo, I’ll make you famous,” her mom nearly wrecked bc she thought some man had hid in the backseat. She was NOT amused. I, however, am laughing about it right now. 28 years later.

The best part about this album was not knowing it was coming out... When Bon Jovi was truly in their mainstream prime, songs would just show up... I heard Blaze and instantly fell in love with that song... I didn't even know it was solo...

Then the album hit which basically defined my summer of 1990... I played it round the clock during our family vacation... To this day, my mother will still bring up that vacation when she hears Band A Drum.

Then Levon hit the radio which is basically just an extension of the album being it was all record during that back to back Blaze then Blood On The Bricks recording sessions...

Levon is my 11 track just like Edge is for Slippery...

I only wish they had more in the vault...The best they probably have are some outtakes... It was written and recorded so quickly, I doubt there are any other demos... Some of the solo songs from KTF and Box Set Leftovers are the closest things we have to that magic...



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well... I have no memories, hmmm I was 3
but some years later I said: what a writer JBJ is! -_-

Santa Fe is still one of JBJ greatest songs.

I clearly remember buying the Vinyl from HMV along with 2 Blaze OF Glory T-shirts, one white, one black. I still love the whole record, and Jon had really found his stride as a songwriter and a singer! There are some great lyrics on the album! I agree with Steel_horse75 about Santa Fe.

Musically, I think the album is a bit overrated at times. But the lyrics are great and really nail that cowboy imagery perfectly! And the vocals are stunning!

Santa Fe is great, but my favourite has always been Dyin' Ain't Much of A Living.

While my favourite lyrics are these:
Well, my eyes have seen the horror
of the coming of the flood
I've driven deep the thorny crown
into the soul of someone's son

Musically? The musicians on there are amazing and although it may be Jeff Beck’s weakest album collaboration; his guitar work is still out of this world...he’s not my favourite guitarist ever, but he is technically perfect and knows exactly what fits in every song. Just imagining a Bon Jovi record recorded with him today; he could take all those shitty pop-rock songs Jon writes and turn them into something worth listening to 😊

It is and his BOG solo is breathtaking! He lifted the songs up, no doubt about that. I just don't find some of the tunes too exciting musically to start with. The musicians did an incredible job, but I don't think they were too involved in the development of the tunes.

And yeah, imagining Jeff Beck playing the guitar on some of the more recent songs definitely would've put them onto another level. THINFS might've been a really good album that way because the guitar work clearly is the weak link there.

The raw solo for BOG:

You can even hear Jon's "yeah" at the end :D

If anything this album is underrated....

It's listed as a soundtrack (because that's what it is) and I feel the album is forgotten and overlooked among many fans... I also feel the record company didn't support it like it was a major release either...

It only sold a couple million during its initial run which is considered a failure for those times... I think lack of support and no tour hurt it a little

Blaze was a monster hit... not only was it a number one single but it was nominated for 2 Grammy's, an academy award and won a golden globe...

I think what happened was, the single dropped a month before the album so everyone ran out and got the single (aka #1 single) and by the time the album came out, the soundtrack thing didn't appeal to the masses...

Although Miracle was the second single and had a video, I feel it didn't get the radio play it deserved. When it failed to crack the top 10, the record company dropped it... (although it got that cheesy third video for Dyin)

I'm sure the album would've gotten a stronger support if Jon had wanted to tour it a bit, but he had no interest in it whatsoever.
Both sides regarded it as what it essentially was - a soundtrack for a movie. And for that, it did pretty well.

And Dyin' Ain't Much Of A Living actually is the film version of the famous short story "An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge" from 1890. To me, the only video of those three with some proper content, the other two are just meh.

I wonder if Jon had that story in mind while working on the song or if some clever video director connected those two.

Being that the video contains a more raw take, something tells me the video might have been cut prior to its release... And maybe even was almost used as the second single. Elton John's name attached to it alone was promotion in itself...

Maybe the video was shot with the idea of 'inserting Jon here' but again, they pulled the plug and just released the video as is...

This is all just speculation...

I think raw footage of Jon (and Elton) in the studio could have made an awesome video... oh well...

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I think the remix of "Dyin'" was done much later, when it was released as the third single in some European countries (this mix is on that release). I think the mix was to emphasis Elton's voice more for the radio, etc...

Yeah, the video would have really benefited from some Jon/Elton footage

I agree with bonjovi90 that the musical arrangements aren't the best ever written. Although it's not a bad album.
In my opinion, while half the album consists of highlights the other half is rather flat.
Blaze Of Glory, Santa Fe, Bang A Drum and Dyin' are real gems to me. Blood Money live, too, but on the album it can't quite develop its power.

Billy Get Your Guns and Never Say Die are nice rockers but to me those are the musical brothers to Sleep (or Blame) and Blood On Blood. Nice to listen to but they don't stand out in the Bon Jovi catalogue.
Miracle doesn't hurt but isn't anything special. I can see why it wasn't a hit.
You Really Got Me is a fun tune like Ride Cowboy Ride - nothing new. And the best part of Justice is the intro but the song itself does nothing for me.

I'm not sure it was released anywhere else than in France, but I guess the remix was due to Bon Jovi / Jon Bon Jovi never being successful there.
Elton John was much more prominent with his music and hence they saw that vehicle as a chance to gain more interest. Didn't really pay off, unfortunately.

It's his best song in my opinion.

You do realize, your review is like an 8 or 9/10 for most Jovi fans 😂
‘Blood on Blood’ doesn’t stand out? It’s one of Jovi’s signature tunes, like it or not.
Sleep is also another semi-classic, the problem is that it’s over played live. Ride Cowboy Ride is a fan favourite for being raw and pure rock n roll attitude.
So, 5 gems, 3 classics and 2 fillers in your opinion...that’s one fantastic album 😊. I totally agree 👍

He meant the ugly brothers of the classic Jock tunes [emoji39]
But I get it - you love the album and that's great. :)

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Great post :-D
But like bonjovi90 already replied, Billy Get Your Guns and Never Say Die don't stand out because to me they're too similiar to Blood On Blood and Sleep which are classics (although Sleep came afterwards).
And You Really Got Me seems like a repetition of what they've already done with Ride Cowboy Ride. So Blood On Blood, Sleep and Ride Cowboy Ride are the classics, Billy Get Your Guns, Never Say Die and You Really Got Me are not ;)

Lol... Sure, let's compare our negative opinions to some of the best Jovi Tunes in their catalog... That's not confusing..

He sucks at basketball because he plays exactly like Michael Jordan...

His voice is horrible because he sings like Freddie Mercury...

His guitar playing sucks because he plays like Eric Clapton...








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it was released anywhere else -_-

Let's not for get the hidden gem bside to Miracle - Going Back...

Now if we could only get the rest of the show in that quality...

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Santa Fe was released on vinyl in South America. I saw it for sale in the 90’s for like $1000, which was far out of my budget. I really want that record.

yeah, in Brazil...
$1,000??? $_$

Boy was I worried if the band would break up....but yeah. LOVE Blaze Of Glory. LOVE LOVE LOVE. First compact disc I ever bought and still got it in my shelf.

This interview was in heavy rotation in our VHS-player during fall of 1990:


Some nice material here also:

Thanks so much for posting these! I remember watching that interview with Kurt Loder when I was in high school, and this was the first time I’ve seen it since then. It’s interrsting how Jon talks about his fear of the band becoming a business, and how that scared him. Also, when Kurt asks if Richie is going to leave Jersey for California, and Jon says he doesn’t think so. Oh how things have changed. I’m going to watch the 2nd video u posted very soon. What a blast from the past!

It's amazing when you watch these... Who is that guy and when did he disappear??? Talk about a cool laid back dude who lived being that rock star...

I've probably watched that MTV interview just as much as I watched access...


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I watched the 2 videos... I wish JBJ could write GREAT songs again, and we're not supposed to tell him how to write a song.

I'd love to take JBJ 2018 in a time machine and introduce him to JBJ 1990.

I'd be really interested to see what JBJ 1990 would think of JBJ 2018....

I think that, musically, he'd be embarassed of him...

Fortunately I don't have to go into work til lunch time tmr - because I have now sat up til 2am watching old videos..... Thanks for posting them. It's good to look back and remember these things. Amazing what time changes.

Without a doubt.

Play him Army of one in 1990 and see his face drop.....

Yeah that bit really stood out for me as well. Fast forward to the WWWB DVD and he says hes the CEO of a business. Cringe!

PS - Anyone seen Kurt Loaders vid with Axl Rose around the same time - excellent.

I want that same time machine... Not just for music but the times as well... Music, Movies, and just Life in general...

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I'd love to see this happen...

That would be an interesting conversation for sure!!!



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Guys I think the word to describe what happened to BJ from 1990 to 2010 is one

compromise.

Jon was always business focused, long before he made it..he was never ever a hippie who wrote a couple of genious records and fame just happened..
jon was among the first to realise the change in the business and sucesfully managed to adapt, repeating their success again and again..
in truth i d say jon is disenchanted in a way...his main instrument limits him nowdays and a substantial part of his mojo, richie is/was gone or washed up.
i d never wrote off a guy like jon, because even if selling out the desert was all he aimed for i think he did it with style most of time, escaping the traps of fame..
disenchanted for me would be the word...he enjoys music, but he has partially lost his passion and isnt able to go 100% into it..

Great Post!!!

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Disenchanted is a perfect word. Jon found out really early on that the business had to be taken care of or the industry would eat you alive. But he adjusted and handled it. We’re lucky he has the intelligence to do both, or Bon Jovi would have gone the way of Warrant, Slaughter, Tuff, etc...

My main complaint with Bon Jovi is what happened after CRUSH.

I don't really like the album Crush, and it has way less depth than TD or DA. But it is ok - pop oriented, laid back, and yes ok It's My Life was a cool hit to happen.

After that they became more and more less and less original.

They repeated themselves extraordinarily - to the point of hinting to self-sarcasm at times (I am sure this was unintended :D ).

I don't think so mich dumbing down of the new music was needed. If they would have been a bit less trying to score same type hits, they would still be miles ahead of their 80s colleagues and fine business. They were huge in touring anyway.