[Elvistico]

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Maybe it's just me - but I am as white as you can be and I have been hassled by the cops since I was 16. Even my car was suspect. I was a "hippie" then and fair game for the cops. Once I had kids, it turned out that any teenage boy was fairgame for the cops. (I had 2 boys first) My eldest son had a gun drawn on him in front of his own home in Ridgewood, NJ because somebody called the cops and said he was making them uncomfortable. UNCOMFORTABLE? Both Paul and I were at the police station the next morning and filing a complaint. So yes - I had the same talk with my kids as any good black parent would. Don't beak the law and avoid the cops at all costs. To this day I won't support the cops.

I agree with you on that. I know the slogan Black Lives Matter is the one that's on the forefront, but surely that has to be All Lives Matter. I have a Belgian friend who's lived in Miami for 6 years and also he clearly states that the general behaviour of the police force in many places is way out of line. Intimidation, power abuse, etc etc. Against everyone. Black people, white people, latino people, asian people and do on. Even over here in Belgium, we have cases of police brutality. I always like to believe it's about 1% of 'bad cops' in the total police force, but it could those numbers can be higher. I party think the very aggressive mentality of american police might be explained by laws on firearms. Every cop on US streets knows that he might be facing a person who carries a gun. That's an element of danger that we do not have here, and perhaps, that police on a subconsious level to behave extremely dominant over anyone. That said, it remains a disgrace. The tast of police people should be to protect, not to install fear or to abuse their power.

[Elvistico]

Originally Posted by Supersonic

Aloha !



Yes, your standards have been horribly lowered. You're making up excuses as to why you think you should like it. That step in the right direction is mentioned every time Jon changes something up that's supposedly better.

The heavy guitars on Bounce were a step in the right direction. And no weak ballads on Have A Nice Day were a step in the direction. And the production on Lost Highway was a step in the right direction. And the absence of country songs on The Circle were a step in the right direction. The production on What About Now were a step in the right direction.

Jon's taken so many steps in the right direction he ought to be there by now but for every step in the right direction he still takes two backwards.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I was going to say the exact same thing before coming to your final line. Lot's of steps in the right direction, but unfortunately with each step forward, two backward

[Elvistico]

Originally Posted by bonjovi90

This song kind of leaves me with a bittersweet taste. Simply because I've come to realize that our verdict, "decent lyrics for the last years and it serves its purpose quite well" is probably the best we're ever gonna get from now on.
Jon's vocal limitations and the fact that he criminally underuses his band have pressed it all into a mould that I don't think will work in the long run.

Yup. Totally agree on that one. All our speculations and disappointments with all new releases are directly related to Jon's voice.

I believe Jon is still perfectly capable to write amazing songs if he wishes to do so, but he's just can't sing them anymore. All Bon Jovi's signature songs are songs that you can belt out in stadiums. Those songs naturally require a high key. That's just music theory. A powerverse, followed by an uplifting first chorus that leads to a second chorus that even tops the first one. That's how Livin' on a prayer works. That's how You give love a bad name works.


The first changes to this style came with Crush, cause let's face it. Apart from It's my life, a big smash, the rest of the record ain't that solid.

So yes, even if this song is a nice song, it's great as a song that captures what's going on in american society. But these kinda songs - that we'll get from now on - is not the stuff that will drive concert goers to the arenas rock out with Bon Jovi.

[Elvistico]

Originally Posted by faith1985

The I'cant Breath has probably been used before because it fitted the situation, but this time it is one of the 'main things' about the situation because it literally led to George's death

I am trying not to grade songs anymore. I try to listen more with my heart. Especially with this very topic! He sings what he feels and it touches me. The line about the kid brought me to tears. The harmonica stands out and it is very special to me. For me, this is why I started loving this band, apart from the drive in the rock songs.

I am with you. This song is strong. It touches people, the message isn't universal in the sense that they are not the generic bunch of words that everyone can tap into and feel whatever they like to feel about them and relate them to their own story. This marks a point in time where the world and many are saying enough to certain things happening in society.

The lyrics can't be misinterpreted. The song is low, slow, minimalistic and is basically a story or a plead that is told on music. The musical part with the harmonica screems Springsteen, but as a huge fan of Springsteen this part came as a nice surprise and it makes the song even stronger.

Rating songs is indeed something that is useless but what happened with this song is that I wanted to share it immediatly on my social media accounts, with my wife and kids and even my dad. That's a thing I only do when I believe is song is that good.

And in Bon Jovi standards: this song doesn't require musical nor vocal acrobacy so, it stands perfectly on its own.

[Elvistico]

Originally Posted by nickolai

It is not something I will ever listen to. It’s utter drivel.

If Jon put the whole band behind it and had an “undivided” feel to it, it could be more tolerable. It’s just boring and the lyrics are mediocre at best.

2/10


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I don't get the comments like ... had he this or had he that? Undivided, that song is written and it's on Bounce. American Reckoning, that song exists now and it's on your spotify or whatever. It's a total different song and has nothing to do with undivided. One could state that Keep The Faith is just as relevant as a comparison than undivided. But that was Keep the Faith, and this is American Reckoning. Had Jon had the desire to release an 'undivided'-like sounding song, he would have done so. And then you'd all bitch about how the song sounds way too much like undivided

[james_d]

Originally Posted by Elvistico

I don't get the comments like ... had he this or had he that? Undivided, that song is written and it's on Bounce. American Reckoning, that song exists now and it's on your spotify or whatever. It's a total different song and has nothing to do with undivided. One could state that Keep The Faith is just as relevant as a comparison than undivided. But that was Keep the Faith, and this is American Reckoning. Had Jon had the desire to release an 'undivided'-like sounding song, he would have done so. And then you'd all bitch about how the song sounds way too much like undivided

I think this is quite a good point. We complain (rightly) when the band releases a song that sounds the same as stuff we've got, and then we get a song that's pretty different, and some say that it should sound like an already released song.

[WildBilly]

I feel compelled to say something about this song. I wouldn’t have come to look at the board if I wasn’t interested in it and of people’s opinions on it...it’s ticked the first box!

There’s a bit of love/hate for me when it comes to Jon’s socially and politically conscious writing. Love that he’s been inspired by what is going on in the world and there’s a relevance to the music that is crucial I think for Bon Jovi. Hate that he rarely does make it work. There’s always been smatterings of this kind of writing and from Bounce onwards (post-9/11) it seemed to be more ‘in your face’.

There’s no doubting there’s Springsteen influence all over this and whenever we hear Jon’s efforts without the band and Shanks in particular the influence really comes to the forefront. Throw a harmonica solo in there and he might as well just stand there with a red baseball cap in his back pocket.

The difference is the lack of subtlety in the lyrics and the forced nature of the music. This song is stripped back and simple but for some reason still feels laborious. I don’t dislike it, I listen to it and want to hear the words. I like to hear a song that hasn’t come directly from the Bon Jovi by numbers song book. The problem is that I’ve heard it now and I’m not interested in hearing it again. There’s nothing to make me want to listen again. I don’t need to go back to it to figure out the metaphor in the words, there’s no hook in the music that sticks in my head.

There’s a couple of tests, for me, to show whether it’s a good song...do you want to listen to it again and do you want to show someone else. Admittedly this doesn’t always happen straightaway and I’d be happy to be proved wrong but is it going to sound any different a few months down the line?

It was mentioned earlier in this thread, it’s a bonus track and nothing else. The album is shaping up to be a bit of a stinker. I grew to really quite like This House (or at least parts of it) but there’s nothing here so far.

[Captain_jovi]

Originally Posted by Supersonic

Aloha !



Yes, your standards have been horribly lowered. You're making up excuses as to why you think you should like it. That step in the right direction is mentioned every time Jon changes something up that's supposedly better.

The heavy guitars on Bounce were a step in the right direction. And no weak ballads on Have A Nice Day were a step in the direction. And the production on Lost Highway was a step in the right direction. And the absence of country songs on The Circle were a step in the right direction. The production on What About Now were a step in the right direction.

Jon's taken so many steps in the right direction he ought to be there by now but for every step in the right direction he still takes two backwards.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I think it's possible to compartmentalize certain things when saying it's a step in the right direction. The writing is far better than most of the other elements. There can be things that are a "step in the right direction" while having god awful things attached to it, it just doesn't mean it's the second coming of These Days nor does it mean What about now pt 2.

But I do agree my standards are lower that I'm patting him on the back for putting an effort into lyrics.

[Alphavictim]

Originally Posted by Elvistico

surely that has to be All Lives Matter.

https://youtu.be/hlk7o5T56iw

Listen to the intro. Also the rest of the lyrics, if you want to. They're both excellent.

[Rdkopper]

Jon is getting destroyed on social media..

https://www.facebook.com/10571420032...3864808285322/

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