We Weren't Born To Follow was a terrible choice for a first single for a very simple reason. It sounds exactly like (practicly) everything else they've put out in the last 9 years, only weaker and more boring.
From the year 2000, when Bon Jovi had their resurgance, they've released five albums. The first single from the first 3 albums released this decade have all shared the same theme and same basic style. The story is just the same with WWBTF. Lyrically and themeaticly it is no different to the casual listener then It's My Life, Everyday or Have a Nice Day; musically it's the same stereotypical Bon Jovi sound. What's going to excite the casual listener here? What's going to hook in the new fan? Isn't it highly probable that the casual listener is going to hear this song and think, "here we go again with this band.....boring." And subsequently not give it a second thought?
Putting out a first single that sounds fresh yet quintesentially like that band can be a good idea but not when you've already saturated the market with this kind of thing. All you're going to achieve is, at best, to convince the listener that you're just going through the motions and creating the same product as you always have been, which will naturally be subject to deminishing returns. The performance of The Circle seems to justify this.
Now, lets say the decision makers had come to this conclusion, what should have been the first single? Well you'd have three choices really.
First, pick a song that sounds quintessentially like the band but fresh and origional. Wait a minute, I hear you say, isn't that what I've just argued against? Well, no. I've argued against saturating the market with the same product. Why not have chosen WORK FOR THE WORKING MAN? It's reminicent of Livin' On a Prayer in a number of ways yet still completely modern. The opening bass line will remind listeners of Prayer, and then take them somewhere new. It's aggresive, poigniant and socially and culturally relevant. This song would have got people's attention. It's something new and fresh and relevant from the band, yet completely rooted in the tradition of the band. A perfect choice for a first single.
Second, the decision makers could have gone with a ballad as a first single and chosen Superman Tonight. Wouldn't have been a bad idea at all as it's a great song, but it probably wouldn't have jivved with the talk of The Circle being a "back-to-our-roots-rock-record" shtick.
Third, taken a risk, gone with something completely different and unexpected, which represents the diverse nature of this album; Love's the Only Rule.
I've no doubt whatsoever that the album was done and the record company ordered Jon and Richie back into the studio to write a "first-single song" in the It's My Life vein. WWBTF simple doesn't sit with the other 11 songs on the album, it stands out like a sore thumb. The sad thing is Bon Jovi have created something brilliant with this album and something very unlike anything else they've done and they've sent the listening public exactly the opposite message with their first single.
And I say all of this as someone who likes WWBTF quite a lot.
__________________
These days the stars seem out of reach
But these days there ain't a ladder on these streets
These days are fast, love don't last in this graceless age
Even innocence has caught the midnight train
And there ain't nobody left but us these days
Last edited by Butters; 11-27-2009 at 03:22 AM..
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11-27-2009, 12:46 AM
