Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community
Home Register Members FAQ Mark Forums Read
 

Rate: Do What You Can

New Bon Jovi Releases


View Poll Results: Do What You Can
1 0 0%
2 1 5.56%
3 3 16.67%
4 2 11.11%
5 1 5.56%
6 3 16.67%
7 3 16.67%
8 5 27.78%
9 0 0%
10 0 0%
Voters: 18. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 09-19-2020, 11:06 PM
Supersonic's Avatar
Supersonic Supersonic is offline
The One And Only Real Backstage Killer
I'll Post When I'm Dead
 
Join Date: 03 Aug 2002
Location: Bangkok
Gender: male
Posts: 16,067
Send a message via MSN to Supersonic
Default Rate: Do What You Can

Aloha !

Every time Bon Jovi release something remotely interesting or different it's been a bit painful to see or hear it just wasn't their idea. I honestly hoped this would be an original. Don't get me wrong, I've no problem with artists stealing. Everyone does it. But stealing entire melody lines and/or chorusses like Bon Jovi have been doing? Nah... And unfortunately, that's the case with this one as well.

The melody of this song not theirs. Jon's mentioned The Killers several times now. Has played a song by the Killers in their latest webcast so I gave their recent singles another spin. And yes, there's Caution, a song released on march 12. Do What You Can was first put on youTube on March 20. It's got the same beat and the words in the chorus of Do What You Can fits perfectly.


Things like these put a damper on things for me. I'm an art teacher and presenting something as if its yours while it's made by someone else is the same as that kid coming up to my desk showing his artwork while he copied it of the more talented kid sitting next to him. I can't pretend and be proud of the kid for stealing something from someone else. I always tell them there's nothing wrong with stealing just as long as you give credit to the original or acknowledge you were at least inspired by someone or something else. It's how art has worked, how music has worked, there's nothing wrong with that. But that's not what Jon Bon Jovi does. Jon Bon Jovi is about "I wrote this" "I did this" "I had this vision". It's where he loses me with this. I don't think he minds, or maybe he does, considering the massive chip he still has on his shoulder?

Sure, the Bon Jovi song is catchy. Very catchy. It's easily one of the catchiest songs Bon Jovi have released in a long, long time. It also sounds upbeat and positive, a thing that has been lacking in Bon Jovi songs as well. But as for everything else? For every good lyric there's still a really cringe-worthy one and the production of the entire thing is awful. Nothing's the same this ain't a game we got to make it through sounds like an excuse lyric. No better words could be found, just put that one in.The same goes for "This ain't a prayer it's just a thought I'm wanting to send". It's lazy songwriting. And if you're going to steal things you wind up comparing to the original as well. While the subject of Caution is by no means better or worse, the way the lyrics describe the subject of the song are just so much better as there's no lyric that puts the song to a screeching halt, making you scratch your head thinking "now what was that?!".

The addition of Jennifer Nettles has clearly improved the song but also highlighted all that is missing in Bon Jovi nowadays. Obviously there's just no way of working around Jon's voice anymore. If anything, going by the way Jon sang the song at home and how he sounds in the studio it's kind of a showcase of all you can do with vocals even if you've got nothing left to give. But the constant slurring and mispronounciation of certain words make it hard to listen to the song. The thing Nettles has highlighted on top of all of this is that a song improves if you let the instrument just be the instrument. Nettles' voice is the one thing in the entire song that sounds organic, fresh and honest. She sounds like she's having a blast singing it and sounds like she believes in what she's singing. But she also sounds like she's giving her all to a generic tv jingle. Strip the song from Jon's vocals and there's nothing in there that'd make you think it's a Bon Jovi song recorded by an actual band. The soulless production and the way this thing was recorded has stripped the song from any emotion the instruments would originally be able to captivate. This could've been recorded by anyone but Bon Jovi. I'd go as far as saying you could sing Do What You Can over an instrumental of Caution and the song would actually improve over what's presented here. Because what's presented here is a really, really catchy melody put to waste over the most generic backing track the band could come up with. It's a TV jingle, and much like TV jingles, you'll eventually skip and/or ignore it.

I'm giving it a 5.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan
__________________

Last edited by Supersonic; 09-19-2020 at 11:38 PM..
Reply With Quote

  #2  
Old 09-19-2020, 11:20 PM
rolo_tomachi rolo_tomachi is offline
Senior Member
Price of posting
 
Join Date: 19 Aug 2009
Gender: male
Posts: 6,263
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Supersonic View Post
I'm giving it a 5.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan
You aim high Mr. S.
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-19-2020, 11:51 PM
bonjovi90's Avatar
bonjovi90 bonjovi90 is offline
Senior Member
Posting everyday
 
Join Date: 07 Jun 2008
Gender: male
Posts: 7,303
Default

So Shanks was probably watching re-runs of Friends and other 90's sitcoms during the lockdown while Jon was listening to the Killers. That's how we got Do What You Can musically. Mystery solved

I'm giving it a 4. Yeah, it's kind of catchy, but so was Barbie Girl or the Britney Spears chart hits 20 years ago and I wouldn't rate them higher because of that either. The message is good, but that "friend you ain't met yet" line reminds me too much of the cringeworthy one in Welcome To Wherever You Are.
__________________
Check out what's becoming the biggest Bon Jovi touring website: https://bjtours.jimdo.com/
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 09-19-2020, 11:52 PM
bjcrazycpa's Avatar
bjcrazycpa bjcrazycpa is offline
Senior Member
Jovi Geek
 
Join Date: 30 Aug 2002
Location: Weehawken, NJ
Age: 59
Gender: female
Posts: 6,867
Default

I like it and that is what matters to me! Gonna be the outlier don't care about who copied what! It's an 8!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-20-2020, 12:55 AM
liljovi93's Avatar
liljovi93 liljovi93 is online now
Senior Member
I Don't Want To Post Forever
 
Join Date: 27 Mar 2007
Location: Liverpool
Age: 31
Gender: male
Posts: 12,314
Send a message via MSN to liljovi93
Default

4 or 5 I'd say.



Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
__________________


Bon Jovi - Old Trafford - June 26th 2003
Bon Jovi - City Of Manchester Stadium - June 4th 2006
Bon Jovi - City Of Manchester Stadium - June 22nd 2008
Bon Jovi - Old Trafford Cricket Ground - June 24th 2011
Bon Jovi - City Of Manchester Stadium - June 8th 2013
Bon Jovi - Slane Castle - June 15th 2013
Bon Jovi - Hyde Park - July 5th 2013
Bon Jovi - London Palladium - October 10th 2016
Excuse me, has anyone got a bottle of orange juice?!


Not afraid of Burning Bridges, cause I know they're gonna light my way...
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-20-2020, 12:59 AM
Alphavictim Alphavictim is online now
Senior Member
Jovi Freak
 
Join Date: 15 Sep 2005
Location: Germany
Age: 37
Gender: male
Posts: 3,490
Default

Do What You Can is no closer to the Killers song than I'll Be There For You was to that Beatles song ("don't let me doooown"). I'd say IBTFY is much closer, actually.

The duet version is a weak 7 I guess.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 09-20-2020, 03:43 AM
YOVANAfromPeru's Avatar
YOVANAfromPeru YOVANAfromPeru is offline
Senior Member
Jovi Freak
 
Join Date: 22 Oct 2017
Age: 36
Gender: female
Posts: 3,585
Default

I'm not even gonna rate it.
When I listen this duet "my stomach is sick".
__________________
Jon Bon Jovi said about this selfie: "That's a good one!!"
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-20-2020, 04:02 AM
Captain_jovi's Avatar
Captain_jovi Captain_jovi is offline
Moderator
This Post Feels Right
 
Join Date: 31 Jul 2002
Location: Hamilton, Ontario
Age: 39
Gender: male
Posts: 13,752
Send a message via AIM to Captain_jovi Send a message via MSN to Captain_jovi
Default

Solid 6.5. Catchy as all hell. I don't hear The Killers song in it but as far as chord structure goes, it's stock Jon. You could rearrange it into Because We Can in the chorus almost. It popped in my head earlier that the chorus is a bit like "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes briefly.

Bridge melody is so good but the lyrical part of the world needing a hug and a stranger being a friend you haven't met yet is pure lazy cliche. From an emotional standpoint I freaking love the song though.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iceman View Post
Don't make the mistake of thinking that even 1% of Bon Jovi fans are like you, because they aren't. Don't think you know how Bon Jovi fans think. You don't. You know yourself. Stick to that.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-20-2020, 04:30 AM
jon-flp's Avatar
jon-flp jon-flp is offline
Senior Member
Blame it on the love of posting
 
Join Date: 19 Dec 2007
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Age: 35
Gender: male
Posts: 1,211
Send a message via MSN to jon-flp
Default

The original version was very weak. A 4 for me.

But the duet made this a completely different (and much better song). A solid 7.5. A good and catchy song.

Enviado de meu SM-M305M usando o Tapatalk
__________________
Posting in a room at the end of the world.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 06:58 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11.
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.