Review Summary: Thou shall not blaspheme Bon Jovi's name.
Man have the times passed so quickly. I can remember waiting with my mother outside Downriver Cab for my grandmother to get out of work in the 4th grade. Well she'll picked me up from school and instead of dropping me off and picking my grandma up, we'd kick it outside the plant for 40 minutes at a time, everyday, to save 2 trips back and forth. There is so much time we had to wait everyday. So my mom would pop in
Bon Jovi to pass the time. Not just any old
Bon Jovi cassette, it was their greatest hits. We would switch everyday from
Bon Jovi to one of the Use Your Illusions by Guns N Roses. My mom was a huge Bon Jovi fan, so naturally I became one too. Well I can also remember singing along to the lyrics, like a gay giddy kid. I'd get my groove on with my mad singing skillz, and when Jon Bon Jovi drops the S bomb in Someday I'll Be A Saturday Night, I'll get slapped quicker than Charlie Murphy at a Rick James party. Those were happy times.
Well time progresses and I am still listening to
Bon Jovi to this date. I got into their album Crush and now Have A Nice Day. But
Bon Jovi had their start way before I was born. The full line up didn't take mold until 1983, after Jon Bon Jovi recorded many demos and sent them to record companies. After most were rejected, Runaway caught notice of PolyGram records and hit airwaves. Soon followed the response from Runaway, Jon called around to do some recruiting. After a full lineup was set, their self titled album was released in 1983 with a minor arise. Selling over a half million records (that’s a gold record, for those who's keeping track). After the self proclaimed disappointment 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit, the band had one last shot to keep their flame alive. Along comes Slippery When Wet. Released in 1986, the album sparked a world wide
Bon Jovi spazz, selling over 26 million copies worldwide (12 million here in the states). Their arena rock sound sparked three number one singles and millions of girls wanting their bod's. Follow-ups can be a bitch, but New Jersey pulled it off in 1988. Picking up where Slippery When Wet left off. More arena rock sing-a-longs and mega world tours. After the fall of hair metal in the early 90's,
Bon Jovi slightly changed their sound to hopefully sound fresh. They didn’t do to shabby, because Keep The Faith went double platinum. At least than what I can say with Poison, eh? Now its 1994, where it seems like it would be the end of a long run from these New Jersey arena rockers, so they release a greatest hits comp to celebrate what they have accomplished together.
Bon Jovi:
Jon Bon Jovi - Vocals
Richie Sambora - Guitar
John Alan Such - Bass
Tico Torres - Drums
David Bryan - Keyboards
Lets face it,
Bon Jovi is a singles band. To this point, their albums stand out tracks were the songs that were pumped to the radio masses. So its safe to say that
Bon Jovi is a radio whore. So making a greatest album like this would make this pretty much strike c
ock rock gold then huh? You bet your first born child’s life it is. To anyone that is interested on any of
Bon Jovi's past radio hits should really look into this, since it has about everything that made
Bon Jovi become mega superstars without any of the filler on their regular albums. Even to those hXc fans who went to every gigantic
Bon Jovi world tour extravaganza known to the world would sink their teeth in here, considering it was packaged with two new songs (soon to be mainstream rock gold) and a mellowed remix of a classic anthem.
Well to describe
Bon Jovi in simple math:
Def Leppard + Diversity + Tighter Spandex + An Arm = Bon Jovi
Well
Bon Jovi's power ballads rawk so damn much. They carry so much emotion in their lyrics, probably some of the best in the monster ballad genre. Bed Of Roses's lyrics reminds me of someone who is willing to do anything for their loved one. In this case, Jon Bon Jovi describes his willing to sacrifice by singing "I will lay you down on a bed of roses, for tonight I'll sleep on a bed of nails." Great fills by Richie Sambora on guitar. They fit the mood of the song pretty well. I'll Be There For You is quite similar to Bed Of Roses with the feel. Richie provides more great guitar fills in between lines sang by Jon. A very nice hook for the chorus. Jon's scratchy voice can be felt throughout the high moments of the song. Always is one of two exclusive tracks on here. Originally it was intended to be apart of the movie Romeo Is Bleeding, after Jon's distaste to the movie, he pulled it and released it on here. It’s a monster within itself. Lyrically its different from the past two ballads. Instead of doing what they can for a loved one, this one is telling the loved one that Jon Bon Jovi is there with his goldie locks of hair, even though she is already taken. I wish I can be like Jon Bon Jovi because, like Chuck Norris, he can get whomever he wants and their grandmothers. And whuddathunkit? Richie Sambora unleashed a monster solo towards the end. Such a great and emotional song.
Who said
Bon Jovi can't rawk their hearts out? Arena anthemic sing-a-longs are at their best here. With songs like Living On A Prayer, Bad Medicine, Keep The Faith, You Give Love A Bad Name, etc.... can all rock the house down. Bad Medicine basically put New Jersey on the map, well
bigger on the map. Driven by synthesizers, hard drum pounding by a Mexican, and metaphoric lyrics, Bad Medicine submits itself in arena rock history, proving that the sophomore slump can be comeback of the year, following the massive success of Slippery When Wet. Following the formula correctly to the note,
Bon Jovi provides some of the decade's biggest radio hits. Living On A Prayer is a force of its own. Richie Sambora speaks through a voice modulator for the first of many times in his career, providing "whoa whoa's" until the song kicks into gear. The chorus chews through your brain likes mice and Jon Bon Jovi with his big hairness wails away. Sorry for getting gay their for a second. But the song is a powerhouse as far as arena rock anthems go. Synthesizers never sounded so cheesy, but good, (unless you count power metal as
music) on the debut single Runaway. Its your basic early
Bon Jovi track. Guitar fill's towards the end of the verse, and an incredibly catchy chorus. It runs by pretty smooth, until the female vocals come in towards the end, singing way off key and seemingly not knowing the lyrics. The solo is rocking though, as most similar songs back around that time era.
Now the packaged material that is enclosed can suit any hardcore
Bon Jovi fan just fine. Honestly, who would purchase a greatest hits collection if the purchaser already owns the entire catalog and has a small fetish for the girlish looks of Jon Bon Jovi. So respectively it was included with new material just to suit their heroine like needs. One track was mentioned (Always) and the other new track, Someday I'll Be A Saturday Night is actually my personal favorite on here. The mood is upbeat and a story is told through the lyrics, hooked around the days of the week. Jon's scratchy vocals fits well with the acoustic beat provided. Well the other secret is only released on the USA version of the disc (other bonus' are included on the UK and Japan versions). Prayer '94 is pretty much a drawn out mellow mix of Living On A Prayer. Nothing fancy here, but does wear thin after the original Living On A Prayer though.
The music is well organized and has provided its butt cheek tattoo in music history. Well there cant necessary be a greatest hits collection without a few nitpicks, but this is pretty well put together disc. The only thing I saw that was missing is quite possibly the best
Bon Jovi song ever, the 9 minute epic Dry County. But for time savers, I can see why its not included. Prayer '94 can be a drag, I mean it wasn’t needed by far as listening quality goes. Well considering
Bon Jovi can either be a hit or miss among music fans. But if you enjoyed the sounds of
Bon Jovi during the 80's and early 90's, this is a must buy if you are afraid to pick up any of their full length albums.
The Sludge's Thumb Up's
Someday I'll Be A Saturday Night
Bed Of Roses
Living On A Prayer
